Ranking The Top 10 Soap Opera Villains Of Color Of All Time
From left to right: Sindi Dlathu, Lisa Yamada, and Navin Chowdhry
Villains in television, and especially soap operas, play an important role in presenting a compelling story that draws viewers in. A strong cast and characters are what keep audiences interested week after week or day after day, and heroes must overcome obstacles. Villains serve as foils to the main characters, and television would be somewhat boring without them.
Similarly, villains need to be complex and mysterious. The best villains are fully realized, three-dimensional characters with a motivation for their antagonistic ways. Sometimes their motivations make audiences feel sorry for them, at which point a villain transforms into an anti-hero. An even more intriguing situation occurs when a character who was once a hero becomes a villain as a result of events that change their behavior.
In the nearly 100 years since soap operas began airing, villains of color have gradually made their way on screen. This is crucial because it depicts characters of color as multifaceted and three-dimensional people, rather than the “token Black character.” Morality is a tricky concept, and most people aren’t entirely good or bad; they’re shades of grey. Therefore, having villains of color in soap operas is essential for portraying people of color as diverse and interesting characters. Some significant villains of color on soap operas include Marshall Travers (Lamman Rucker, As the World Turns), Les Baxter & Taylor Roxbury Cannon (Antonio Fargas, Kelli Taylor, All My Children), Hashim Elamin (Vincent Ebrahim, Coronation Street), Michelle Kim (Ra Chapman, Neighbours), and the new antagonist Leslie Thomas (Trisha Mann-Grant, Beyond the Gates).
10. Tie: Claudette Hubbard
Actor: Ellen Thomas | Duration: 2015-16 | Soap: EastEnders | Network: BBC
Claudette Hubbard was introduced on EastEnders as a friend of Les (Roger Sloman) and Pam Coker (Lin Blakley). It is revealed that she knows Les and Pam from when the latter worked as a social worker and placed Hubbard’s daughter, Donna Yates (Lisa Hammond) in her care. Pam begins to suspect that Les and Hubbard are having an affair, but she is actually helping him with his cross-dressing. Later on, viewers learn she is the mother of Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood). Throughout Hubbard’s time on Eastenders, audiences discover her volatile history with the Mitchell family, her murder of her husband, and getting buried alive by Vincent.
Hubbard’s feud with the Mitchell family leads to the death of innocent Fatboy (Ricky Norwood), so Vincent tells Hubbard that their feud killed him, and they should end it. Hubbard is infuriated and compares Vincent to his deceased father, Henry, then accidentally reveals that Henry did not die when she said he did. Vincent learns that his mother killed his father, leading to an altercation between Vincent, Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker), where Hubbard falls down the stairs and bangs her head on a brick. Believing she is dead, Vincent and Patrick bury Hubbard in the basement. When Patrick discovers she is alive, the rest of the Walford community learns how Henry died, including Donna, who wants nothing to do with her mother.
Hubbard was a significant villain of color on EastEnders because of her complexity. She is perceived by the town of Walford as a homewrecker due to her supposed affair with Les, and for a time, lets them think what they want so Les can keep his cross-dressing a secret until he is ready. Additionally, her backstory provides context for villainous behavior, making her a well-rounded, three-dimensional instead of a cartoonish villain. Lastly, Hubbard’s presence in Walford rocked nearly the entire town to its core, which is what villains are known for.
10. Tie: Kirsty Soames
Actor: Natalie Gumede | Duration: 2011-13 | Soap: Coronation Street | Network: ITV
Kirsty Soames joined the long-running British Soap Opera Coronation Street as a love interest for Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall). She displays controlling and erratic behavior, which is revealed to be a result of a traumatic childhood that included an abusive father. Quickly into her and Tyrone’s relationship, Soames becomes both emotionally and physically abusive towards him, culminating in several vicious, violent attacks, and their situation becomes even more complicated when she gets pregnant with his child.
After being let go from the police force, Soames takes her anger out on Tyrone and hits him with a ladle. She apologizes and they move on, but things take a turn for the worse when they get in another argument and Soames pushes Tyrone against a wall. Throughout the rest of her time on the show, she destroys plates and pictures, hits Tyrone with an accessory from a vacuum cleaner, trashes the house when her and Tyrone’s newborn daughter, Ruby Dobbs (Grace Hanrahan and Macy Alabi) won’t stop crying, throws a candlestick at Tyrone and frames him for abusing her, getting him briefly arrested. After she’s sent to prison for a year on perjury charges, Tyrone is granted full custody of Ruby, and Soames is never seen on Coronation Street again. In 2021, Tyrone learns Soames died from an aneurysm and informs Ruby.
Soames was a significant villain of color in Coronation Street due to her role in a groundbreaking domestic violence storyline. The writers of the soap essentially “turned the tables” on the topic of domestic violence by depicting a female abuser and a male victim, showing that anyone can become a victim. Soames is a classic example of the cycle of violence, because her father was abusive and viewers see how that affected her through her own romantic relationships. Most importantly, the story ends with a positive message when Tyrone and Soames break the cycle of violence by Tyrone leaving her for good and Soames turning herself in to protect Tyrone and their daughter.
9. Virginia Harrison
Actor: Dominique Jennings | Duration: 1997-99 | Soap: Sunset Beach | Network: NBC
Virginia Harrison was introduced on Sunset Beach shortly after its debut and remained on the soap for the majority of its run. Harrison was originally supposed to be in only 10 episodes, but producers offered Jennings a permanent role on the soap after filming her first episode, which she accepted. Described as a “bad girl”, and “the bitch of the beach”, her most notable story arc was her feud with Vanessa Hart (Sherri Saum) as a result of Harrison’s multiple attempts to win the heart of Michael Bourne (Jason Winston George).
During the soap’s run, audiences learn more about Harrison’s backstory and the reason for her hatred of Michael and Vanessa. It’s revealed that Harrison’s husband, Jackson Harrison was killed by Michael in a gang-related gun fight some years prior. Virginia was left to bring up their son, Jimmy Harrison as a single parent. Harrison’s most significant scheme occurred during a controversial storyline in which she impregnates Vanessa without her consent. In the plot, Virginia uses a sperm laced turkey baster to impregnate Vanessa with Tyus Robinson's (Russell Curry) sperm, which launches their long-running feud.
Harrison was a significant villain of color because there was no character like her at the time. Arguably, there hasn’t been one since. In the late 90’s, there were few characters of color of soap operas, let alone characters as complex as Harrison. Her backstory with provided a rich history for the character, making her a complex and interesting, instead of the usual “token Black character”. Lastly, her storyline with Vanessa and Michael helped position characters of color at the forefront of Sunset Beach.
8. Luna Nozawa
Actor: Lisa Yamada | Duration: 2023-present | Soap: The Bold and the Beautiful | Network: CBS
Luna Nozawa is a newer villain in the Soap Opera genre, but she’s already made an impact on The Bold and the Beautiful. She has committed serious crimes, including murder and attempted murder, and is known for her manipulative and menacing behavior. Her storyline has involved drugging people, framing her mother for her crimes, holding a character hostage in a collapsing building, and even plotting to harm a child. Nozawa is the daughter of Poppy Nozawa (Romy Park), as the result of her one-night stand with adoptive nephew Dr. John Finnegan (Tanner Novlan). She is both the adoptive granddaughter and biological niece of Dr. Li Nozawa (Naomi Matsuda,) and the biological granddaughter of Jack Finnegan (Ted King) and Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown).
Some of Nozawa’s most heinous crimes since her debut have included the murders of Tom Starr (Clint Howard) and Paul Hollister (Hollis W. Chambers), and holding Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) hostage in a cage during a building demolition, intending for her to die. She also developed a twisted plan to harm Steffy's son, Hayes (Alexander and Chase Banks) to inflict pain on Steffy. She is now pregnant, seemingly with the child of Will Spencer (Crew Morrow) but everyone knows by now not to take her word at face value.
Nozawa is such a significant villain of color because there is still so much to learn about her. Audiences still can’t be sure of her true motivations or intentions. Like most villains, she has taken extreme measures to get what she wants, like murder or threatening children. At the same time, there’s still so many directions the writers can take with her, it’s exciting to tune in everyday and find out. Only time will tell what’s next for The Bold and the Beautiful’s newest villain.
7. Meena Jutla
Actor: Paige Sandhu | Duration: 2020-22 | Soap: Emmerdale | Network: ITV
Meena Jutla appeared on Emmerdale for less than two years, but her reign of terror left a lasting impression on audiences. Upon her casting, Sandhu described her character as irresponsible, apathetic, unreliable, wild and intelligent. Jutla’s time on the soap was characterized by multiple murders, kidnappings, revenge schemes, manipulations, which led to a trial in court and her departure.
Jutla arrives in Emmerdale village under the guise of hoping to reconcile with her sister, established character Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker), with whom she had a falling out prior to her debut on the series, as a result of her affair with Manpreet’s husband. Viewers learn that their parents’ favoring treatment of Manpreet over Jutla during their childhood and her jealousy is a driving force behind her actions. Shortly after her introduction, Jutla forms a relationship with David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden). The beginning of her tenure sees her scheming to improve her relationships with David and Manpreet. However, audiences soon learn of her true colors.
Some of Jutla’s most villainous acts included the murders of Leanna Cavanagh (Mimi Slinger), Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale,) Nurse Nadine Butler and Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon), kidnapping her own sister, and manipulating Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle). Despite managing to avoid the law for an exceptional amount of time, she is eventually tried in court for her crimes. During her trial, she gets stabbed by Nadine’s sister Carol (Laura Pitt-Pulford) after saying Nadine was irrelevant, and she takes the opportunity to hold the entire courtroom hostage, when a fifth murder victim was revealed: Jutla pulls Manpreet aside and confesses to killing their own dying father before Manpreet could visit him at his deathbed. After wreaking havoc one final time, Jutla is sentenced to 75 years in prison.
Jutla was such a significant victim of color because it seemed her reign of terror was never going to end. Somehow, she managed to defy the odds and get away with several crimes before being caught, showing her resourcefulness and not letting anything get in the way of what she wants. In true villain fashion, Jutla had viewers on the edge of their seats all the way until her final moments on Emmerdale.
6. Nish Panesar
Actor: Navin Chowdhry | Duration: 2022-25 | Soap: EastEnders | Network: BBC
Billed as "ice-cold" and "manipulative", Nish Panesar is introduced as the estranged mentally abusive and controlling husband of Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and the father of Kheerat (Jaz Deol), Jags (Amar Adatia), Ash (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha), and Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota). He is later revealed to also be the father of Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) in a twist. Since his introduction, Panesar’s storylines have focused on his attempts to rebuild relationships with his family, the crumbling of his marriage to Suki, a feud with Suki's lover Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), being in a coma during "The Six" storyline, a fling with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), suffering from viral myocarditis, learning the truth of The Six's murder and falsely confessing to the crime resulting in his arrest, and escaping from prison.
Panesar’s abusive and villainous behavior lead up to his storyline in the six, when he is nearly killed by Denise Fox (Diane Parish) in defense of Suki on Christmas Day 2023. Being hit by the bottle resulted in Panesar being knocked unconscious and entering an induced coma, losing his memory. The following Halloween, Panesar learns the truth, and blackmails Suki into getting back together with him. Panesar realizes that Suki will never love him, so, having a change of heart upon realizing he is at death's door, he faslely confesses to killing Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). As he is arrested, Panesar begs Suki to not marry Eve.
Panesar was a significant villain of color on EastEnders due to the involvement of several characters in his storyline. He is introduced as Suki’s ex, but his presence wreaks havoc all throughout Walford. Panesar stopped at nothing to get what he wanted, like a true villain.
5. Vincent Clarkson
Actor: Phillip Jeanmarie/Daphnée Duplaix | Duration: 2004-08 | Soap: Passions | Network: NBC/DirecTV
Vincent Clarkson, also known by the alter ego Valerie Davis, was a groundbreaking character for daytime television. The long-lost child of Julian Crane (Ben Masters) and Eve Russell (Tracey Ross), Clarkson first appears on Passions as Davis, working as an executive assistant to Crane Industries' vice president Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. Presenting as two different people, audiences learn that Clarkson was abused by his grandfather, Allister Crane (John Reilly) as a child, causing his violent and erratic behavior in adulthood. His later persona as the "Blackmailer", and his criminal actions, dominate the show in its later years. Clarkson also has a highly controversial incestuous relationship with his uncle, Chad Harris-Crane (Charles Divins), and his pregnancy with his own father’s son.
The character of Clarkson marked several firsts in daytime television and soap opera history; it was the first depiction in a soap opera of two men having sex, and he was one of the earliest depictions of LGBT people of color on a soap opera. Furthermore, Clarkson was one of very few representations of intersex people on television, at a time when discussions and tolerance for the transgender community, or gender fluidity and identity as a whole, weren’t commonplace. There is still much work to be done even today, but Clarkson was an early example of opening up conversations about gender and the LGBT community on soap operas.
4. Liz Sanbourne
Actor: Amelia Marshall | Duration: 2001-06 | Soap: Passions | Network: NBC
Liz Sanbourne played an African American Russell family member on NBC’s Passions, starring as Eve Russell’s (Tracey Ross) adoptive sister and foil. When Sanbourne arrives in the New England small town of Harmony, she reveals that Eve had a past relationship with Julian Crane (Ben Masters), which resulted in a child and the breakup of Eve’s marriage and family. Adding salt to the wound, Sanbourne becomes romantically involved with Eve’s ex-husband, T.C. Russell (Rodney Van Johnson).
Throughout her time on Passions, audiences are gradually shown a softer side of Sanbourne. It’s revealed that she was raped as a teenager by Alister Crane (John Reily) and attempts to murder him for revenge. She eventually drops her vendetta against both Alister and her sister, in order to focus on her future love life. Alister raped her, giving birth to a boy named Chad Harris-Crane (Charles Divins).
The character of Sanbourne on Passions added history and context to the established Russell family, particularly Eve. When the series first began, the Russells were shown to be a strong and tight unit, but Sanbourne’s presence turned that dynamic on its head. Sanbourne changed this dynamic significantly, causing drama and chaos that kept viewers fully engaged in the lives of the popular African American Russell family.
3. Lucas Johnson
Actor: Don Gilet | Duration: 2008-2010; 2016; 2020-21; 2024 | Soap: EastEnders | Network: BBC
Lucas Johnson is introduced on EastEnders as a reformed drug addict and criminal-turned-preacher who appears as the estranged father of established character Chelsea Fox (Tiana Benjamin/Zaraah Abrahams). He also has a young son, Jordan Johnson (Michael-Joel Stuart), and later goes on to marry Chelsea's mother, established character Denise Fox (Diane Parish). Audiences later learn the two had previously been in a relationship prior to their reunion.
Johnson quickly reverts back to his old ways. During his time on the series, he causes the death of his former wife Trina (Sharon Duncan Brewster) by leaving her to die in a raking accident. Johnson also murders Denise's ex-husband Owen Turner (Lee Ross) on their wedding day, and even drowned his son’s dog, Sugar, to avoid him finding the corpse, which could be argued as his most sinister crime. He then strangles Denise and locks her in a basement, allowing her family to believe she was dead and killing another woman to use as her body so her family would believe she committed suicide. Johnson’s reign of terror comes to an end when he gets arrested for the murders of Trina and Owen, both of which were publicly exposed after he allowed Denise to escape, and he briefly held her hostage with her family before turning himself in.
The character of Johnson was so significant on EastEnders because of his pure evil nature. Although he is briefly shown to be a changed man, his actions make him one of the most formidable villains in soap opera history. Not many villains in soap opera history have been sinister enough to make animals their victims, but Johnson wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of his evil plots.
2. Carmen Santos
Actor: Saundra Santiago | Duration: 1999-2003 | Soap: Guiding Light | Network: CBS
Crime boss Carmen Santos had a significant impact on Guiding Light during its later years. The mother of Danny (Paul Anthony Stewart) and Pilar Santos (Paula Garces), she could write a novel with her wrap-sheet. Some of her most heinous crimes included murder slapping her own daughter, stealing and smuggling drugs, knocking out her son, escaping prison, and more.
Santos was a memorable villain of color on Guiding Light because she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, including harming her own children. To cover up a murder she committed, she knocked out Danny to prevent him from investigating, with no regards to the risk of potentially harming him. Additionally, Danny almost died as collateral damage in a warehouse explosion, showing that Santas had no regard for how her involvement in the mob affected her family.
1. Lindiwe Dlamini-Dikana
Actor: Sindi Dlathu | Duration: 2018-2024 | Soap: The River | Network: 1Magic
Our choice for the greatest villain of color of all time goes to Lindiwe Dikana. This villain managed to wreak havoc across three different series: all six season of The River, seasons four and six of The Queen, and season two of The Republic. During her reign of terror, Dikana’s main motivation behind her villainous acts was protecting her family, and she would stop at nothing to do so.
Dikana is introduced as the wife of Zweli Dikana (Hlomla Dandala), and the mother of Andile (Lawrence Maleka) and Mbali Dikana (Lunga Mofokeng). As she was running a struggling mine, Dikana was informed that if no discovery is made at her mine, Khanyisa Diamond, the government will officially shut it down for good. Having grown up with a broken family and in poverty, she feared the same for her kids if her mine got shut down. Driving by desperation and a little bit of greed, Dikana hits Thato Mokoena (Don Mlangeni Nawa) over the head with a stone then drowns him to death, planning to sell his diamond to support herself and her family. Dikana’s nephew, Zolani Dlamini (Lawrence Maleka), witnessed the incident, and Dikana convinced him to go along with the coverup for the sake of their family.
Dikana’s presence on The River was characterized by several crimes such as murder, attempted murder, bribery, and fraud. She was arrested multiple times but frequently escaped conviction through manipulation and legal loopholes. Towards the end of the soap, Dikana’s murder of Thato is exposed, and she is arrested by none other than her own husband, who is the police commissioner.
Dikana will be remembered as the greatest villain of color of all time due to her determination and ability to get what she wants no matter the consequences, and her devotion to her family. Audiences are able to understand Dikana through her desire to protect her family, allowing viewers to see that she’s more than just a cartoon villain, but three-dimensional, fully developed characters. From the beginning to the end of The River, no one was safe from Dikana's wrath, proving herself to be a formidable and fearless villain.
