Mrs Mott The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (1992)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Technically an ex-wife, Mrs Mott (Rebecca De Mornay) loses her husband when he commits suicide after he’s accused of sexual abuse.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: Having lost her baby, Mrs Mott’s out for revenge, and she blames Claire (Annabella Sciorra) for her slanderous (but true!) claims about Mrs Mott’s husband.
The rest is history.
Madeleine Tough Guys Dont Dance (1987)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Madeleine (Isabella Rossellini) once dated ex-con Tim Madden (Ryan O’Neal), but the relationship ended when they were involved in a car crash that left Madeleine unable to have kids.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: She’s bedding Captain Luther Regency, the policeman who’s on Madden’s case after he’s discovered with a severed head in his car.
She’s also as uncouth as they come, informing him that her husband is having an affair with Madden’s wife…
Lisa Obsessed (2009)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Lisa (Ali Larter) is more of a fake ex-girlfriend – she lies to Derek’s (Idris Elba) wife Sharon (Beyonce Knowles), claiming the two had an affair.
They didn’t – but that doesn’t mean Lisa isn’t going to try everything she can to get her man.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: Lisa’s incensed stalker behaviour involves breaking into Derek and Sharon’s house – which results in an epic catfight between Lisa and Sharon.
Hedra Carlson Single White Female (1992)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Technically, Allison ‘Allie’ Jones (Bridget Fonda) is the ex-girlfriend here – she’s just broken up with her cheating fiancé Sam.
But it’s Hedra Carlson (Leigh), her new roommate, who causes all the problems…
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: With Allie now free and single, Hedra intends to keep it that way – deleting messages that Sam leaves for her.
She even kills her puppy and blames it on Sam…
Madison Bell Swimfan (2002)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Not exactly an ex-girlfriend, but more of an ex-shag who wants to be Ben’s (Jesse Bradford) missus, Madison (Erika Christensen) is, to put it bluntly, totally obsessed with the guy.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: Turning up unannounced at his family’s house. Sending constant texts and emails…
Madison really stoops low, though, when she spikes Ben so that he fails a drug test just before his swim competition.
Ruth She-Devil (1989)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Another ex-wife. Ruth (Roseanne Barr) makes a list of her ex-husband’s four main assets (home, family, career, freedom), all of which she’s going to systematically take away from him.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: Though we sympathise with her (and quite enjoy her getting her revenge), Ruth’s behaviour is beyond extreme.
Not only does she pose as a nurse to fulfil one objective, she even sets up her own company in order to rob Bob (Ed Begley Jr.) of his.
Lori Total Recall (1990)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Lori (Sharon Stone) is such a bad wife it turns out she’s not even a wife at all.
She’s been put in place to monitor Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger), whose memory has been wiped and could come back at any moment.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: When her real identity is exposed, Lori reveals herself to be a skilled assassin – and attempts to kill hubby dearest.
Cha-Cha DiGregorio Grease (1978)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Having once dated Danny (John Travolta), Cha Cha DiGregorio (Annette Charles) is now going out with the leader of T-Bird rivals The Scorpions.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: Sure, she betrayed Danny by going out with his nemesis, but she also nearly destroys Danny’s chance at getting back with Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) by dancing with him at the school dance contest.
Sarah Marshall Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Actress Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) breaks up with Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) – while he’s completely and utterly nude.
That’s gotta hurt.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: Sarah turns up at the same holiday resort as Peter – and she’s now dating sex-god rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).
She then proceeds to use Aldous to make Peter jealous, while seething with jealousy herself over Peter’s attraction to Rachel (Mila Kunis).
Brooke Meyers The Break-Up (2006)
The Ex-Girlfriend: Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) breaks up with her live-in boyfriend Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) after one too many arguments about what a slacker he is.
Her Post-Break-Up-Behaviour: They’re as a bad as each other, but that doesn’t excuse Brooke from being a horrible ex-girlfriend.
Determining to live together, Brooke attempts to make life as difficult as possible for Gary – she gets him kicked off their bowling team and dates other men to make him see green.
