Linda Blair is an American actress and animal rights activist best known for playing the possessed Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973).
At a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Born | January 22, 1959, St. Louis, Missouri, US |
| Occupation | Actress, activist |
| Key horror roles | The Exorcist (1973), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), Summer of Fear (1978), Hell Night (1981), Witchery (1988), Scream (1996, cameo), The Exorcist: Believer (2023) |
| Major honors | Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and Oscar nomination for The Exorcist |
| Television | Host of Scariest Places on Earth |
| Activism | Founded the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation (2004) |
Overview
Linda Denise Blair was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 22, 1959, and moved with her family to Westport, Connecticut, when she was two. Her father was a Navy test pilot turned executive recruiter, and her mother worked in real estate. Linda was a child model from the age of five, appearing in store catalogues and more than 70 commercials, and at six she began riding horses, later becoming a trained equestrian. She started acting with a regular role on the daytime soap opera Hidden Faces (1968 to 1969), followed by small film roles in The Way We Live Now (1970) and The Sporting Club (1971).
In 1972 she was chosen from 600 applicants to play Regan in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist, a role that shaped the rest of her life. After the film, she worked steadily in television films, including the controversial Born Innocent (1974) and Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975), and in Airport 1975. Her role in the musical Roller Boogie (1979) recast her as a sex symbol, and she later became an exploitation and B-movie star of the 1980s. In 2004 she founded the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, a non-profit that rehabilitates and rehomes rescue animals, and animal rights work has become her main focus.
Horror Roles and Notable Performances
As Regan MacNeil, the young daughter of a famous actress who becomes possessed by a demon in The Exorcist, Blair gave one of the most famous performances in horror history. She won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award. Historian Mark Clark wrote that she “matches Ellen Burstyn note-for-note.” Makeup artist Dick Smith created her iconic possession makeup. The film also brought media scrutiny, accusations of blasphemy, rumors of a breakdown, which she denied, and even anonymous death threats. Warner Bros. sent the 14-year-old on an international press tour to show she was “just a normal teenager.” For more on the character, see Regan MacNeil.
She returned as Regan in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), earning a Saturn Award nomination. The sequel was, at the time, the most expensive film Warner Bros. had made, but it was a critical failure despite earning about $30.7 million. In 1978 she starred in Wes Craven’s TV horror film Stranger in Our House, also known as Summer of Fear. The 1980s brought the slasher Hell Night (1981), the women-in-prison film Chained Heat (1983), the vigilante thriller Savage Streets (1984), Grotesque (1988) and the Italian horror film Witchery (1988) with David Hasselhoff. She spoofed her most famous role in Repossessed (1990) opposite Leslie Nielsen. In the early 1990s she also appeared in Australian B-movies such as Fatal Bond (1991) and Dead Sleep (1992).
In 1996 she reunited with Wes Craven for a cameo as a reporter in Scream. In the early 2000s she hosted Fox Family’s Scariest Places on Earth, a reality series about reportedly haunted locations, and in 2006 she guest-starred in Supernatural. In October 2023 she reprised Regan in a cameo in The Exorcist: Believer.
Reception and Legacy
Blair’s performance in The Exorcist established her as a lasting figure in horror popular culture, though she has said the role had a heavy impact on her life. In 2006 she reflected: “I’m proud of it… but it has nothing to do with what I am as an adult.” Her early-1980s work drew critical backlash, including two Razzie Awards for Worst Actress, yet films like Hell Night and Savage Streets have since gained cult followings. In 2008 she received a lifetime achievement award for her horror work at the Malaga Fantasy and Horror Film Festival.
Trivia and Facts
- She was 14 when The Exorcist premiered in December 1973.
- After Exorcist II, she competed on national equestrian circuits under the name Martha McDonald.
- A 1997 Channel 4 documentary about her life and The Exorcist was titled Didn’t You Used to be Satan?
- She appeared in Mark Kermode’s 1998 documentary The Fear of God, about The Exorcist.
- She competed on The Masked Singer in 2022 as the Scarecrow.
- She attended the 2011 Governors Awards honoring Dick Smith, who created her Exorcist makeup.