Sidney Prescott

Sidney Prescott is the Final Girl of the Scream quadrilogy. She is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell.

Scream
Sidney Prescott is a typical high school student still reeling from the brutal rape and murder of her mother Maureen almost a year before.

Another problem facing Sidney is a reporter by the name of Gale Weathers, who just wrote a book about the murder of her mother. In her book, she accuses Sidney of accusing the wrong man -- Cotton Weary -- of the crime. Upon their reunion at the back of the Woodsboro police station, Sidney levels Gale with one punch.

When brutal serial killings begin in her hometown of Woodsboro, Sidney finds herself a target relatively quickly. Attacked multiple times, stalked, harrassed, Sidney's only solace is in her boyfriend Billy Loomis, who is also pressuring to sleep with him. Initially, suspicion is cast on him as the killer, but he manages to clear his name, though Sidney is still traumatized by the horror of everything. The suspicion of the murders pass from Billy to her father, who has suddenly gone missing.

At a house party put on by her friend Stu Macher, Sidney gives into Billy, only to see him killed in front of her. Using her resilience and her resourcefulness to escape from the killer, Sidney soon learns that everything is not what it seems, especially when she finds out her boyfriend isn't dead at all, and is, in fact, the killer.

He reveals to Sidney that he and his friend Stu also murdered her mother, thanks in large part to her mother being promiscuous.

Sidney rescues her father and with the help of Gale Weathers, stops Billy and Stu from executing their plan of killing Sidney and her father and becoming "survivors". Sidney ends her traumatic time by killing Billy so he doesn't come back for that "one final scare".

Scream 2
In Scream 2, Sidney is now in collegeand now trying to put everything behind her. With the movie about her experience having hit theatres, Sidney has caller ID installed on her phone to trace the numbers of the people who call and harrass her.

A copycat killer soon begins killing those around Sidney on campus. Reunited with Gale Weathers, and worse yet, Cotton Weary -- who has been cleared and released from prison -- Sidney finds her life spiralling out of control once again.

Sidney tries to save her boyfriend Derek, but he is killed. She learns that the copycat killer is being masterminded by Billy Loomis' mother, who also killed her friend Randy. Sidney manages to stop the killers one more time, but this time with the help of Gale and Cotton. When the media descends on her at the end of the film, she sends them to talk to Cotton instead, giving him the fame he so desperately wanted so that she could try and have the low-profile life she wants.

Scream 3
The events of Scream 2 have made Sidney a recluse, living in the middle of nowhere, working at a Women's Crisis Center under the name of Laura. When killings start popping up on the set of the newest movie based on her life, Sidney is flushed out into the open, back with Dewey Riley and Gale Weathers.

With everybody dying around her, Sidney delves deeper into the life of her dead mother, learning that things are never what they seem. She also finds out that she has a half-brother named Roman, who is the killer, who is angry at Sidney for being the daughter her mother loved, while he was the son she abandoned. Sidney survives again, thanks in large part to a bulletproof vest.

Scream 4
Sidney is now a successful self-help author, learning to put the past behind her. Upon her return to Woodsboro on her book tour, she is confronted with murders once again.Staying with her aunt Kate and her cousin Jill, Sidney is considered to be the Angel of Death in Woodsboro, the murders being blamed on her return.

Sidney finds out now that her cousin Jill wants to kill her, that she is killing her friends in hopes of becoming a celebrity survivor just like her cousin. She stabs Sidney, wounding her, but unsuccessful in killing her. Jill fails in her efforts to become a celebrity survivor, as she is killed.

Trivia
Drew Barrymore was initially cast to play Sidney, but opted to play Casey instead, reasoning that if she -- a big name actress -- could die in the opening of the film, then it would show the audience all bets were off.

Melissa Joan Hart, Melinda Clarke, Melanie Lynskey, Alicia Witt and Brittany Murphy all tried out for the role of Sidney Prescott.

Molly Ringwald was offered the role of Sidney Prescott, but she turned it down, citing her age.

Reese Witherspoon turned down the role of Sidney Prescott.