Here are the best of the worst. This is the top six best telenovela villainesses and their karmic punishment. From having a face off against our heroes to trying to break relationships and stealing someone’s lover (you will see that on this list,) these characters are despised, hated, feared and to some, the most exciting characters on the show. Everyone who is a mega Telenovela fan can find these hidden gems on Hulu, Netflix, or even YouTube. So get ready to see these damsels of doom! 

1. Paola Bracho “La Usurpadora” (1998)

Let’s kick this list off with a very evil twin who will stop at nothing – even if that means ruining her long-lost sister’s life. 

Paola Bracho is that one sister who would blackmail you into taking over her life and all the responsibility of a broken marriage, which she actually did to her twin sister Paulina. Gabriela Spanic played the dual role of the twin sisters, making Paola the vixen that made the show so good. 

Her cruelty to her husband, his mother and her own children is something that is harsh and cruel. She disregards everything that doesn’t involve her. She craves  money, parties and men. She has a handsome husband who tries to make the company and his marriage work, but to no avail. She only married him for the money. 

She chases after everything that looks good to her; that she has got to get her hands on. But her cruelty caught up to her and crashed into a fiery death. She is the wife from hell and one hell of a terrible sister. But we can say one thing about her, she is one of the best. That’s why she is number one on this list, whether we like it or not.

2. Malvina del Olm “Maria Mercedes” (1992-1993) 

The great Laura Zapata is so known for playing some great villains in her career that I could make a list out of them (stay tuned,) but her number one villainess is the wicked Malvina del Olmo from “Maria Mercedes.” 

She’s a woman who will force her own son to marry a woman he doesn’t love just to collect insurance money from her dead brother, from whom she ended up killing to get the money and still failed. 

She was the spike in everyones’ nerves when she came on the screen. The way she talks down to our heroine Maria was enough for her to give her “the hand” one good time. 

Malvina was so cruel to Maria to the point of causing Maria to be sent to an asylum, making her sick, and trying to hire someone to kill her. 

Malvina went to the very gutter to hurt Maria by calling her son’s ex to make up a plan to get pregnant and spring it on him, just to hurt his new wife. Only Zapata could make a character that cunning and make it look so easy.

Fun Fact: Maria Mercedes is played by the pop star Thalía, who is actually Zapata’s half sister! 

3. Rubi Perez “Rubi” (2004)

No, I’m not talking about the lame 2014 remake of “Rubi.” I’m talking about The 2004 Version of “Rubi,” starring the beautiful Barbara Mori as the gorgeous, but dangerous, Rubi Perez. 

Where should I start with this seductress? She was cold as she was beautiful, she only wanted wealth and the finer things in life, and she would break any man’s heart to get it.

She even stole her friend Mabel’s wealthy fiancé, Héctor Ferrer, on her wedding day. This left Mabel at the altar, while Hector and Rubi lived it up in Cancun and eloped, while her family was left to pick up her mess.

Her desire to be part of the elite caused her family to abandon her completely. But she didn’t care, she lived up even after her husband died behind the wheel of his sports car. I could count that as karma for what he did to Mabel. But I digress. But karma struck yet again in the biggest way yet. Rubi’s late Husband left her with nothing in the bank account and his stock went down.

But that is nothing compared to having to be kicked out of your mansion and to have Alejandro hating you now. Only after his first wife, who died by falling through a glass floor. So how would Rubi meet her doom? By falling off the stair rails and plummeting through a glass table on the way down, which resulted in her leg being amputated and her beautiful face looking like Freddy Kruger.

Rubi is just too cruel to be so beautiful. I guess the term “Evil girls with pretty faces” is used as an example for her, but there is another woman that is quite similar to her.

4. Teresa Chavez “Teresa” (2010)

Yep, I went there when I added her to this list. She is cold and she is devastatingly beautiful and she got everything at the end, and I do mean everything. Ok, so I’m going to come on out and say it, Teresa is much better than Rubi! Shocking? Not really. But here’s why I said what I said. 

You see, Teresa had a good reason as to why she was a villain. But not in a bad light. She was bullied by her peers when she was in college and she had to lie to fit in. So all of those issues, plus not having money to get out of poverty, were enough to make her use her brain and look to get out of a tough situation. Yes, she tormented anyone who would stand in her way to become a millionaire. Even if that means working for a college teacher named Arturo de la Barrera.

I could put her rival Aída Cáceres Azuela on this list since she was considered to be a villainess. But Teresa was using her brain and looks to get back at her in a  big way. Plus, that’s picking low fruit putting her on this list. Her karma was okay. 

But I guess karma took its time on Teresa or just ignored the rest. At least she didn’t fall off the stairs and crash through a glass table, but Teresa lost. Her father died, her family disowned her and she lost the one man that truly loved her. In the end, she learned her lesson and found love.

Actually, There were two different endings to “Teresa.” One was that she lost everything and had to start over and was up to her old tricks again. Two she was shot and killed by her former boyfriend, who lost his true love and caused his mom to go to the hospital. I guess both ending to the series was good, if you asked the producers.

5. Maria Paula “Lazos de Amor” (1995)

We have another case of a very bad twin and a spoiled rich girl on this list. But this time we have triplets, and one of the young ladies is a cold hearted snake. She is very selfish, but sly with her tactics of getting what she wants when she wants it. Actress and singer Lucero had to double do it, or in this case, triple the duty of what one actress can do. 

She had to play three sisters, whose personalities are unique. But her role as Maria Paula is the very best of it all. She abused and mistreated her sister María Fernanda (also played by Lucero,) who is a sweet and innocent young lady. What makes it worse is that Fernanda is blind because of a terrible accident. 

But does that stop her from bullying her young sister and trying to kill her off, because she felt threatened? Nope. Does that stop her from trying to destroy her other sister María Guadalupe’s relationship with her grandmother, and trying to brainwash her into believing they are not related? Hell no. Does she care? Absolutely not! I could say that karma got to her at the end.

But the ending to this telenovela was so shocking and controversial when it was released, it’s still up to debate. You would have to see it first to believe it. It’s amazing.

6. Angélica Santibañez “Marimar” (1994)

Chantal Andere played Angélica Santibáñez in “Marimar” with such venom and spite that you almost want to see her fail anytime you see her. Angelica was nothing more than a mean girl to the worst kind. She burned down a hut with a nice eldery couple in it and made their granddaughter, Marimar, played by Thalía, pick up a bracelet from the mud with her teeth like a dog. 

Then, as if things couldn’t get worse, she framed Marimar for the arson and caused her to go to prison while she snatched up her husband Sergio Santibáñez, played by Eduardo Capetillo, and then got pregnant with his child. That is the lowest level of petty. 

But Marimar bounced back and gave Angelica a nice taste of her own medicine. Angelica was very smug with her tactic and was not sorry about her action. She looked down on anyone whose bank account has less in it than her. But karma checks in and everything goes down in flames, and we do mean in flames. She was stripped of wealth and was left with nothing.  

All in all, Andere’s role as Angélica was nothing but mean, rude, snotty and downright bullish. It was one of her best known roles. Even this telenovela is unknown to Telenovela’s fans. But if you have time to watch this show, this villain is worth the watch and her downfall is spectacular.