Hollywood creates stars from a very early age. A good example is Linda Blair, who rose to stardom thanks to her role as Regan in ‘The Exorcist’. At just 14 years old, the girl starred in an iconic feature film directed by William Friedkin in 1973.
Four years later, the young girl was also in the sequel, ‘The Exorcist 2: The Heretic’, this time with John Boorman at the controls.
More than 600 people auditioned for this film. In the end, a Missouri-born child, whose career had begun at the age of nine appearing in the soap opera ‘Hidden Faces’, was chosen. Linda Blair, who already had feature film experience after her role in ‘The Way We Live Now’, had the biggest opportunity of her career.
She didn’t waste it with a performance that is still remembered. In 1973 she won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and earned the recognition of film experts. From that moment on, a great acting career seemed certain given she had her whole life ahead of her.
A story of decline
However, while filming ‘The Exorcist’ she suffered too many violent episodes in which she was even threatened with death. An experience that marked her when he was only 14 years old. Her following films were not as successful as expected, especially the sequel to ‘The Exorcist’, the most expensive to date of Warner Bros. a failure at the box office and amongst critics.
At the age of 18, the young actress was arrested for drug use and trafficking. Her guilty plea allowed her to skip prison and spend three years on probation. A few years later, she was committed to a psychiatric center for mental health problems.
From then on, her roles focused on low-budget films. The world of ‘The Exorcist’ came back to her life with a role in ‘Repossessed’, a parody of the famous film. This past October saw the release of ‘The Exorcist: Believer’, a feature film in which Linda Blair was not an actress, but advised Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum, as well as making a small cameo in the last part of the movie.