Meanings
- uncountableSynonym of hagsploitation.
It's worth noting that Hepburn never joined in on the popular 1960s fad of Grande Dame Guignol Horror (aka “Hag Horror”) that her peers Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Olivia de Havilland all participated in.
2014 August 17, Nathaniel Rogers, “Gay Cinema Touchstones: Suddenly Last Summer”, in Towleroad2 more examples
Lange and fellow returning cast members Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy and Lily Rabe are joined this season not just by Angela Basset but also Kathy Bates, Christine Ebersole and Patti Lupone for what looks like the kind of big shouldered, Grande Dame Guignol scene-stealing and set chewing celebration of the grand bitch diva goddess (make that "grand witch") that only a gay man could helm.
2013 October 8, “9 Reasons to Get Excited for the American Horror Story Coven Premiere Wednesday”, in KQEDA gloriously sensational "Grande Dame Guignol" about feuding siblings and fading stardom, the film united the two rivals, who were by then well into middle age and long past their heyday, to play the disabled Blanche Hudson (Crawford) and her sister/terroriser, the demented former child star Baby Jane (Davis).
2017 July 2, Rebecca Hawkes, “Feud: when Bette Davis went to war with Joan Crawford”, in The TelegraphSynonyms: hagsploitation
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of hagsploitation.
Origin
Cite this entry
Grande Dame Guignol. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grande%20Dame%20Guignol
“Grande Dame Guignol.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grande%20Dame%20Guignol. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Grande Dame Guignol,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Grande%20Dame%20Guignol.
Source: Grande Dame Guignol on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.