Neve Campbell is among the most indelible horror heroines in Hollywood history, a Canadian actress whose defining role arrived early and proved durable enough to anchor a franchise across three decades. She broke through with Party of Five (1994) as Julia Salinger, then crossed into film with The Craft (1996) and Scream (1996), the latter producing the genre’s most iconic final girl in Sidney Prescott, a role she has returned to across six installments, including Scream 7 (2026). The longevity of that franchise is as much a testament to her as to the writing, and Sidney without Campbell was briefly attempted and quickly corrected.

On screen, Campbell operates through a grounded naturalism that made Sidney Prescott feel like a real person rather than a genre construct, a quality that separated the Scream films from the slasher competition at every turn. Her dark hair, pale features, and expressive eyes give her an everygirl accessibility that the horror genre used to devastating effect. She remains the face of the most successful horror franchise of her era, and the audience’s response to her absence from Scream VI confirmed exactly how much of that franchise belongs to her.