Oftentimes, to be a strong female lead goes hand in hand with being a total crazy bitch. But then, the Buttercups of the world (Princess Bride, 1987) will never be the ones to gatecrash a wild party or get the best designer coat in the 5am sale. Here are five such crazy ladies who I’d quite like to hang out with over a bottle of wine- albeit in some cases whilst wearing a bullet-proof vest…

Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind (1939)

Ahh, Gone with the Wind. Famous for deep- south drama long before Dallas was born, and the best break-up line ever: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”. If you haven’t seen Gone With the Wind, you must. Next time you have 3 hours and 44 minutes to spare, that is.

She’s manipulative, she’s a tease, she cries for most of the film, she has a ridiculous hat collection, but you’ve got to admire Scarlett’s stamina. Not many 19th century women could go through losing their first love to incest, losing their child in a freak pony-club accident, and not to mention a big fat civil war… But in true diva form, one of the top worries for Scarlett O’ Hara is the disgrace of going from “an 18 inch waist to a 20” after giving birth.

Ok, so by the end of the film I just wanted to give Scarlett a good slap around the face and a “pull yourself together!” but, just as winter turns to spring and memories of university essay tears are erased by nostalgia, I learned to love and respect this crazy bitch once again. She knows what she wants, will kill Union deserters in order to get it, and is left completely alone at the end of it all, ready to fight another day. God knows, if I were her I would have ended it all a long time ago, but she is the ultimate man-using feminist: even refusing to have any more children (heaven forbid she should reach a 22 inch waist.)

Bonnie Parker from Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

A mysterious man interrupts Bonnie Parker’s daily commute by attempting to steal her mum’s car and tell her all about how many men he’s killed. What does Bonnie do? Runs away with him on a mad bank-robbing, killing spree, of course! Did she not listen to anything her mother taught her about strange men with facial hair? Hats off to her, anyway. If I lived in the tiniest wee tumble-town in Texas, I’d probably choose motels and murder, too. The best part of it all is that these characters actually existed.

The difference between me and Bonnie however, is that I watched this film 100% convinced that Clyde would eventually turn out to be gay. It seems that a young gal’s gay-dar tended not to be so evolved back in the day. For me this could be the most important reason why their dramatic slow-mo, air-rifle end was so perfectly romantic: Bonnie need never come home from the grocery store 25 years later to find Clyde in her very best pantaloons, straddling their accomplice, C.W. Moss.

Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate (1967)

“Would you like me to seduce you?”

She’s the original MILF and the most terrifyingly exciting neighbour a vulnerable young graduate boy could ask for. She’s pretty twisted as she attempts to separate Ben from her daughter by marrying “Elaaaaiiine!” off to the slimy Carl, but hell, she’s a woman scorned. I hope I’m just a little bit like her when I’m in my 40’s.

Nina Sayers from Black Swan (2010)

“For me… this is happiness. It’s being with you” says Julie Gianni just before breaks into psychotic, hysterical laughter and drives them off a bridge.

If I were Julie’s BBF I would sit her down and make her take a good hard look at herself. No, Julie, you are not happy- you are being used by Tom Cruise and he may be charming but he’s WAY shorter than you and definitly in love with someone else. Move on. No endless voicemails, no waiting for him outside his house and no driving cars off bridges. Write a song about it, maybe cut up some photos in a drunken rage and then get a great haircut and Move On.