Cindy Campbell

Cynthia "Cindy" Campbell is a fictional character from the Scary Movie franchise. Portrayed by Anna Faris and created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the character first appeared as a high school student in Scary Movie (2000). In the film, whose main parodies are the Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer franchises, Cindy shares a role similar to Sidney Prescott and Julie James.

Faris would reprise her role of Cindy in the film's sequels. In Scary Movie 2, Cindy is attending college and with her friends, goes to Hell House for Professor Oldman's experiment. Here, her role is based on Eleanor Vance from The Haunting. In Scary Movie 3, where her role is based on Rachel Keller from The Ring, she is portrayed as a news presenter and has a nephew, Cody. After seeing a cursed tape, she tries to break the curse before seven days pass and she dies. In Scary Movie 4, where she parodies Karen Davis from The Grudge, Cindy is working as a caregiver in a haunted house and attempts to stop an alien attack with the help of Brenda.

Up until the fourth installment, Faris and Regina Hall, who portrayed Brenda Meeks, were the only cast members to appear in every installment of the franchise. Faris did not return for Scary Movie 5 and Cindy was replaced by Ashley Tisdale's character, Jody Sanders. Faris, herself, poked fun at her character's absence in the 2016 film Keanu where she explains that she only appeared in the first four Scary Movie films, not the fifth because she was "too old". Critical response to Faris' portrayal has been positive.