Celebrity Movie Blog

Who is Linda Blair?

Linda Blair was born on January 22nd, 1959 in St. Louis, Missouri. The actress is known almost exclusively for her portrayal of a child named Regan who was possessed by the devil, and her mothers attempts to find a priest who could rid her of the evil force in the 1973 horror classic, The Exorcist (1973). Blair reprised the role in the Exorcist II: the Heretic (1977). The Exorcist was a film adaptation of a book by William Peter Blatty based on the real life exorcism of a 12 year old boy in the late 1940s. Blattys screenplay won him an Oscar, the movie was the highest grossing film of the year and has currently made over 400 million dollars worldwide. When audiences formed lines outside movie theatres playing the Exorcist and around the block— and then did again for Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977), it helped create the popular usage of the term Blockbuster and ultimately changed how movies are released and marketed. Blairs portrayal of an evil child spitting up green vomit was so horrifying that this too became a much copied cultural first. Now demon children are practically common. Blair has continued acting, often in horror or supernatural scripts, with most of her 66 credits coming after her role as Regan. She is also an ardent animals rights activist.