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• Linda Blair is an American actress who first starred as the possessed Regan McNeil in the 1973 horror classic, The Exorcist. Blair was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role but lost to Tatum O'Neal.

• Fast Facts:

  1. Full name: Linda Denise Blair
  2. Born: January 22, 1959
  3. Born in: St. Louis, Missouri
  4. Raised in: Westport, Connecticut
  5. Started her career as a model
  6. First big acting part was in a Gulden's Mustard commercial
  7. Nominated for an Academy Award for The Exorcist
  8. Won a Golden Globe for The Exorcist
  9. Founder of The Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation
  10. Author of Going Vegan
  11. Reprised role in The Heretic

• Brief Background

  Linda Blair starred in commercials prior to being chosen for the central role in The Exorcist. Director William Friedkin wanted an unknown actress for the part, and Blair's portrayal of Regan McNeil made the young actress an instant cultural icon. However, her future in film hit a bump in 1977, for her arrest for drug possession with intent to sell, as well as for her reprisal of the Regan McNeil character in the box-office disaster, The Heretic. Many of the movies she has appeared in since have been lower-budget horror or crime films such as Chained Heat and Hell Night.

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