When Linda Blair was just 13, she terrified audiences as Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973). Despite earning awards, the role’s controversy and its real-life tragedies haunted her career. Based on a 1949 exorcism, the film, directed by William Friedkin, follows Regan’s possession and her mother’s desperate attempt to save her through an exorcism led by a Jesuit priest.

Blair was chosen out of thousands of girls and endured harsh filming conditions. Her bed-thrashing scenes left her bruised, and the set was kept freezing to capture actors’ breath on camera. The production itself was plagued by eerie events—fires, deaths, and accidents—leading many to believe it was cursed.

Although Blair was too young to grasp the full meaning of her role, she later faced backlash, including death threats from those who accused her of promoting Satanism. The intense media pressure was overwhelming for a teenager.

Struggling to escape typecasting, Blair took on dramatic roles in Born Innocent and Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, but her attempt to change her image through a provocative magazine shoot damaged her career.

Today, Blair focuses on animal rescue through her nonprofit, yet The Exorcist continues to overshadow her life and work.