11 Soap Opera Villains Ranked From Worst To Best

Dorathy Gass

August 16, 2017

Source: Days of Our Lives Wikia

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Good versus evil is a compelling story that is told time and time again within movies, primetime television, and of course daytime drama! In fact, villains battling heroes is an over-arching theme for soap operas in general. As fans of soaps, we sure do love the good guys, but they would be nothing without the bad guys they rival. As such, below is list of eleven popular soap opera villains ranked from worst to best.

11. DOOL’s Sami Brady

Currently a heroine on the show, Days of Our Lives (DOOL) Sami Brady didn’t always sit on Team Good in Salem. As a teenager and in her early twenties she lied, cheated, schemed, and did a lot of terrible things to her family. She despised her sister Carrie and tried to ruin her super couple status with Austin Reed. She even sold her little half-sister Belle Black on the black market at one point in time. Sami hits this villains’ list on the low end of the spectrum because she’s more than redeemed herself over the years, but she was a DOOL villainess to be reckoned with back in the day.

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10. GH’s Lucy Coe

Much like Sami Brady, General Hospital’s (GH) Lucy Coe was once Port Charles’ resident bad girl and was thought to be a gold digger of sorts. She seduced the boyfriends and husbands of other women and schemed many a plot in her early years. Thanks to BFF Dominque Stanton, Lucy cleaned up her image and started on a better path. Her relationship with Kevin Collins would solidify her heroine status on the show and the Lucy character does more good than bad these days on GH.

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9. Y&R’s Victor Newman

The Young and the Restless’ (Y&R) Victor Newman is a dynamic character. He’s absolutely one of the top villains on the show; however, he is multi-dimensional. He’s done some terrible things to enemies and his family over the years, but he’s also got a big heart as well. While Y&R fans can hate him at times, there is also a level of respect for Victor. After all, he’s built an empire over the years after coming from nothing, and his soft spot for his grandchildren (as well as wife Nikki) is always an endearing thing to watch.

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8. DOOL’s Victor Kiriakis

Speaking of Victor, DOOL’s Victor Kiriakis is much like Newman — he’s rich, powerful, self-made, and loves his family too. However, much like the Y&R’s Victor, he’s controlling, manipulative, a shrewd businessman, and has plotted over-the-top schemes against enemies that might not have been needed. Victor Kiriakis is a villain with a heart of gold, and a man that has changed a smudge over the years thanks to his family and his wife, Maggie Horton.

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7. GH’s Liesl Obrecht

She’s helped Cesar Faison with plots against Anna Devane over the years and assisted Helena Cassadine when she murdered Katherine Bell. Dr. Liesl Obrecht has been standing alone as of late, as the resident villainess in Port Charles by plotting against Finn Hamilton. She’s been a sidekick villain for years and it is certainly nice to see Obrecht stand out on her own right now when it comes to ruining people’s lives.

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6. Y&R/B&B’s Deacon Sharpe

Handsome and charming, this villain of the Y&R and Bold and the Beautiful (B&B) is also manipulative, conniving, and an overall terrible man. Deacon Sharpe has blackmailed individuals, manipulated them out of money, kidnapped people, and drugged some of our favorite B&B and Y&R characters all for his own advancement.

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5. DOOL’s Vivian Alamain

Involved in one of the most infamous storylines DOOL has ever rolled out, fans still talk about that time Vivian Alamain tried to bury alive not one, but two women in Salem. Of course, one was done in the 1990s and the other in the 2000s, but manipulative Vivian was still able to pull both schemes off. Thankfully, for Carly Manning and Maggie Horton’s sake, Alamain was not successful with the burials and they were saved. She hits the midsection of this list for not only coming up with the idea of burying people alive, but for so many other manipulative schemes as well.

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4. GH’s Helena Cassadine

Helena Cassadine is one of those over-the-top soap villainesses, who has executed some crazy schemes in the past. From kidnapping, to murder to getting people hauled off to mental institutions, Cassadine has done it all with the aforementioned activities mainly targeted at family members. Her rivalry with Spencers has produced a ton of drama and turmoil for this family, and Helena not only tortured them while she was alive, but she still torments them from beyond the grave.

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3. GH’s Cesar Faison

Another incredible GH villain that needs to be mentioned on this list is Cesar Faison. He’s lied, kidnapped, killed and so much more! All in the name of love. Sadly, his obsession with Anna Devane has caused him to do some terrible things to the smart and beautiful super spy over the years. Still, while he is an awful man, Port Charles seems boring without him. With his eccentric ways and that awesome accident, Faison is a villain soap fans simply love to watch onscreen.

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2. Y&R/B&B’s Sheila Carter

Torturing the residents of both Genoa City and the fashion world in Los Angeles, Sheila Carter takes the cake when it comes to soap opera villainesses. She’s stolen babies, blackmailed people, drugged individuals, attempted murder, and has no issue attacking people out of the blue if it fits her agenda. Her main target has always been the Y&R’s Lauren Fenmore, but Carter also doesn’t mind torturing the Forresters now and again as well. While soap fans hate Sheila, there is no denying, she makes life on the Y&R and B&B far more interesting when she shows up.

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1. DOOL’s Stefano DiMera

Any surprise that Days Stefano DiMera has landed at number one on this list? Soap and non-soap fans alike are far too familiar with DiMera’s dastardly schemes. He’s pretty much done anything and everything that each one of the other villains on the list have accomplished, and he’s done it with ease. Yes, he’s tortured Salem residents for decades, has nine lives, and 90 percent of all evil-doings in the little town can be somehow traced back to him. Fans miss DiMera and his terrible ways (and charming accent) on DOOL, and Salem isn’t the same without their public enemy number one.