To combat the rumors and media speculation surrounding her, Warner Bros. After the film's premiere in December 1973, some reporters speculated about Blair's mental state, suggesting the filming process had resulted in her having a mental breakdown, which Blair denied, and she later received anonymous death threats. Film critic and historian Mark Clark notes that in her performance, "Blair matches Ellen Burstyn note-for-note." Despite the film's critical successes, Blair received media scrutiny for her role in the film, which was deemed by some as "blasphemous", and Blair has said the film had significant impact on her life and career.
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The role earned her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 1972, Blair was selected from a field of 600 applicants for her most notable role as Regan, the possessed daughter of a famous actress, in William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973). Her first theatrical film appearance was in The Way We Live Now (1970), followed by a bit part in the comedy The Sporting Club (1971). Career 1968–1978: Early work and The Exorcist franchise īlair attending the 46th Academy Awards in 1974, where she received her first Academy Award nomination for The Exorcist (1973)īlair started acting with a regular role on the short-lived Hidden Faces (1968–69) daytime soap opera. At the same age she began riding horses, later becoming a trained equestrian.
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Blair secured a contract at age six for a series of print ads in The New York Times. Penney, and Macy's catalogues, and in over 70 commercials for Welch's grape jams and various other companies. Linda worked as a child model at age five, appearing in Sears, J.C. Her mother worked as a real-estate agent in Westport. When Blair was two years old, her father, a Navy test pilot-turned- executive recruiter, took a job in New York City, and the family relocated to Westport, Connecticut. She has an older sister, Debbie, and an older brother, Jim. Louis, Missouri, to James Frederick and Elinore ( née Leitch) Blair. 2.3 2000–present: Retrospective and activismīlair was born January 22, 1959, in St.2.2 1979–1999: Independent films and other ventures.2.1 1968–1978: Early work and The Exorcist franchise.A vegan, Blair co-authored the book Going Vegan! in 2001. In 2004, she founded the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves to rehabilitate and adopt rescue animals. She was the host of the Fox Family reality series Scariest Places on Earth (2001–2003) and had regular appearances on the Animal Planet series Pit Boss (2010–2012).īesides her acting, Blair has publicly supported various charitable causes, particularly animal rights. The 1980s had her starring in numerous horror and exploitation films, including the slasher Hell Night (1981), the prison drama Chained Heat (1983), and the grindhouse cult thriller Savage Streets (1984). – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975), and Stranger in Our House (1978), before establishing herself as a sex symbol in the romantic musical film Roller Boogie (1979). The film established her as a horror icon she reprised the role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award.īlair went on to star in numerous television films, such as Born Innocent (1974), Sarah T. She is best known for playing Regan MacNeil in the horror film The Exorcist (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist.