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IMDbPro

Linda Blair(I)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Stunts
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0003199
Linda Blair
JJ Villard's Fairy Tales: The Goldilox Massacre
Play trailer1:04
JJ Villard's Fairy Tales (2020)
17 Videos
99+ Photos
From the age of five, Linda Blair had to get used to the spotlight, first as a child model and then as an actress, when out of 600 applicants she was picked for the role of Regan, the possessed child, in The Exorcist (1973). Linda quickly rose to international fame, won the Golden Globe, and seemed to be set to take the Academy Award for that role, but when it leaked how some parts of the role were not performed by her (the demonic voice was dubbed by Mercedes McCambridge, and eight seconds of a stunt dummy were used) that dream broke, and with that disappointment probably came the first blow to what looked like the beginning of an A-list career.

Over the next few years she had no trouble securing lead roles in a number of pictures, including the highly successful television films Born Innocent (1974) (the #1 TV movie of that year) and Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975), as well as the Exorcist sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). However, when she was peer pressured into buying cocaine at the age of 18, it led to an arrest and subsequent sentencing to three years probation. The much-publicized drug bust caused Linda to be blacklisted in Hollywood, and her career was soon reduced to B-movies and occasional TV guest appearances only.

Although her career never returned to its former glory, Linda proved to be a good sport about embracing the change, and out of the '80s emerged lead roles in two cult classics: the women-in-prison film Chained Heat (1983) and the femme fatale vigilante action film Savage Streets (1984). She continued acting in numerous films throughout the '80s and '90s, including the Exorcist spoof Repossessed (1990). In 1997, she also took to the Broadway stage and starred as "Rizzo" in the revival of "Grease." She received widespread mainstream attention again in the 2000's with the theatrical re-release of the Exorcist, followed by a hosting job on the hit Fox Family TV series Scariest Places on Earth (2000), which ran for six years and followed Linda as she visited notorious "haunted" locations around the world.

Linda was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Elinore, a real estate agent, and James, an executive headhunter. She has a brother, Jimmy, and a sister, Debbie. Linda has been a Hollywood icon for over 40 years, but it is her first love of animals that has ultimately taken center stage in her life. She now runs the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, a non-profit 501C3 tax deductible organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abused, neglected, and abandoned animals from the harsh streets of the Los Angeles area, as well as from the overcrowded and overwhelmed city and county animal shelters. She works and lives on the 2-acre rescue sanctuary full-time in California, which was featured on The Today Show in a segment titled "From Devil to Angel." Of course, she also makes frequent appearances at horror fan conventions to celebrate the legacy of The Exorcist (1973) .
BornJanuary 22, 1959
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 22, 1959
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0003199
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Photos104

Linda Blair and Brian Frishman in Savage Streets (1984)
Linda Blair in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
Linda Blair in Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018)
Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair and Max von Sydow in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair and Max von Sydow in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair in The Exorcist (1973)
Linda Blair in The Exorcist (1973)

Known for

The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist
8.1
  • Regan
  • 1973
Savage Streets (1984)
Savage Streets
6.2
  • Brenda
  • 1984
Linda Blair in Hell Night (1981)
Hell Night
5.6
  • Marti
  • 1981
Linda Blair and Jim Bray in Roller Boogie (1979)
Roller Boogie
4.6
  • Terry Barkley
  • 1979

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Landfill (2020)
    Landfill
  • JJ Villard's Fairy Tales (2020)
    JJ Villard's Fairy Tales
    • (voice)
  • The Green Fairy (2016)
    The Green Fairy
  • Linda Blair, Robert Picardo, Eric Roberts, Gil Gerard, Jay Underwood, Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Carl Ciarfalio, Joseph Culp, Shannon Farnon, Alex Hyde-White, Eric Allan Kramer, Nichelle Nichols, Rex Smith, Rebecca Staab, Bruce Vilanch, John Venturini, and Vincent J. Roth in Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel (2016)
    Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel
  • Mark Gantt and Leslie Jordan in Whoa! (2013)
    Whoa!
  • WHOA! Comedy Short
  • All Is Normal (2008)
    All Is Normal
  • Supernatural (2005)
    Supernatural
  • Teddy Scares (2006)
    Teddy Scares
    • (voice)
  • The Powder Puff Principle (2006)
    The Powder Puff Principle
  • Hitters Anonymous (2005)
    Hitters Anonymous
  • Monster Makers (2003)
    Monster Makers
  • The Blair Bitch Project (2000)
    The Blair Bitch Project
  • S Club 7: Artistic Differences (2000)
    S Club 7: Artistic Differences
  • Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt, Rachel Stevens, and S Club 7 in S Club 7 in L.A. (2000)
    S Club 7 in L.A.

Producer

  • Skins (1994)
    Skins
  • Grotesque (1988)
    Grotesque

Stunts

  • The Wildest West Show of the Stars

Videos19

Grotesque
Clip 1:48
Grotesque
Trailer
Trailer 1:06
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:32
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:59
Trailer
Witchery
Trailer 2:59
Witchery
Hell Night
Trailer 2:57
Hell Night
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Trailer 1:46
Exorcist II: The Heretic
An Affair of the Heart
Trailer 2:19
An Affair of the Heart
The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition
Trailer 1:41
The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition
Airport 1975
Trailer 2:52
Airport 1975
Imps*
Trailer 2:41
Imps*
The Exorcist
Trailer 0:31
The Exorcist

Personal details

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  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Instagram - Worldheart Foundation
    • January 22, 1959
    • St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  • Other works
    Played Rizzo in Broadway's "Grease".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 3 Interviews
    • 2 Articles
    • 18 Pictorials
    • 17 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    After Hurricane Katrina, she personally rescued and transported 51 displaced dogs that had been left to die.
  • Quotes
    It was always very strange for me when I was young and would meet someone who geniunely seemed to be afraid of me. They couldn't separate me from the monster I became in a movie. You wouldn't believe how often people ask me to make my head spin around.
    • Her iconic and controversial role as Regan McNeil in The Exorcist (1973)

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