Top 10 Teen Movie Characters with Main Character Energy

“She's the Man” (2006)
“She’s the Man” is about a girl who pretends to be her brother Sebastian in a bid to play soccer at his fancy boarding school. No, that girl is not Monique Valentine – it’s Viola Hastings. So who is Monique? To simplify, she’s a vain, super snooty side character who dates Sebastian for a time, until Viola (posing as him) hilariously ends things. You could describe the film without ever mentioning her, and all the important bits would still come through. But to qualify for having main character syndrome, a person doesn’t necessarily need to be relevant, they just have to believe they are. And if you ventured into Monique’s mind, you’d definitely find that she believes she’s the prettiest, most important person around.

“John Tucker Must Die” (2006)
A lot of the time, young female characters are the ones written to exude obvious main character energy. We don’t have time to unpack the not-so-great implications of that, but we will say that boys aren’t immune to the syndrome! John Tucker is the perfect example. He’s attractive, but thinks that gives him permission to walk around like he’s hot you know what! After all, it takes a serious level of self-involvement to think you can not only date multiple people at once, but get away with it. Talk about arrogance and toxic masculinity at their finest! Needless to say, the girls at the center of the story give him an important and much-needed lesson in humility.

“Easy A” (2010)
The leader of her school’s Christian club, Marianne is about as holier-than-thou as they come, taking it upon herself to rescue protagonist Olive Penderghast. Nevermind the fact that Olive doesn’t need saving — Marianne thinks she knows best. She hides behind faith, but it’s arguably pretty transparent and boastful (and okay, kinda funny). But spreading gossip and actively campaigning against her sure seems judgey to us. As you can imagine, the school’s resident savior also deals with a lot of drama herself, and therefore seems to mellow out slightly at the end. But for most of the movie, she stirs up drama and loudly inserts herself into a story that isn’t hers.

“13 Going on 30” (2004)
We all know the stereotypical, popular yet evil queen bee. Most teen movies have one, and they’re often self-absorbed, vicious, and generally terrible. In other words, they represent textbook cases of main character syndrome. Lucy “Tom-Tom” Wyman is no exception. For starters, she completely humiliates Jenna at her 13th birthday party, pretending to be her friend only to turn around and leave her hanging. And if you were hoping she’d grow out of it and become an honest, kind adult? Well, sorry, but no such luck. At thirty, Lucy is essentially the same selfish person, just post-puberty. Once a basic mean girl, always a basic mean girl? You decide, but this kind of energy is not what we want protagonists around — it’s a horrible influence!

“Clueless” (1995)
In life (or in this case, teen movies), there are main characters, and those who wish they were main characters. Cher Horowitz, for instance, falls firmly into the former category. She’s fun, stylish, has great catchphrases, and yes, makes a few messes. Most importantly though, her heart is in the right place. Amber Mariens, on the other hand, belongs in the latter group. Don’t get us wrong, she’s stylish too. But she comes across somewhat pampered and desperate, like she’s trying and failing to be everything Cher effortlessly is. She’s mean and kind of vapid, yet thinks rather highly of herself and acts like an it girl. Honestly, Cher sums up Amber’s whole vibe better than we ever could.

“A Cinderella Story” (2004)
When you combine a “Cinderella”-esque evil stepmom with blatant narcissism, you get someone with major main character syndrome. More specifically, you get Fiona. She’s obsessed with making sure her life is as privileged as possible, and severely mistreats her step-daughter, protagonist Sam, to make it happen. She constantly puts our heroine down, going so far as to create a fake Princeton University rejection letter! Oh, and there’s the whole pretending not to know about her dead husband’s will thing. Thank goodness Jennifer Coolidge makes the character entertaining and fun to watch, because yikes! Fiona isn’t the only villain in “A Cinderella Story” who thinks she’s at the center of it all. But she is hands down the most toxic one.

“Heathers” (1989)
Using a supposed friend’s (we use that term loosely) passing as an opportunity for social climbing is low. But Heather Duke wants to be the main girl, and she’s not going to let the chance pass her by. To be fair, the sociopathic J.D. is arguably the real villain, and he certainly influences her after Heather Chandler’s death. But that doesn’t change the fact that Duke is fundamentally egotistical and ruthless. Just consider the way she treats Heather McNamara and Martha! Then there’s the way she makes red — Chandler’s color — her new signature shade. If she took a short break from her power trip, maybe she’d realize how off things around her are. Sadly, those with main character syndrome rarely see past their own reflections.

“Cruel Intentions” (1999)
The movie is called “Cruel Intentions”, and we’re not exaggerating when we say that nobody’s intentions are crueler than Kathryn’s. She thinks she’s better than everyone else, treating the world like a chess game and acting as though she’s the master. There’s no person she won’t hurt, and no situation she won’t manipulate, as long as it serves her. Even her step-brother Sebastian, who’s initially her partner in crime, isn’t safe from her scheming, destructive ways. Ultimately, he ends up paying the biggest price of all, losing his life as a result of her lies and misdeeds. Her two-faced, condescending nature makes watching her downfall at the hands of Annette, the real main character who’s basically her polar opposite, extra satisfying.

“High School Musical” franchise (2006-11)
It's Sharpay Evans' world and we're all just living in it. She wouldn’t have it any other way. If you ask her, we bet she’d say she’s the hero of the “HSM” franchise! But Sharpay does some questionable things, from manipulation to straight up sabotage, in an attempt to become the female lead. If that’s not main character energy, what is?! The thing is though, she has star power and she knows it! So she’ll be darned if she lets anyone stand between her and fame. If you need more proof, check out “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure,” where she finally is the protagonist. When someone is this talented and fabulous, they find ways to steal the show whether you like it or not!

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

She Does NOT Want to Share the Spotlight

A Mean Girl in Need of a Major Reality Check

She Sure Gives Protagonist Lola a Run for Her Money

The Leader of the Pink Ladies Knows Exactly Who She Is

She’s Not All That, but She Sure Thinks She Is!

“Mean Girls” (2004)
No teen queen bee exudes quite as much main character energy as Regina George. It’s why we love to hate her! She starts out as the conceited, calculating leader of the Plastics clique, and you can bet she acts like the world revolves around her. A trendsetter who runs the show, Regina bosses everyone around, and does so in a distinctly over the top way. How many people do you know who enforce a lunch table dress code, but expect to be given a pass when they break the rules?! The antagonist is scary yet alluring and fully uses that for personal gain, causing chaos and harm in the process. Someone get us a Burn Book and a picture of Regina, STAT – we have words!