12 Assorted Actresses and Other Things Who Have Played Marie Antoinette

Possibly the most famous movie about Marie Antoinette, this 1938 film starred Norma Shearer in an Oscar-nominated performance. Alas, she lost out to Bette Davis in Jezebel. Maybe trying to play a 15-year-old as a 32-year-old had something to do with it?

This is probably the pop culture incarnation of Marie you’re most familiar with: Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola’s stylized interpretation. The French government granted special permission for the crew to film in the actual Palace of Versaille. Swanky.

And for this performance of Gone with the Wind, the role of Marie Antoinette will be played by the combined efforts of Scarlet O’Hara’s Bedroom Wall and that gigantic portrait hanging from it.

Alas, The Affair of the Necklace wasn’t well-received—the New York Times compared it to an episode of Blackadder, which isn’t quite what you want if you’re trying to make a drama—but gee, it sure does look pretty, doesn’t it?

Currently in post-production, Farewell, My Queen will take yet another look at Marie Antoinette during the final days of French Revolution. Interestingly, Eva Green was originally cast in the role; when she had to drop out, Diane Kruger came in to replace her.

Ah, Wednesday. Such a disarming little thing. She calls her headless doll Marie Antoinette. True story.

Mmm. Parody. And what better subject to use for a parody than the woman who may or may not have uttered the phrase “Let them eat cake”? Alas, I couldn’t find an image of her as Marie, so here she is in the form with which you’re probably most familiar: Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter. But speaking of cake…

A 1999 sitcom created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders of Absolutely Fabulous, Let Them Eat Cake took place seven years before the French Revolution. Elizabeth Berrington played Marie as depicted here. Caricature? I think so.

Remember that moment in the fourth season when Katherine showed up at Bob and Lee’s Halloween party as Marie Antoinette, only to have them remark at how appropriate it was for her to dress up as “a self-important queen who lost all her power”? Good times.

Marie Antoinette appears to be a popular role for headless dolls to play, because Buzz Lightyear got to take tea with one during the first Toy Story movie.

Did you know Jane Seymour played Marie Antoinette? Neither did I. But she did, in 1989. And apparently she did it in both French and English. Impressive.

Scarlet O’Hara isn’t the only girl to have hung Marie Antoinette on her bedroom wall; Blair followed suit some time later. So: Scarlet = Blair? Discuss.