History Main / WickedStepmother

** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Alicent Hightower channels the energy of this trope as an older adult but is also a more nuanced examination of it. On the surface, she is bitter, spiteful, paranoid and petty towards her stepdaughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen. However, it is not so simple because her suspicions about Rhaenyra not telling her the truth are correct. She is increasingly unhappy and lovelorn in her relationship with Viserys, but is still devoted to him, fussing over him and bearing him four trueborn children. Meanwhile, her BestFriend (then stepdaughter) Rhaenyra has been lying to her, to her father, and to the realm constantly for ten years, bearing three obvious bastards and having the gall to insult everyone's intelligence by calling them legitimate Velaryons. When she brings the matter to her husband, he tells her essentially to shut up, never speak of it again, and that to do so would be treason. By the time she confides in Larys Strong that she wants — no, needs her father back as Hand of the King, it looks less like a Wicked Stepmother and more like a put-upon wife who [[CassandraTruth needs someone, anyone to believe her when she tells the truth]]. Even before that, her trust in Rhaenyra was shattered when they were both still young adults by discovering she had lied to her about trysts with Daemon Targaryen and Criston Cole, which makes Alicent less inclined to trust that Rhaenyra won't act to remove Alicent's children with Viserys (her half-siblings) as potential threats to her power if she ascends the throne.

** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Alicent Hightower channels the energy of this trope as an older adult but is also a more nuanced examination of it. On the surface, she is bitter, spiteful, paranoid and petty towards her stepdaughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen. However, it is not so simple because her suspicions about Rhaenyra not telling her the truth are correct. She is increasingly unhappy and lovelorn in her relationship with Viserys, but is still devoted to him, fussing over him and bearing him four trueborn children. Meanwhile, her BestFriend (then stepdaughter) Rhaenyra has been lying to her, to her father, and to the realm constantly for ten years, bearing three obvious bastards and having the gall to insult everyone's intelligence by calling them legitimate Velaryons. When she brings the matter to her husband, he tells her essentially to shut up, never speak of it again, and that to do so would be treason. By the time she confides in Larys Strong that she wants — no, needs her father back as Hand of the King, it looks less like a Wicked Stepmother and more like a put-upon wife who [[CassandraTruth needs someone, anyone to believe her when she tells the truth]]. Even before that, her trust in Rhaenyra was shattered when they were both still young adults by discovering she had lied to her about trysts with Daemon Targaryen and Criston Cole, which makes Alicent less inclined to trust that Rhaenyra won't act to remove Alicent's children (her half-siblings) as potential threats to her power if she ascends the throne.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': While not abusive, Catelyn Stark makes it pretty clear to Jon Snow, her husband's [[HeroicBastard son by another woman]], that she doesn't want him around. Ned conceived Jon as the result of adultery and brought him home as a baby to raise alongside his trueborn children, resulting in Catelyn's unhappiness with this situation and prompting her resentment of the kid.[[labelnote:From the books...]]Catelyn is also least slightly worried that he might have sons who would eventually contest her own grandchildren for the right to Winterfell, and thus strongly supports Jon's desire to join the Night's Watch, which would prevent this from happening. She fears Ned might have loved Jon's mother more than her -- remembering how Ned was adamant that he raise Jon at Winterfell himself alongside the children she had with him -- and this might be part of the reason why Ned loves Jon so. When she tries to ask about Jon's mother, Ned's reaction actually frightened her so much that she decided to drop the subject and wouldn't take her unhappiness about it out on him. In the third book, when she reflects on how fiercely protective Ned was of Jon, she again wonders about Jon's mother, wondering if Jon's mother prays for him just as she prays for Robb but resigns herself to never knowing who Jon's mother was.[[/labelnote]] Catelyn comes to regret her dislike of Jon after all the tragedy that befalls her, believing that it was karmic retribution for betraying the promise she made to love him, a bargain she made with the gods so that Jon would live when he became very ill as a baby. In the Season 6 finale, it's revealed that Catelyn wasn't so much Jon's wicked stepmother as his [[spoiler:wicked aunt; Lyanna Stark is Jon's mother and Ned is Jon's uncle. After Lyanna died following childbirth, Ned adopted his nephew Jon, raised and loved him as his own, and passed Jon off as his own illegitimate child to protect Jon from Robert Baratheon's wrath. Catelyn may have acted very differently if she'd known Jon was her nephew instead of a child her husband conceived with another woman as a result of infidelity; unfortunately, by the time the truth is known, Catelyn has already been killed.]]
** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Alicent Hightower channels the energy of this trope as an older adult but is also a more nuanced examination of it. On the surface, she is bitter, spiteful, paranoid and petty towards her stepdaughter. However, it is not so simple because her suspicions about Rhaenyra are correct. She is increasingly unhappy and lovelorn in her relationship with Viserys, but is still devoted to him, fussing over him and bearing him four trueborn children. Meanwhile, her BestFriend (then stepdaughter) Rhaenyra has been lying to her, to her father, and to the realm constantly for ten years, bearing three obvious bastards and having the gall to insult everyone's intelligence by calling them legitimate Velaryon. When she brings the matter to her husband, he tells her essentially to shut up, never speak of it again, and that to do so would be treason. By the time she confides in Larys Strong that she wants — no, needs her father back as Hand of the King, it looks less like a Wicked Stepmother and more like a put-upon wife who [[CassandraTruth needs someone, anyone to believe her when she tells the truth]].
* Tracy Quartermaine starts out as this to Lulu Spencer, even being called "Stepmonster" in ''Series/GeneralHospital'', but the trope is slowly subverted as the two get to know each other. Tracy even asked Lulu to be her maid of honour at her wedding to Luke, and Lulu told Tracy she was honoured to have Tracy as a stepmother.

The [[DisappearedDad father]] is seldom a factor. If not dead (which is common), he will nevertheless [[AdultsAreUseless never intervene]] on his child's behalf.

* Queen Ravenna in ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'' is Snow White's horrible stepmother.

** While they're technically foster mothers, Anne herself was raised by two different women after her parents died, and neither were described as particularly pleasant. Both kept Anne around as a child servant and it was heavily implied that they treated her even worse than Anne herself lets on. Anne says that these women did the best they could and life was hard on them, but Marilla is able to read between the lines enough to pity Anne and keep her as her ward.

* ''Literature/EllaEnchanted'', a retelling/send-up of "Literature/{{Cinderella}}", has Dame Olga.

* In ''Film/BackToTheFutureParII'', in the "Hell Valley" timeline, Biff is definitely one of these, very casually planning to kill Marty.

* In ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' 2, in the "Hell Valley" timeline, Biff is definitely one of these, very casually planning to kill Marty.

* Used in ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'''s season 3 arc about Stella's dad planning to marry an evil countess, who was evil even ''before'' she made the deal with Valtor. Quite a few fans complained about the show resorting to such an old chestnut, and the fact that the plot unfolded in an almost completely predictable (and uninteresting) manner didn't help matters either.

** Played with in the sequel, ''Film/Disenchanted2022''. Giselle, homesick of Andalasia and hurt by the hardships of her new world, decides to wish for a "fairy tale-life", turning her suburb of Monroeville into the fantasy land of Monroelasia. But one thing she did not think about was her new position as Morgan's step-mother: much to her horror, her wish slowly turns her into a fairy tale wicked stepmother. The four "steps" to becoming a wicked stepmother are even explicitly listed as the four new traits Giselle obtains: wickedness, vanity, cruelty and ambition.

* ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'': Maria's rival Baroness Ilse is clearly aiming to be a Wicked Stepmother; she's already planning to pack the children OffToBoardingSchool. But it's subverted near the end, when the Baroness pulls an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, willingly ending her engagement with Captain von Trapp after he realized that he loved Maria.

* Hinted at, though not played at all straight, with Gayle in ''Film/SaveMe''. She isn't literally the stepmother of the men at Genesis House (if anything, she's more like a foster mother, since many of them are there because their families have insisted on sending them or straight-up won't have them in the house), and she's certainly much more sympathetic than most examples of this trope, to the point where she's nearly a deconstruction. But the fact remains that she doesn't treat the men at all equally -- Mark, who reminds her of her dead son, is a favorite from day one, whereas she never likes or trusts Scott despite the fact that he goes out of his way to be honest with her and puts as much effort into the program as anybody.

* Played with and zigzagged in "Literature/IKnowThisMuchIsTrue" Ray, Dominick's stepfather is stern and even physically abusive. He is very much seen as the evil villain ruining their family while Dominick is a child. But towards the end of the book, when Dominick is in his forties, he actually comes to begrudgingly appreciate Ray for supporting and Raising two kids that aren't his. Even as an adult, after his mother has died, Ray continues to be there for him when he really needs help.

** Catelyn Stark, otherwise the definitive example of a MamaBear, does not have a good relationship with her husband's illegitimate son, Jon Snow. However, she treated him very well by the standards of her society, where other women are noted not to even tolerate the presence of their husband's illegitimate children in their own homes. She does not prevent Jon Snow from having any of the comforts of noble life, and does not interfere in any of his relationships. However, when her son, Bran, is comatose and she is extremely sleep deprived after tending all alone to him for weeks, her relationship with Jon takes a turn for the worse, with her wishing that [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead he had fallen off Winterfell's tower instead of her biological son Bran]]. But it's easy to see where that resentment came from. When Catelyn was a teenager, all alone with her new husband, a total stranger to her, in the North, where she knew nobody else, she asked him about the identity of Jon's mother. Ned Stark reacted violently to her simple, reasonable question, and scared her into silence. In Westeros, bastards are not normally used to be raised in a castle with their biological parents and half-siblings, so Cat's SilentTreatment is an improvement.

* Played with in ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' where a corporate robber was so desperate for an emotional connection that he falls in love with a teenage girl claiming that her stepfather was abusing her. What the robber didn't know was that the [[GuyInRealLife "girl"]] was actually a teenage boy altering his voice and wanted his stepfather dead. But from what was seen, the stepfather at worst was neglectful due to his work.

Psychologists hypothesize that she is an ArchetypalCharacter, devised by children to contain all the hate they have for their mothers so they can continue to regard Mother as perfect. Some historians, meanwhile, believe that the trope has didactic roots and that it was developed as a way of warning children against potentially untrustworthy suitors that might try to [[GoldDigger court their widowed parents for their wealth]] or their nobility; indeed, DeathByChildbirth was common in the Middle Ages, leading to many children of the period being raised by stepmothers.

* Played with in ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen''. When the father of the young Duke of Elath dies, Elodie determines whether the boy goes to live with his stepmother, the Duchess of Lillah (who is implicated to have had a hand in the deaths of a number of people, including a previous stepson), or with his grandfather. The Duchess of Lillah wants custody of her stepson [[spoiler:because she has a better chance of keeping alive than his grandfather does]]. And while it turns out that she ''did'' arrange for the death of her previous stepson, [[DepravedHomosexual he had]] [[SerialKiller it coming]]. Meanwhile, her previous husband, Jael counts as a Wicked Stepfather, [[spoiler:[[ParentalIncest given what he did to her son]]]]. She also arranged for his death.

* Kanoko Saimori from ''Literature/MyHappyMarriage'' despises Sumi Saimori for getting an arranged marriage with the man she loved, and thus seems to have made it her life's goal as Shinichi's second wife to ruin the life of Hana's daugher, Miyo. She reduces Miyo to a lowly servant and destroys everything Sumi owned just to deprive Miyo, and encourages her own daughter, Kaya, to also abuse Miyo. Even the arranged marriage to Kiyoka Kudou -- though it improves Miyo's life -- was cooked up by her and Shinichi as the final way to wash their hands of her, as they assumed Kiyoka's rumored reputation as a {{Jerkass}} meant he would throw Miyo out of his home without them losing face.

* Kanoko Saimori from ''Literature/MyHappyMarriage'' despises Hana Saimori for getting an arranged marriage with the man she loved, and thus seems to have made it her life's goal as Shinichi's second wife to ruin the life of Hana's daugher, Miyo. She reduces Miyo to a lowly servant and destroys everything Hana owned just to deprive Miyo, and encourages her own daughter, Kaya, to also abuse Miyo. Even the arranged marriage to Kiyoka Kudou -- though it improves Miyo's life -- was cooked up by her and Shinichi as the final way to wash their hands of her, as they assumed Kiyoka's rumored reputation as a {{Jerkass}} meant he would throw Miyo out of his home without them losing face.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}.'' Bean's mother, Queen Dagmar, died when she was a kid, and her father is now in a loveless political marriage with Oona. She's less "wicked" than [[TheComicallySerious austere]] and [[BizarreAlienBiology weird]], but Bean thinks that her father favors his "new family" over her. This trope really comes into play with the season one finale, when [[spoiler:Dagmar [[BackFromTheDead gets revived]] and comes in conflict with Oona, who is pissed at being replaced. It seems like Oona is plotting against the rest of the family, only for it to be revealed that Dagmar was EvilAllAlong and Oona's the good guy]].

The Wicked Stepmother, the woman hostile to her stepchildren, is a perennial trope. OlderThanFeudalism, she appears constantly in legends and folklore around the world and is the villain of many a {{Fairy Tale}}.

Psychologists hypothesize that she is an ArchetypalCharacter, devised by children to contain all the hate they have for their mothers so they can continue to regard Mother as perfect. Some historians, meanwhile, believe that the trope has didactic roots and that it was developed as a way of warning children against potentially untrustworthy suitors that might try to court their widowed parents for their wealth or their nobility; indeed, DeathByChildbirth was extremely common in the Middle Ages, leading to many children of the period being raised by stepmothers.

* ''Manga/IbitteKonaiGiboToGishi'': Miya's stepmother Teru Kozo ''looks'' the part of the wicked stepmother. She frequently shows up with a stern expression and her daughters, both biological and otherwise, fear incurring her wrath. When it comes to ''acting'' the part, however, she is frequently shown to be a strict but loving parent. When Miya works up the nerve to call Teru "Mother", Teru very firmly tells her to not do so, as Miya apologizes for offending her, Teru explains that Miya shouldn't call anyone else "mother" except her late biological mother. She then goes on to say she has no objection to being called "Mommy".

** Persephone. Little bit different in that Nico is the result of her husband having an affair with a mortal, as gods do, but Nico claims that she hates him. He can still use seeds from her garden to prolong his life in a "death trance", though. Persephone herself finally gives her own perspective in ''The Sun and the Star,'' saying that she found Nico hard to look at because he was a living reminder of her husband's betrayal, but that she's come to appreciate him over time, and recognizes she hasn't treated him as he deserves. However, she doesn't tell ''Nico'' any of this; she's counseling his boyfriend to help him in their relationship, but she asks Will to keep the whole thing between them.

** Persephone. Little bit different in that Nico is the result of her husband having an affair with a mortal, as gods do, but Nico claims that she hates him. He can still use seeds from her garden to prolong his life in a "death trance", though.

** In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/aulnoy/1892/gracieuse.html Graciosa and Percinet]]", Graciosa's stepmother Grognon repeatedly tries to get rid of her, has her beaten, and even imprisons her. Percinet rescues Graciosa from Grognon's repeated attempts on her.

*** A straighter example from the same game would be the stepmother of [[DownloadableContent DLC character]] [[BoisterousBruiser Balthus]]. After his father remarried, his stepmother went to great lengths to ensure that her son would be named heir of the house and a lot of Balthus’s problems are because of her. Despite the fact that Balthus himself feels that his half-brother makes a better heir and that nobility life doesn’t suit him, she continues to target him out of paranoia that one day he’ll return and try to take his place in the house back. Balthus, for his part, chooses to accept being the target of her wrath (albeit on the run) out of fear that she’ll end up turning her attention toward his mother (and by extension the HiddenElfVillage she came from), his father, or even his half-brother otherwise.

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': Zora is the official wife of Leon's father Balcus, while Leon's mother Luce is TheMistress. Zola is a mix of BadBoss and this, as Balcus is a HenPeckedHusband and only married to her because [[MarriageOfConvenience he needs to be for political reasons]]. Zola hates men and both abuses and [[GoldDigger bleeds dry]] her husband, favoring her own children, Rutart and Merce, who are actually a case of BastardBastard, since they're the result of an affair, but are first in line of succession anyway. [[spoiler:After Zola accidentally admits to her children being bastards, Balcus uses that as an excuse to divorce her, disown her children, and get RemarriedToTheMistress.]]

* Inverted in Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Snow. Glass. Apples''; here, Snow White is a vampire whom the {{good stepmother}} tries and fails to defeat while protecting the kingdom.

* The ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode ''Jack Frost'' is based on a Russian legend of a Cinderella-esque girl who must endure abuse from her standard-issue FairyTale Wicked Stepmother and stepsister. The girl's father is alive but is so browbeaten that he doesn't object even when told to dump his daughter in the forest in the middle of winter.
-->'''Ivan:''' Oh my, you must have a ''very'' wicked stepmother!\\
'''Servo!Nastenka:''' Yep, standard issue.
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'':

* On ''Port Charles'', Caleb Morley was tricked and turned into a vampire by his stepmother (whom he had actually trusted, which is why his father used her).

* Played with on ''Series/{{Revenge}}''- although not technically Amanda's stepmother, Victoria was deeply in love with Amanda's father, David, and planning to run away with him to start a life together. She instead frames him for terrorism and institutionalizes Amanda to protect her own interests. When Amanda returns to the Hamptons as Emily, Victoria forms an antagonistic and abusive relationship with her almost-stepchild, believing her to merely be her almost-daughter-in-law.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' did an episode called ''Bedtime Stories'' that involved the Winchester brothers investigating a series of murders that resembled fairy tales. Fittingly, the spirit causing the murders was that of a comatose girl who'd been poisoned by her stepmother.
* GenderInverted in ''Series/PlanetEarthDynasties''. Because one of Charm's older cubs is too young to breed, the new males have no need for her and consider her just a useless mouth to feed. They kick her out, with the only other option being death. They eventually kick out all cubs, leaving only Charm and her adult daughter Yaya.

* In ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Oswald Cobblepot finds his biological father, Elijah Van Dahl, soon after losing his mother. The step-family is... less than friendly towards him. (Not helped by the fact that his treatment in Arkham Asylum made him seem... [[AmbiguousDisorder special.]]) [[spoiler: It's later revealed that they are only after his inheritance, and since Oswald is Elijah's only real child, they (correctly) believe he is going to leave everything to Oswald. They try to get rid of him by revealing his past as a criminal (Oswald already told him ''willingly''), and Elijah's only reaction is that Oswald [[InsultBackfire was too modest about himself.]] Then they try to poison Oswald's drink... and Elijah drinks it instead. After the funeral, they decide to keep him as a maid, and plan to later fake his "suicide". This ends up destroying them, as Oswald finds the poison, snaps out of his brainwashing, murders and [[FamilialCannibalismSurprise cooks his step-siblings, feeds them to his stepmom]], and finally stabs her to death with a kitchen knife.]]

* Bart's teacher, Edna Krabappell, was dating Ned Flanders in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Not liking the idea of having her as a neighbor, Bart tried to make Ned's sons, Rodd and Todd, afraid she'd be a Wicked Stepmother who'd force them to do all the household chores. It backfired because Rodd and Todd enjoy doing them.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'''s TV movie "Is It Fall Yet?," [[TheSnarkKnight Daria]], having been forced to work at a summer day camp, mentors a MouthyKid named Link. At one point he quips that his mother "threw his father out for being a jerk, and then went and married a ''bigger'' one." We never actually see any of the adults involved, though.