Linda Blair

Linda Blair
Born	Linda Denise Blair January 22, 1959 (1959-01-22) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, producer, animal rights activist
Years active	1966–present
Website
http://www.lindablair.com/

Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the film The Exorcist (1973), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977).

Biography

Blair was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Westport, Connecticut. She began her career as a six-year-old child model and started acting with a regular role on the short-lived Hidden Faces (1968-69) day time soap. Her first theatrical film appearance was in The Way We Live Now (1970). Blair was selected from a field of 600 applicants for her most notable role as Regan in The Exorcist (1973). The role earned her a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination. She reprised her role in the sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Between these two films, she appeared in the TV movies Born Innocent (1974), Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975), and Sweet Hostage (1975) opposite Martin Sheen.

Towards the end of the 1970s, Blair encountered trouble with law enforcement authorities as she was arrested and charged with drug possession and conspiracy to sell drugs: after trial, she was found not guilty of possession, but guilty of conspiracy to sell, leading her to get a reduced sentence of three years' probation. Though she tried to act in films, Blair found it hard to restart her screen career and landed low grade films in the 1980s and later. As she herself said in an interview, her career "went down faster than the Titanic".

Blair's career took a new turn in the 1980s, as she starred in a number of low-budget horror and exploitation films, including Hell Night (1981), Chained Heat (1983) and Savage Streets (1984).

Blair has since worked in numerous films, including the Exorcist spoof, Repossessed (1990), and a cameo role in Scream (1996). In 1997, she appeared in a Broadway revival of Grease. She was cast as a regular in the BBC television show, L.A. 7 (2000). She hosted Fox Family's Scariest Places On Earth (2000-6).

Blair has become an animal rights activist and humanitarian, working with PETA, Feed The Children, Variety, the Children's Charity and other organizations. Blair also devotes time to her non-profit organization, the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, which works to rescue abused, neglected and mistreated animals. She is a vegan, and has co-authored the book Going Vegan!.

In 2008 she turned up at the 18th annual Malaga Fantasy and Horror Film Festival to accept a lifetime achievement award for her work in the horror genre.

She appeared in the 2009 documentary Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante, discussing her role as Brenda in Savage Streets (1984). The documentary is included as a bonus feature on the 2009 DVD release of the film.

In late 2010 it was announced that Blair is in talks to return to horror films for the upcoming Cousin Sarah. Also in 2010 she appeared as herself on the cable series Pit Boss and Jury Duty. She appears in the 2011 Rick Springfield documentary Affair of the Heart, and was a panelist in a 2011 episode of The Joy Behar Show.

Filmography

Features:

• The Way We Live Now (1970)
• The Sporting Club (1971)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• Airport 1975 (1974)
• Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
• Stranger in Our House (1978)
• Wild Horse Hank (1979)
• Roller Boogie (1979)
• Ruckus (1981)
• Hell Night (1981)
• Chained Heat (1983)
• Night Patrol (1984)
• Savage Streets (1984)
• Terror in the Aisles (1984)
• Red Heat (1985)
• Savage Island (1985)
• SFX Retaliator (1987)
• Nightforce (1987)
• Moving Target (1988)
• Grotesque (1988)
• Silent Assassins (1988)
• La Casa 4 (also known as Witchcraft, Witchery) (1988)
• Up Your Alley (1989)
• The Chilling (1989)
• Aunt Millie's Will (1989)
• W.B., Blue and the Bean (aka: Bailout) (1989)
• Dead Sleep (1990)
• Zapped Again! (1990)
• Repossessed (1990)
• Bedroom Eyes II (1991)
• Fatal Bond (1992)
• Bad Blood (1993)
• Skins (1994)
• Double Blast (1994)
• Sorceress (1995)
• Prey of the Jaguar (1996)
• Scream (1996)
• UnConventional (Documentary, 2004)
• Hitters Anonymous (2005)
• All Is Normal (2006)
• Imps* (2009)
• Cousin Sarah (2011)

Short Subjects:

• Phone (1993)
• Marina (1997)
• Diva Dog: Pit Bull on Wheels (2005)
• The Powder Puff Principle (2006)

Television work

• Hidden Faces (1968–1969)
• Born Innocent (1974)
• Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975)
• Sweet Hostage (1975)
• Victory at Entebbe (1976)
• Stranger In Our House DVD title: Summer of Fear (1978)
• Murder, She Wrote (Murder Takes the Bus) (1985)
• MacGyver (1990)
• Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer?: The Bambi Bembenek Story (1992)
• Married... with Children (The Magnificent Seven) (1992)
• Perry Mason : The Case of the Heartbroken Bride (1992)
• Walking After Midnight (1999–2000)
• L.A. 7 (2000)
• Scariest Places On Earth (2001–2006)
• Monster Makers (2003)
• Supernatural (2006)
• Pit Boss (2010)
• Jury Duty (2010)

Award and Nominations

• Golden Globe for Best Supporting actress (1974) The Exorcist
• Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting actress (1974) The Exorcist
• Nominated - Golden Globe for New Star of the Year (1974) The Exorcist
• Nominated - Saturn Award for Best actress (1978) The Exorcist II: The Heretic

External links

• Official website
• Linda Blair at the Internet Movie Database
• Linda Blair at AllRovi
• Linda Blair World Heart Foundation