Michelle Galdenzi

Michelle Galdenzi, from Spring, TX, was a contestant on Season One of Scream Queens. She was known for being feisty and a strong yet inconsistent actress. She was the runner-up of Season One.

Episode 1
In the opening mini challenge where the girls had to convince a homicidal maniac not to kill them, Michelle gave an average and over the top performance that Tanedra found annoying. She again fell in the middle with her performance during Homa's class.

While acting in a bathtub for the director's challenge, Michelle's performance was praised by some girls but criticised by others. She took James' directions well when he asked for more focus and firmer choices, and ultimately turned in a solid performance.

The next day when Michelle was one of the five girls summoned to the Grand Ballroom, she proceeded to throw a tantrum over apparently being in the bottom five. In the Grand Ballroom however, the judges informed her she was actually in the top two. They critiqued her tendency to be cocky, but said she was charismatic and fun to watch. James continued that she was almost the polar opposite of Sarah, in that Sarah was very consistent without much variety, while Michelle was very inconsistent but also had a good amount of variety. Ultimately Michelle was given a callback but the week's Leading Lady went to Sarah.

Episode 2
Michelle, Kylah, Angela, and Lina christened themselves the "queen bitches" while designating Marissa, Lindsay, and Sarah the "more homely girls" and the "girls who wouldn't have been popular in high school". They talked about how they didn't think Sarah deserved the previous episode's Leading Lady, and Michelle said she "has an annoying voice, she's ugly as shit, and she needs to straighten her hair". In her talking head, Michelle continued that Sarah "is not the next scream queen, nothing about her screams queen", and that beauty matters more than talent.

For the mini challenge, the girls were given 15 minutes to dress themselves up and impress a casting director. While getting ready, Michelle and Angela agreed that if they, Kylah, or Lina did not win the competition, it must be rigged. When meeting the casting director, she mentioned Michelle's big personality and incorrectly assumed Michelle was primarily a stage actor. Michelle also mentioned in her talking head that she was Miss Teen Texas, and when Lindsay and Marissa were sent for makeovers, Michelle laughed and said they needed it. However, when Lindsay and Marissa came back, Michelle expressed her jealousy.

In Homa's class, Michelle impressed by giving a great performance imagining seeing a killer in a bathroom mirror. In the director's challenge of a horror photoshoot, Michelle was given the theme of "Don't Go in the Water". She took James' direction well and gave a great performance while portraying a good amount of vulnerability. Michelle was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 3
In response to Kylah's elimination, Michelle mentioned that her odds of winning had "skyrocketed up". In the mini challenge involving jumping out a window, Michelle gave an over the top performance that was criticised by the other girls, including Angela and Sarah. When the girls were treated to a night out, many of them openly commented on Michelle's over-acting, and a drunk Sarah had an emotional meltdown after Michelle mistook her constructive criticism and bit back at her.

In Homa's class involving stunt and fight training, Michelle was once again criticised for being too big and over the top, "almost like a silent movie". The problems continued into the director's challenge which involved the stunts they'd learned, with the girls openly laughing at Michelle's performance and James referring to her as "frantic". Despite this, Michelle believed she had done well until she returned backstage to the other girls.

Michelle was summoned to the Grand Ballroom and placed in the bottom two alongside Marissa. The judges once again mentioned Michelle's inconsistency and James said he was the most disappointed in her that week, and that in the director's challenge she was the worst by far. However, in the end Marissa got the Axe due to her lack of progress.

Episode 4
Tanedra and Lindsay both voiced their disappointment at Michelle's return, stating in their respective talking heads that her acting was not believable and that Michelle "thinks she's a better actress than she actually is". In the mini challenge involving playing a head in a horror-comedy scene, Michelle gave another overly campy performance which caused Sarah to call her acting a "joke". In Homa's class where the girls learnt about different types of screaming, Michelle received extra tips to help her scream better without hurting her voice, and ultimately did an average job with her performance.

For the director's challenge, the girls auditioned for roles in a trailer for Reform School Zombie Squad, and Michelle mentioned she would not be comfortable playing a character that made out with another girl. She was cast as Shannon, a slutty stripper with the punchline, "Review this record, warden, and by record, I mean vagina." Michelle took James' direction well and gave a solid performance. Michelle was named the week's Leading Lady but was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom. She expressed sadness that her two best friends, Lina and Angela, were the only two summoned.

Episode 5
Michelle expressed surprise that Angela came back in lieu of Lina. In the mini challenge, the girls had to perform a vengeance monologue in a pool of blood. Michelle again struggled with her over-acting, with Lindsay particularly commenting on her physicality and enunciation. Homa's class, set in a morgue, had the girls spend time in body drawers to experience the feeling of death, before emotionally reading out nursery rhymes. Reluctant at first, Michelle eventually used the experience to tap into her raw emotions and gave what Lindsay referred to as a "sincere" performance.

The director's challenge involved the pairs of girls performing a scene in a tent filled with cockroaches. Michelle was paired with Lindsay, and the two worked well together until Lindsay let her anxiety get the better of her. Despite this, Michelle still turned in a solid performance. For the first time, all six remaining girls were summoned to the Grand Ballroom. James once again commented on Michelle's inconsistency but said that despite the not so good stuff, she also had moments of being really great. Homa told Michelle she had "stuff that can't be taught", and she was awarded a callback.

Episode 6
In the mini challenge involving pretending to be possessed by the Devil, Michelle gave a convincing performance that was praised by Angela for not going into overacting territory. Michelle subsequently won her first mini challenge which came with the benefit of first choice of wardrobe in the director's challenge.

The weekly exercise in Homa's class intended for the girls to act as each other and expose their weaknesses. Michelle was paired with Tanedra and, instead, antagonised Tanedra and made some racist comments, causing Tanedra to cry and eventually blow up, before mocking Michelle in return. The girls took some time to cool down and eventually Michelle apologised to Tanedra, which she accepted.

The director's challenge saw the girls becoming vampires and acting alongside Michael Rooker. Michelle gave a strong performance in terms of both acting and her presence in the scene, and took James' directions well. Michelle was awarded Leading Lady but was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 7
As soon as the girls returned from the Grand Ballroom and Lindsay informed Michelle of her Leading Lady win, Angela expressed her disappointment that Michelle won over her. In the mini challenge, each girl was given a camera and had to film themselves alone. Michelle's scenario was that her family had been killed by mutants and she was next. She produced yet another strong performance but made some arrogant comments about enjoying watching herself.

In Homa's class, the girls had to act against a dummy. Michelle started out with her overacting but eventually took Homa's notes well and gave an emotional performance. At the end of the class, Angela had an emotional breakdown about Michelle's win over her in the previous episode.

The director's challenge involved the girls acting opposite themselves via a green screen and performing the good and evil sides of the same character. Michelle gave another strong performance in terms of energy, characterisation, and bold choices, however she once again was openly arrogant about herself and was called out by the other three girls. Michelle also mentioned in her talking head that Lindsay did well and that she "might be a little threatened now".

All four girls were summoned to the Grand Ballroom. James commented on Michelle's strong and unique choices but criticized her for sometimes going too far into overacting. Homa commented that he liked Michelle's scene and that she was good in class, but that they needed her to be great. Michelle received a callback.

Episode 8
Commenting on Tanedra's sudden meltdown and Lindsay's anxiety issues, Michelle mentioned in her talking head that she was "watching my competition implode; it feels great". The next day the remaining girls were introduced to the "gauntlet", a single-shot chase scene involving everything they'd learned. Michelle connected emotionally with the scene but was again criticized for rushing and being way too over the top, and struggled to connect physically. However, Michelle did improve somewhat over the course of the challenge and ultimately made it to the final two alongside Tanedra.

Michelle and Tanedra were picked up the next morning by a limo and taken to Lionsgate Studios where they met Lionsgate Co-Productions President Jason Constantine and Saw Producer Mark Burg. The girls were told their final director's challenge would be an adaptation of the shotgun collar scene from Saw 3. In Homa's final class, the two girls worked individually and intensely on the scene. Specifically with Michelle, Homa helped her to identify her character's intentions, focus her emotions, and have true meaning behind what she was saying.

In her final scene, Michelle took James' direction well and physically connected with the scene, as well as using the emotional work Homa focused on in the previous day's class. Immediately after the scene, James commented on her great work. In the Grand Ballroom, the judges praised Michelle's raw talent and how much her acting had improved in just a few weeks, while mentioning she still needed to work on her inconsistency. However, Tanedra was ultimately named the winning Scream Queen.