Whatever Happened To Linda Blair?

There is no horror movie villain quite as disturbing as the creepy child. With their adorable looks, diminutive size, and seemingly wide-eyed innocence, who could possibly suspect sweet little Timmy or Sally of being the killer? Well, in the case of Linda Blair's famous role as a possessed child in 1973's "The Exorcist," by the time little Regan's head was spinning 360 degrees, you had probably figured out she wasn't all that innocent.

Although Blair wasn't the first on-screen kid to give us the chills, she was certainly one of the most iconic. Despite being cute as a button in real life, Blair was so convincing as the demonic Regan that she nabbed a Golden Globe and even received an Academy Award nomination for her performance. It's a bit of a shock to remember that she was only 14 when she shot these terrifying scenes — too young to even see the movie herself!

You have to wonder what starring in such a disturbing movie could do to a young girl — especially coupled with the well-documented negative effects of child stardom. Indeed, it seems like her early success did cause some problems for Blair down the line.

Today, "The Exorcist" is considered a cult classic. But, it resulted in a wave of controversy at the time of release, largely due to its themes of Catholicism and demonic possession. Linda Blair's young age didn't shield her from the resulting media storm, with the teenager regularly receiving death threats and being accused of "glorifying Satan" (as per OWN). 

The film also somewhat typecast Blair, who struggled to land parts that didn't portray her as a helpless victim or recalled her original horror character. She eventually reprised her role as Regan in 1977's sequel "Exorcist II: The Heretic" — though it failed to match the critical and commercial success of the original.

The "Hidden Faces" actor also struggled with substance abuse, culminating in an arrest on drug charges at age 18 (per The New York Times), just a few years after her major breakthrough role. But, despite these public struggles, Blair didn't follow the same tragic fate as many of her fellow child stars. Read on to see what Blair is up to these days.

According to her interview in an episode of "Intimate Portrait," acting was never Linda Blair's first passion — that honor belonged to animal welfare. A vegan since 2001, Blair has always had a soft spot for cute critters, at one point even keeping a pet skunk as a child, per Animal Wellness. In fact, before she was cast in "The Exorcist,” she was ready to trade in her fledgling career as a child model in favor of becoming an equestrian. Apart from a few minor roles here and there, Blair is now fully committed to her activism through her Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation, an organization that protects animals from abuse and neglect.

Despite being somewhat irked that her performance in a film from almost 50 years overshadows her important animal activism, she admitted to the New York Daily News in 2006 that she remains "proud of it," although noting that her role as Regan "has nothing to do with what I am as an adult." 

However annoying the reminders of her past may be, we're glad that Blair seems to have largely escaped the ultimate horror: the curse of child stardom!