Tanedra Howard

Tanedra Howard, from Inglewood, CA, was a contestant on Season One of Scream Queens. She was the season's underdog as she began the competition with no training or experience. Tanedra was the winner of Season One.

Episode 1
In the opening mini challenge where the girls had to convince a homicidal maniac not to kill them, Tanedra gave a powerful and believable performance that impressed many of the other girls, including Lindsay. She also impressed the judges, who awarded Tanedra a guaranteed callback. Later while the girls were relaxing on their first night in the house, Tanedra revealed her inexperience to the other girls, who began to underestimate her despite her mini challenge win.

In Homa's class, Tanedra gave another good performance while pretending to be poisoned after eating grapes. While acting in a bathtub for the director's challenge, Tanedra yet again gave a good performance with James praising her ability to come across as natural. Tanedra was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 2
Tanedra and the other girls were shocked that Jo-Anne went home in lieu of Kylah. For the mini challenge, the girls were given 15 minutes to dress themselves up and impress a casting director. Tanedra confidently told the casting director that she believed she could beat out all the other girls.

In Homa's class, Tanedra impressed yet again by giving a great performance recalling the time she was hit by a truck. Homa called her a "tough one" and said that Tanedra's performance "should scare [the other girls] to death", with Lina also mentioning Tanedra as her ultimate competition because she was raw, hungry, and talented.

In the director's challenge of a horror photoshoot, Tanedra was given the theme of "Prom Scream". She took James' direction well and gave a great performance with just the right amount of over-acting. Tanedra was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 3
When Lina complained about the judges criticizing her bad attitude, Tanedra privately showed her dislike of her. In the mini challenge involving jumping out a window, Tanedra combined her fear of flipping over with an emotional performance to win another guaranteed callback. When the girls were treated to a night out, Tanedra and the other girls commented on Michelle's over-acting, and Tanedra also had a minor argument with Lina when the latter made some racist comments towards her.

In Homa's class involving stunt and fight training, Tanedra was paired up with Lina, who deliberately hit Tanedra several times while trying to pass it off as an accident. However, Tanedra kept her cool and concentrated on the exercise. In the director's challenge involving the stunts they'd learned, Tanedra gave another good performance. She was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 4
In the mini challenge involving playing a head in a horror-comedy scene, Tanedra gave an average performance with good commitment but a little too much over-acting. In Homa's class where the girls learnt about different types of screaming, Tanedra impressed with a scream depicting being scared by a giant rat.

For the director's challenge, the girls auditioned for roles in a trailer for Reform School Zombie Squad, and Tanedra was cast as Carrie, a surfer girl and leader of the group. She took direction well and impressed James by showing strong improv skills and working well with her co-star Sean Gunn. Tanedra was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 5
In the mini challenge, the girls had to perform a vengeance monologue in a pool of blood. Tanedra invoked her emotions with thoughts of her place in the competition and won her third mini challenge, being rewarded with an advantage in the director's challenge - the ability to choose her acting partner. Tanedra chose Angela, and, in tears, told Shawnee, "I'm in the fight of my life here."

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. Tanedra gave another solid performance. The director's challenge involved the pairs of girls performing a scene in a tent filled with cockroaches. Tanedra and Angela worked well together, with Tanedra helping Angela get through her immense fear of bugs.

For the first time, and the first for Tanedra, all six remaining girls were summoned to the Grand Ballroom. James and Shawnee commended Tanedra for her consistency and strong performances throughout the competition so far, as well as how well she worked together with Angela, and awarded Tanedra her first Leading Lady.

Episode 6
In the mini challenge, Tanedra gave a convincing performance about becoming possessed by the Devil. Tanedra named Lindsay as her biggest competition but voiced concerns about Lindsay's lack of confidence.

The weekly exercise in Homa's class intended for the girls to act as each other and expose their weaknesses. Tanedra was paired with Michelle who, instead, antagonised Tanedra and made some racist comments, causing Tanedra to cry and eventually blow up, before mocking Michelle in return. When she calmed down somewhat, Tanedra explained that she was constantly having to prove that "it's my talent and not my color that got me here". 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. Tanedra hilariously admitted in her talking head that she had no idea who Michael was. Once again turning in a strong performance, Tanedra was sexy and subtle while taking James' directions well. Tanedra was not summoned to the Grand Ballroom.

Episode 7
In the mini challenge, each girl was given a camera and had to film themselves alone. Tanedra's scenario was that a virus had killed her friends and she only had minutes to live. She produced yet another great performance and was praised by Shawnee and the other girls, as well as finally being able to watch and reflect on her own performance. Lindsay and Tanedra once again mentioned each other as their biggest competition.

In Homa's class, the girls had to act against a dummy. Tanedra took Homa's notes well and gave a nuanced performance. 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. Tanedra's performance was her worst of the season, and saw her struggling to differentiate the good and evil sides as well as having trouble with some of James' directions. Behind the scenes, Lindsay, Angela, and Tanedra bonded over wanting to beat Michelle due to her inflated ego.

All four girls were summoned to the Grand Ballroom. James commented on Tanedra's innate believability but also her inexperience. The judges also discussed the fact that her scene flatlined that week. Tanedra was named in the bottom two for the first time, but ultimately Angela was given the Axe.

Episode 8
Immediately after the previous episode's elimination Tanedra had a meltdown, believing that the judges deliberately left it to the competition's last minute to critique her. The next day the remaining girls were introduced to the "gauntlet", a single-shot chase scene involving everything they'd learned. Tanedra initially struggled with hitting her marks and following James' directions, but managed to get out of her own head and asked James for clarification. This finally enabled her to give a great performance and make it to the final two alongside Michelle.

Tanedra and Michelle 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 Tanedra, Homa helped her to stay in character and find her true emotions despite any outside distractions.

In her final scene, Tanedra trusted James' direction and committed both physically and emotionally. Tanedra gave arguably her best performance of the season and James commended her great work immediately after the scene. In the Grand Ballroom, the judges praised Tanedra's focus and believability since day one, and also how much she had learned and improved in just a few weeks, while mentioning she needed to work on separating herself from criticism. Tanedra was ultimately named the winning Scream Queen.