The 25 Best Girl-On-Girl Fights In Movies

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Catfight—the mere utterance of this word sends most men into drooling fits of fantasizing about two female combatants glistening with sweat as they tear each other’s clothes to shreds. It's no wonder then why the film industry has repeatedly staged scraps between beautiful actresses.

The best all-female fights involve far more than stereotypical slapping or hair pulling. They thrill and shock us with intense choreographed violence that rivals anything male action stars like Bruce Lee or Bruce Willis ever did. Last month's action spectacle Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, for instance, was stolen from megastar Tom Cruise by gorgeous Complex cover girl Paula Patton, who squares off against the equally fine Lea Seydoux in her character's emotional climax.

This bout raised the bar for females everywhere and should even make Gloria Steinem glow with pride. But it is only the tip of the catfight iceberg, so to celebrate this time-honored tradition, we’re taking a look back at The 25 Best Girl-On-Girl Fights In Movies.

Written by Jason Serafino (@Serafinoj1)

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Sandre Hess Vs. Dana Hee

25. SANDRA HESS VS. DANA HEE IN MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1997)

Make no mistake about it: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is one of the worst movies ever released. The acting is embarrassing, the plot makes no sense, and we’re pretty sure that an Atari 2600 touted better visuals than the CGI featured here. But right in the middle of the movie, Sonya Blade (Sandra Hess) gets into a hot brawl with the scantily clad Mileena (Dana Hee), which alone is well-worth the price of admission.

Nothing says catfight like two good looking women getting sopping wet in a gigantic puddle of mud, and this fight pulls it off beautifully. Props to the wardrobe people involved in slipping Sandra Hess into that white tank top. You earned your pay.

Jennifer Jason Leigh Vs. Bridget Fonda

24. JENNIFER JASON LEIGH VS. BRIDGET FONDA IN SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992)

It's not the sexiest fight scene on the list, but Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda’s brawl from Single White Female is the most brutal, and perhaps scariest, girl-on-girl spat we have ever seen. Playing the deranged Hedy, Leigh goes to bizarre, and homicidal, lengths to make sure her roommate, played by Fonda, never leaves her.

Their fight at the end of the film is completely chilling and hard-hitting with more than enough emotion to be believable. There is no fancy choreography or skimpy outfits here; instead, these two just take it to each other in about as vicious a manner as possible.

Raquel Welch Vs. Helena Kallianiotes

23. RAQUEL WELCH VS. HELENA KALLIANIOTES IN KANSAS CITY BOMBER (1972)

Roller derbies are about as hip as Zubaz and platform shoes nowadays (which is to say they're due for a comeback!), but in the '70s people simply couldn’t get enough of them. And in Kansas City Bomber, the Queen of the catfight, Raquel Welch, takes it to her roller-rival, Helena Kallianiotes, in grand fashion.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most unique girl-on-girl fights on this list, and it’s shot in a way that gets us in close to the action, which is where every guy wants to be with two women. It’s a well known fact in Hollywood that Raquel Welch is a complete maniac, and that may be why she’s unstoppable on a pair of skates.

Pam Grier Vs. High Society

22. PAM GRIER VS. HIGH SOCIETY IN COFFY (1973)

Pam Grier sure has kicked a lot of ass in her career, but her thrashing of a group of prostitutes at a high-society soiree in Coffy is just as funny as it is brutal. Grier doesn’t just prove yet again that white women are no match for her, but she also drives the point home that there isn’t a soul on this planet that should mess with her. Even the mobsters and pimps watching the fight don’t want a piece of a pissed off Pam.

Halle Berry Vs. Dania Ramirez

21. HALLE BERRY VS. DANIA RAMIREZ IN X-MEN 3 (2006)

This is just the first of many examples on this list featuring Halle Berry getting down and dirty during a big-screen fight scene, but this is the only time when she fought with the aid of mutant powers. In this brief, but fierce, fight scene from Brett Ratner’s underwhelming X-Men 3, Storm is locked in mortal combat with her longtime adversary from the comics, Callisto.

With lightning crackling and mutant fists flying, these two beauties went all out in a fight that rivaled the intensity of their male counterparts' up on the screen. It's hard to upstage Berry in terms of beauty, but Dania Ramirez more than holds her own here.

Raquel Welch Vs. Martine Beswick

20. RAQUEL WELCH VS. MARTINE BESWICK IN ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966)

Sure, it was grossly inaccurate (cavemen and dinosaurs living together!) but One Million Years B.C. was a fun B-movie romp for fans of fantasy flicks. It's easy to say that the success of the movie was due to either the story or the special effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen, but it also didn’t hurt that it featured Raquel Welch and Martine Beswick in fur bikinis throughout most of the film.

And like any great movie featuring two scantily-clad females, the inevitable catfight is what really got people talking. Featuring Welch and Beswick in a battle to the death, these two cavegirls scratched and clawed at each other to the amusement of the hairy-shouldered men watching from a distance. They really knew how to live back then.

Sharon Stone Vs. Rachel Ticotin

19. SHARON STONE VS. RACHEL TICOTIN IN TOTAL RECALL (1990)

We had no idea that Sharon Stone had it in her, but right in the middle of Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall, she gets into a brief, yet brutal, throwdown with Rachel Ticotin that is one of the highlights of the entire movie. And like any great Hollywood fight, this one is topped off by Stone getting a bullet to the head and a one-liner courtesy of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The most impressive part of this fight is that Stone is performing all of these roundhouse kicks and judo throws while decked out in a powder blue pantsuit. We're sure that the only other person in history to get beat down by a woman wearing a pantsuit had to have been Bill Clinton after coming home one night smelling like scotch and sorority girls.

Pam Grier Vs. A Lesbian Bar

18. PAM GRIER VS. A LESBIAN BAR IN FOXY BROWN (1974)

There is nothing quite like '70s Blaxploitation cinema, and the highlight of the entire subgenre is arguably Foxy Brown. The film stars the legendary Pam Grier as Foxy, a strong-willed woman who is as intimidating as some small countries. Armed with nothing but her fists and mouth, Foxy tramples her way through this film with all of the subtlety of a chain saw.

One of the best examples of this is Brown’s battle against a packed lesbian bar. After being threatened by a woman who claims she has a black belt in karate, Brown smacks the woman upside the head with a stool and proclaims, “I got my black belt in bar stools!” She is obviously not the type of girl you bring home to your mother.

Salma Hayek Vs. Penelope Cruz

17. SALMA HAYEK VS. PENELOPE CRUZ IN BANDIDAS (2006)

What happens when two of the most beautiful women in Hollywood decide to throw down the gloves and go at it? A fight scene that turns an otherwise listless movie (Bandidas) into an instant classic in our book. Between flailing fists and some Greco-Roman grappling, Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek fight with the fury of a WWE match, but they still manage to look great while doing it. It's a shame that this fight didn't last a little bit longer, as there was still plenty of clothing to be ripped off, but it was great while it lasted.

Martine Beswick Vs. Aliza Gur

16. MARTINE BESWICK VS. ALIZA GUR IN FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)

In what can only be described as the best gypsy catfight in the history of motion pictures, Martine Beswick’s fight in From Russia with Love is one of the most memorable girl-on-girl brawls in the Bond franchise. It’s not the prettiest fight, as it mostly consists of scratching and clawing, but this is an example of pure feminine ferocity as Beswick and Gur rip each other to shreds. It's almost heart-warming to see the smiles this catfight brings to the men in the gypsy camp.

Paula Patton Vs. Lea Seydoux

15. PAULA PATTON VS. LEA SEYDOUX IN MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL (2011)

It’s hard for a fight scene to stick out above the rest in such an action-packed film, but Complex cover girl Paula Patton unleashes a flurry of feminine fury during her violent catfight in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. From getting slammed through tables, to almost being stabbed by a corkscrew, Patton and Lea Seydoux provide one of the film’s best moments in this scene.

What makes this fight stand out among the rest is the fact that it’s choreographed with the same energy and brutality as anything seen in The Bourne Identity or Casino Royale. These are two women who fight like trained martial artists and the end result is a fight that completely steals the show.

Rachel Weisz Vs. Patricia Velasquez

14. RACHEL WEISZ VS. PATRICIA VELASQUEZ IN THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001)

Not since Return Of The Jedi have we been so entranced by a beauty in a gold bikini, but The Mummy Returns raises the stakes by featuring two women in gold battling it out as the future of the world hangs in the balance. As these two gorgeous titans partake in a jaw-dropping duel with a pair of sai, we were busy rooting against physics so hopefully one of those gold bikini tops would inexplicably fall off.

Of course the movie was rated PG-13, so the chances for some gratuitous nudity were always going to be slim; however, both Weisz and Velasquez are more than beautiful enough on their own to capture our attention for the duration.

Teri Hatcher Vs. Charlize Theron

13. TERI HATCHER VS. CHARLIZE THERON IN 2 DAYS IN THE VALLEY (1996)

This fight is famous for one reason: Charlize Theron’s white Spandex outfit. That’s really all anyone needs to know about this scene, which is a generous gift from the cinema gods. The whole thing is basically three minutes of these two uber hotties rolling around with each other on a hotel room floor and grabbing any body part in sight. Thankfully, there is no gore or real violence here to distract us from watching these two beauties doing what they do best.

Charlie's Angels Vs. Demi Moore

12. LUCY LIU, DREW BARRYMORE, AND CAMERON DIAZ VS. DEMI MOORE IN CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE (2003)

There aren't many things better for movie fans everywhere than watching four of Hollywood’s most marketable female stars get together for a climactic girl-on-girl fight. Charlie’s Angels isn't be the most cerebral franchise that has ever hit the big screen, but no one can argue with the sex appeal that oozed from every frame.

It’s times like this that we are thankful for the small army of plastic surgeons in Hollywood for turning these women, one of which was over 40 at the time, into drop-dead gorgeous action figures. For Demi Moore to still look that good in skin-tight leather is a gift to humanity.

Halle Berry Vs. Sharon Stone

11. HALLE BERRY VS. SHARON STONE IN CATWOMAN (2004)

Don't get us wrong: Catwoman is still an absolute train wreck of a film, but to give the devil its due, this fight between Halle Berry and Sharon Stone is nonetheless spectacular. Without any bad pun intended, this is a catfight in every sense of the term. It is filled with kicking, slapping, and punching, and a whip is even used at one point. And it's undeniable that Halle Berry still looks good in this movie despite her ridiculous costume.

The fluid choreography and brutality that is present on the rest of this list is absent here, but no one can argue that this doesn't deliver solid girl-on-girl action. If the movie was cut down to just this four-minute fight scene and the end credits, Catwoman might have been one of the best comic book movies ever.

Zhang Ziyi Vs. Michelle Yeoh

10. ZHANG ZIYI VS. MICHELLE YEOH IN CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000)

Featuring a unique blend of delicate mythology and pulse-pounding action, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon featured choreographed fight scenes that looked more like a ballet than a street brawl. And the best example of Ang Lee's unique vision for the film was the majestic cat-fight between Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh.

With a flurry of ancient weapons, sparks, and estrogen, this was not only one of the most sophisticated fights in the history of cinema, but it was also one of the most mesmerizing. The movements of these two women are simply unlike anything else to ever be put on the big screen, and it also doesn't hurt that they are simply gorgeous to look at as well. With a perfect combination of violence and beauty, this girl-on-girl fight is tough to top.

Uma Thurman Vs. Daryl Hannah

9. UMA THURMAN VS. DARYL HANNAH IN KILL BILL, VOL. II (2004)

Sex appeal takes a backseat to unmitigated violence and gore in this scene from Tarantino's chick-fight masterpiece, Kill Bill, Vol. II. This time, Uma Thurman is busy trading blows with former Hollywood sex symbol Daryl Hanna in a tight mobile home. Though slower paced than some of the other action scenes in the Kill Bill movies, this fight stands out because of the raw emotion on display.

Tarantino’s homages to classic kung fu movies and westerns are never more apparent than in this scene, especially with a slick flying kick courtesy of Thurman that just screams camp. This fight is rugged and personal, but with a touch of humor that makes it stand out from the rest. Plus, it’s not often that we get to see the hero rip their rival's eye out of the socket.

Jamie Lee Curtis Vs. Tia Carrere

8. JAMIE LEE CURTIS VS. TIA CARRERE IN TRUE LIES (1994)

We’re pretty sure this still counts as a girl-on-girl fight even though the rumors surrounding Jamie Lee Curtis’ hermaphroditic origins continue to swirl, but either way, this vicious brawl was one of the highlights of James Cameron’s spy spoof. This slap-fest in the back of a speeding limo provided the visceral violence and sex appeal that should get the attention of most men with a pulse.

In a movie with Schwarzenegger blasting and punching his way through countless terrorists, this fight still manages to stand out from the pack. Special praise should go out to James Cameron for this feat because he is one of the only directors in recent years that could actually turn Jamie Lee Curtis into eye candy.

Uma Thurman Vs. Chiaki Kuiyama

7. UMA THURMAN VS. CHIAKI KURIYAMA IN KILL BILL, VOL. I (2004)

Perfectly capturing the fetish fantasies of men everywhere, this fight between The Bride and Gogo from Kill Bill, Vol. I is just another example of why this movie is pure nirvana for girl-fight fans. Sporting a skimpy school-girl outfit (one of Tarantino’s best ideas), Gogo is a 17-year-old bodyguard with a shiny mace and a taste for blood. But, as the series taught us all too well, female temptresses with an expertise in hand-to-hand combat are no match for a ticked-off Uma Thurman.

Halle Berry Vs. Rosamund Pike

6. HALLE BERRY VS. ROSAMUND PIKE IN DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)

Die Another Day was not the Bond movie that most fans were hoping for, but Halle Berry’s mid-air swordfight with Rosamund Pike remains a highlight of the entire spy franchise. These two hotties certainly brought their A-game to this scene, which features sleek acrobatics and torn clothing; their dedication is apparent in every frame.

Although it stars two beautiful women going at it, this fight is about more than eye candy; it’s also exhilarating and tense, with enough suspense to leave any action fan drenched in sweat. And the abrupt, violent ending leaves us wanting more.

Neve Campbell Vs. Denise Richards

5. NEVE CAMPBELL VS. DENISE RICHARDS IN WILD THINGS (1998)

There aren’t many men in the United States who haven’t heard of the erotic thriller Wild Things. In fact, we’re certain most of them still have a copy hidden underneath their mattresses. It’s not the type of movie to watch if you’re interested in nuanced characters, allegorical story lines, or imaginative directing, but if you want to see two hot women slap at each other in bikinis then you turned on the right flick.

Let’s be honest, the “fight” between these two never rises above the catty mayhem one would find during an episode of Days Of Our Lives, but the aftermath of the fight is the real selling point. See, after Denise Richards sees a beaten Neve Campbell gasping for air in the pool, she proceeds to help her up and they quickly engage in a solid makeout session. Who needs plot, characters, competent directing, or even dialogue, when you have scenes like this?

Uma Thurman Vs. Lucy Liu

4. UMA THURMAN VS. LUCY LIU IN KILL BILL, VOL. 1 (2004)

In its most basic sense, Kill Bill is about a scorned woman hacking and slashing her way to revenge, so it's only natural that the series is mostly remembered for its brutal fight scenes. During this particular fight between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu, slapping and hair pulling takes a back seat to the type of pervasive violence that is usually a staple of Sony’s Playstation, not American cinema.

This fight puts Errol Flynn to shame with its dynamic swordplay and tight choreography. Also, the lack of overbearing music and sound effects, mixed with the falling snow, lends an understated beauty to the scene, which is rare for a set piece like this. Love him or hate him, Quentin Tarantino at least attempts to bring something to the screen that audiences have never seen before, and we’re hard pressed to find another action scene quite like this.

Haji Vs. Lori Williams

3. HAJI VS. LORI WILLIAMS IN FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (1965)

You can’t talk about girl-on-girl fights without mentioning the legendary Russ Meyer. His low-budget sexploitation films from the '60s were more famous for their busty leading ladies than plot or character, but his smutty eye towards filmmaking made his movies cult classics.

His most famous flick, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, features a classic catfight in the beginning between Haji and Lori Williams, who go at it in a desert oasis. In typical Meyer fashion, there is no shortage of cleavage or sex appeal here as these two beauties grapple in the sand like Roman gladiators. Meyer elevated sex appeal from a dirty secret into an art form.

Pam Grier Vs. Roberta Collins

2. PAM GRIER VS. ROBERTA COLLINS IN THE BIG DOLL HOUSE (1971)

In the pantheon of trashy, exploitative, and glorious woman-on-woman brawls, super-producer Roger Corman is the all-time ringmaster. Back in the 1970s, the B-movie kingpin turned drive-in cinemas into voyeuristic amusement parks with a series of romps about all-female prisons, where, naturally, lesbian inmates felt each other up, straight woman and same-sex ones alike engaged in catfights, and the guards were all sadistic perverts.

One of Corman’s earliest and most successful entries into this subgenre was The Big Doll House, in which Pam Grier plays a girl-loving, tough-as-nails jail bird; as she puts it, “I’m not going to let a man’s filthy hands touch me again!” Fine by us, since she does allow co-star Roberta Collins to smack her around a bit in one hell of a mud fight. Grier gets in a few licks of her own, but, in the end, it’s the soon-to-be Foxy Brown who’s face and boobies deep in sloppy, wet dirt.

Just to add insult to injury, Collins grabs Grier’s left arm, puts it one of those painful behind-the-back chicken wings your older brother used to do, and reigns triumphant as Grier calls her “the boss.” The lesson learned here: There’s nothing wrong with a little submission.

Uma Thurman Vs. Vivica Fox

1. UMA THURMAN VS. VIVICA A. FOX IN KILL BILL, VOL. I (2004)

The Kill Bill movies were home to some of the best girlfights to ever grace the cinema, but it’s the brawl between Uma Thurman and Vivica A. Fox from the first movie that trumps them all. It’s not just the beautiful women or flashy fight moves that makes this fight work; instead, it’s the twisted sense of humor that Quentin Tarantino brings to the scene that puts all of these elements over the top.

Set in a cookie-cutter suburban home, this fight is a perfect dichotomy between straight-laced Americana and our society's pervasive violence. And instead of featuring choreographed fight moves that resemble a delicate ballet, this scene ratchets up the intensity and gore to an 11 as Thurman finishes her hated rival off with a dagger to the heart.