Linda Denise Blair was born on the 22nd January 1959, in St. Louis, Missouri USA. Linda Blair is an actress who gained fame in her teen years, when she was cast as the haunted girl Regan in the film “The Exorcist” (1973). That role earned her a nomination for the Oscar and won a Golden Globe award. Although the main source of Blair`s net worth is acting, she also has a number of TV productions under her name. She has been an active member of the entertainment industry since 1968.
Have you ever wondered how rich Linda Blair is? According to sources it is estimated that Linda Blair`s net worth is $16 million, largely gained by film roles and TV productions, but it is also well known that Blair has published the book “Going Vegan” (2001).
Linda Blair Net Worth $16 Million
Blair was raised in Westport, Connecticut because her family moved when she was two years old. Blair`s career began rather early; she was just six years of age when she became a child model and started doing commercials. Since then, her career seems to have gone only upward to its peak, aforementioned role of the possessed girl Regan. Blair was chosen for that particular role from a swarm of 600 other applicants. Besides winning a Golden Globe for the best supporting actress, she was also nominated for The Oscar. Before “The Exorcist” (1973), she appeared in front of the camera lenses in the soap opera “Hidden Faces” (1968-1969) and in the theatrical film “The Way We Live Now” (1970) but those roles didn`t get her anywhere. “The Exorcist” had its sequel, “The Exorcist: The Heretic” (1977) which gained her a nomination for Saturn Award for Best Actress as she starred again in the role of Regan, again a main source of Blair`s net worth.
Notable roles worth mentioning beside Regan are the ones in Television movies “Born Innocent” (1974) and “Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic” (1975), in which she was a trouble-making teenage girl.
Unfortunately, after those parts her career went down in a spiral, and it was a major blow when she was charged for drug possession. Only 18 years of age, she pleaded guilty in order to reduce the sentence. Blair emerged from all troubles with three years’ probation and had to appear on a number of public events to talk to young people about the dangers of drug abuse.
Her career has never come back in the full glow she enjoyed before the exaggerated drug incident; therefore she had to accept the new Linda Blair and her limits. She did a truly nice job, being selected for a lead role in the cult film “Chained Heat” (1983).
Regarding her personal life and interests, she has always expressed desires to become a veterinarian. In 2003 she took the first steps towards that desire. She became an animal activist and also a humanitarian. She founded a non-profit organization, Linda Blair World Heart Foundation, and since then it serves as a rescue shelter for abused and mistreated animals, and seems to keep her fully occupied.
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year – Actress, TV Land Blockbuster Movie of the Week Award
Movies
The Exorcist, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Savage Streets, Born Innocent, Roller Boogie, Chained Heat, Hell Night, Repossessed, Stranger in Our House, Sweet Hostage, Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, Airport 1975, Savage Island, Night Patrol, Ruckus, Fatal Bond, Red Heat, Wild Horse Hank, S...
TV Shows
Scariest Places on Earth, L.A. 7, 100 Greatest Kid Stars, The Exorcist, Day and Date, Hidden Faces
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Trademark
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Her iconic and controversial role as Regan McNeil in The Exorcist (1973)
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Quote
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Not a day goes by that somebody doesn't say something about it, which is interesting. My life is possessed with "The Exorcist."
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America is not at a time when we are doing well... It is a very difficult time. Money is tight, and people are doing horrible things in society to others and to animals to make a buck, and it has to stop... You know how people say nowadays, "God, you know I can't get along with my neighbor, I can't get along with so-and-so..." People don't care about their brother, people won't help their brother... It's got to change, it has to change.
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[on making it in Hollywood[ Hollywood is a very difficult place. You may feel that you deserve to be part of it, and sometimes you just don't get that break. It is a hard business, and the word is business, but also enjoy it. It's a wonderful, wonderful craft, and if more people go out and do more independent films, do things that they want to do, they might just find a place for themselves in Hollywood.
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In 1997, when I got involved with animal rescue, the news media said that there was this particular breed of dog in America named a pit-bull, and if you came across a pit-bull, "It will attack! And you're going to die! Your child's going to die!" So it created a frenzy that everyone assumed was obviously truthful, because "the news is truthful." Well guess what? No, not always. Not only did, 30 years ago, the media give misinformation about who I was, but now they're doing it again, and it's very much - in my opinion - I call it irresponsible journalism.
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Compassion and sharing: that's the true journey of the human spirit.
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[on getting the role of "Reagan MacNeil" in The Exorcist (1973)] I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to be in Disney movies, I wanted to be in "Lassie," I wanted to be in "Flipper." I didn't want to be a monster.
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"I'm not doing this (film) as an art piece, I'm not doing it from my heart, as a statement of my beliefs or my philosophy. I'm working." Interview with The Los Angeles Times about Chained Heat (1983), 1983.
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It was always very strange for me when I was young and would meet someone who geniunely seemed to be afraid of me. They couldn't separate me from the monster I became in a movie. You wouldn't believe how often people ask me to make my head spin around.
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Fact
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Has been treated for a hernia, as told on the April 16, 2014 episode of The Doctors (2008).
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Operates the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation which is a non- profit, 501C3 tax deductible organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abused, neglected, and abandoned animals from the harsh streets of the Los Angeles area, as well as from the overcrowded and overwhelmed city and county animal shelters. [February 2009]
Was one of the celebrities to fight against the FDA's Nutritonal Labeling and Education Act of 1990, which involved an agenda to restrict the rights of American citizens to purchase natural herbs and vitamin supplements on the basis of those supplements being "unsafe" and in need of strict regulation like pharmaceutical drugs. Along with other celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and Randy Travis, Blair helped to fight back this legislation at the time, but the agenda is still being pushed today by both the FDA and the United Nations' Codex Alimentarius program.
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Her life's savings have all gone to charity and animal welfare.
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After Hurricane Katrina, she personally rescued and transported 51 displaced dogs that had been left to die.
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Went through her parents' divorce, two break-ups (one with rock star Rick Springfield), depression, and a drinking problem, all during the making of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - which bombed at the box office. Later that same year, three of her friends from the band Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a plane crash, and she was arrested on drug charges shortly after the funeral. In a 2001 interview with Lifetime TV's "Intimate Portrait," Blair said, "I can reflect back and say that was one of the most difficult years anybody could ever have survived through. And I do give myself credit and I do try to embrace myself for making it through that time, because I know it just about killed me".
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Her mother, Elinor Blair, died in 1994, of cancer.
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Was in talks to star as "Iris" in Taxi Driver (1976), but the role went to Jodie Foster instead (and Foster was nominated for an Oscar).
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Did an audition for the role of "Emmeline" in The Blue Lagoon (1980) in an attempt to break free from the "victim" typecasting that had followed her since playing the possessed girl in The Exorcist (1973), but the role went to Brooke Shields.
She's written a book about veganism called "Going Vegan!".
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One of Linda's pet dogs was stolen from her, and ever since she has become involved with stopping animal/pet theft.
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Linda has won numerous awards for her work as an animal rights activist from organizations such as P.E.T.A. and also lends her name to helping stop animal abuse around the world.
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Did a lot of her own skating in Roller Boogie (1979) and consequently developed bursitis in her hip.
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Owns her own clothing line called Linda Blair's Wild West Collection.
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Is a vegan.
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Dated Rick James. James' 1983 hit, "Cold Blooded," was supposedly about his and Blair's brief romance.
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Her father, James, was an executive headhunter. Her mother, Elinore, was a real estate agent. She has a brother, Jimmy, and a sister, Debbie.
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Flew to Florida to attend funerals for members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, when an acquaintance convinced Linda to go with her to buy cocaine. Blair reportedly went because she was interested in buying pedigree puppies which the dealers were selling. Blair reportedly placed a hold on one of the puppies and returned home to Connecticut. She kept in touch with the dealers, supposedly to buy the puppy, but the Drug Enforcement Agency was tapping the phones. They arrested Blair, along with 30+ others, when the dealer successfully pressured her into buying cocaine along with the dog, and she was charged with conspiracy to buy the cocaine from Florida to sell in Connecticut. Police searched her purse, found amphetamines, and then charged her with possession. The possession charge was dropped, and the conspiracy charge was reduced. She was ordered to serve three years probation, pay a $5,000 fine, and make at least twelve major public appearances to tell young people about the dangers of drug abuse.
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Received death threats after The Exorcist (1973) premiered. Warner Brothers, the studio which released the film, hired the police to live with the Blair family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months. The original culprit was never caught. Once Linda's promotional job on the movie was done and the studio stopped paying for security, threats from fanatics and religious zealots continued, including after the release of the film's sequel. Her family ultimately had to take matters into their own hands and hide her out with friends in Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
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Appeared in 75 commercials and hundreds of magazine catalogues by the time she was 12.
$16 Million
