Lin Shaye
Lin Shaye (born October 12, 1943) is an American actress. In a career spanning over fifty years, Shaye has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions, which include the films Alone in the Dark (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Amityville: A New Generation (1993), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994), Dead End (2003), 2001 Maniacs (2005) and its sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010), Ouija (2014) and its prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Tales of Halloween (2015), Abattoir (2016), The Final Wish (2018), Room for Rent(2019), The Grudge (2020), Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), and the Insidious film series (2010–2023). Shaye is also well known for her comedic roles in numerous films by the Farrelly brothers, including Dumb and Dumber (1994), Kingpin (1996), There's Something About Mary (1998), Detroit Rock City (1999), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Stuck on You (2003), and The Three Stooges (2012). Description above from the Wikipedia article Lin Shaye, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · Common Side Effects as Sonia (voice)
- 2024 · The Last Stand of Ellen Cole as Ellen
- 2023 · Insidious: The Red Door as Elise Rainier
- 2022 · Frank and Penelope as Ophelia
- 2022 · Pines as Julie (voice)
- 2020 · The Call as Edith Cranston
- 2020 · The Voices as The Vagabond
- 2020 · Penny Dreadful: City of Angels as Dottie Minter
- 2020 · Darkness Falls as Angela Anderson
- 2019 · Gothic Harvest as Griselda
- 2019 · Ambition as Lady Bum
- 2019 · Get Gone as Mama
- 2019 · Room for Rent as Joyce
- 2018 · Eli Roth's History of Horror as Self
- 2018 · Insidious: The Last Key as Elise Rainier
- 2017 · All About the Money as Mrs. Womack
- 2017 · Buster's Mal Heart as Pauline
- 2017 · The Black Room as Miss Black
- 2017 · Mountain Top as Muriel Miller
- 2016 · Ouija: Origin of Evil as Old Paulina Zander
- 2016 · Texas Heart as Mrs. Smith
- 2015 · Insidious: Chapter 3 as Elise Rainier
- 2014 · Grace as Helen
- 2014 · Ouija as Paulina Zander
- 2013 · Insidious: Chapter 2 as Elise Rainier
- 2013 · Crazy Kind of Love as Denise Mack
- 2013 · Noobz as Mrs. Theodore
- 2012 · EastSiders as Diane
- 2012 · 3 Days of Normal as May
- 2012 · Jewtopia as Dr. Sutton
- 2012 · The Three Stooges as Nurse Crotchet
- 2011 · Rosewood Lane as Mrs. Hawthorne
- 2011 · Chillerama as Baglady / Nurse Maleva
- 2011 · Insidious as Elise Rainier
- 2011 · Take Me Home as Jill
- 2011 · Goldberg - P.I. as Violet
- 2010 · Small Town Saturday Night as Phyllis Ryan
- 2009 · Dark Moon Rising as Sunny
- 2009 · Stuntmen as Bumble Jackson
- 2009 · My Sister's Keeper as Nurse Adele
- 2008 · Doggie Heaven as Woman
- 2008 · Chronic Town as Nurse
- 2008 · Asylum as String's Mother
- 2008 · Killer Pad as Marge
- 2007 · Private Practice as Mrs. Taylor
- 2007 · Chasing Robert as Martha the Bookie
- 2007 · The Election as The Wife
- 2007 · Homo Erectus as Museum Guide
- 2007 · Pledge This! as Miss Prin
- 2006 · Driftwood as Nancy Forrester
- 2006 · Surf School as Larry's Mom
- 2006 · Surf School as Larry's mom
- 2006 · Hoboken Hollow as Mrs. Brodrick
- 2005 · Made in Hollywood as Self
- 2005 · My Name Is Earl as Paul's Mom
- 2005 · 2001 Maniacs as Granny Boone
- 2005 · Hate Crime as Kathleen Slansky
- 2004 · A Cinderella Story as Mrs. Wells
- 2003 · Stuck on You as Makeup Babe
- 2003 · Barely Legal as Tequlia
- 2003 · Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd as Margie
- 2002 · Boat Trip as Sonya the Coach
- 2001 · Crossing Jordan as Leather Lauren
- 2000 · Attention Shoppers as Libby
- 2000 · Me, Myself & Irene as Mrs. Caleron
- 1998 · Becker as Mrs. Cooper
- 1998 · Living Out Loud as Lisa's Nurse
- 1998 · There's Something About Mary as Magda
- 1997 · Perversions of Science as Nurse
- 1996 · Last Man Standing as The Madame
- 1996 · Kingpin as Landlady
- 1995 · Nature of the Beast as Carol Powell
- 1994 · Dumb and Dumber as Mrs. Neugeboren
- 1994 · New Nightmare as Nurse with Pills
- 1994 · ER as Margaret
- 1994 · My So-Called Life as Parent #2
- 1994 · Corrina, Corrina as Repeat Nanny
- 1993 · Frasier as Anne
- 1993 · The Temp as Rosemary
- 1993 · National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 as Witness
- 1992 · Roadside Prophets as Celeste
- 1991 · Critters 3 as Sal (archive footage)
- 1989 · Life Goes On as Parent #2
- 1988 · Lucky Stiff as Bratty Kid's Mom
- 1987 · The Running Man as Propaganda Officer
- 1987 · Slam Dance as Librarian
- 1986 · Critters as Sally
- 1985 · The Twilight Zone as Kate Simmons (segment "Chameleon")
- 1984 · A Nightmare on Elm Street as Teacher
- 1984 · Who's the Boss? as Mrs. Padnick
- 1984 · Highway to Heaven as Lila Barnes
- 1982 · Alone in the Dark as Receptionist at Haven
- 1982 · Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again as Nurse with Telegram
- 1982 · Cagney & Lacey as Secretary
- 1981 · Falcon Crest as Smoking Female Prisoner
- 1977 · Eight Is Enough as Band Member
- Future · Devoted as Aunt Dottie
- Future · Carrier as Joan Pierson
- Future · The Possession at Gladstone Manor as Nurse
- 2026 · Insidious: The Bleeding World as Elise Rainier
- 2022 · We Are Gathered Here Today as Jean Cole
- 2022 · Living with Chucky as Self
- 2021 · Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman as Mrs. Bundy
- 2020 · Dreamkatcher as Ruth
- 2019 · The Grudge as Faith Matheson
- 2019 · The Final Wish as Kate Hammond
- 2018 · The Main Course: The Making of Critters 2 as Self
- 2017 · Grow House as Mrs. Gilliam
- 2016 · Abattoir as Allie
- 2016 · The Midnight Man as Anna
- 2015 · Tales of Halloween as Lynn's Mother
- 2014 · Lost Time as Mysterious Woman
- 2014 · The Signal as Mirabelle
- 2013 · All American Christmas Carol as Barbara Belnap
- 2013 · Big Ass Spider! as Mrs. Jefferson
- 2012 · Matchmaker Santa as Debbie
- 2012 · FDR: American Badass! as Eleanor Roosevelt
- 2011 · Sedona as Claire
- 2010 · Farewell Mr. Kringle as Zelda
- 2010 · 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams as Granny Boone
- 2010 · Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy as Self
- 2010 · Pickin' and Grinnin' as Bonnie Johnson
- 2010 · The Penthouse as Frances
- 2006 · Down the P.C.H. as Wendy O'Hara
- 2006 · Snakes on a Plane as Grace
- 2006 · Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror as Clara
- 2006 · Unbeatable Harold as Jeannie
- 2005 · Born Killers as Willow
- 2004 · The Hillside Strangler as Jenny Buono
- 2004 · Cellular as Exotic Car Driver
- 2004 · The Almost Guys as Repo Boss
- 2003 · ManFast as Marge
- 2002 · Wish You Were Dead as Jinny Macintosh
- 2002 · Contagion as Laura Crowley
- 2001 · Say It Isn't So as Nurse Bautista
- 2001 · Without Charlie as
- 1999 · Detroit Rock City as Mrs. Bruce
- 1997 · Trading Favors as Darla
- 1996 · Project: ALF as Waitress
- 1994 · Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter as Inmate
- 1994 · In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance as Foreman #2
- 1993 · Three of Hearts as Operator
- 1990 · Pump Up the Volume as PTA Parent #3
- 1987 · The Hidden as Carol Miller
- 1987 · Extreme Prejudice as Employment Office Clerk
- 1985 · Brewster's Millions as Journalist at Rally
- 1984 · Why Me? as
- Future · The Bench as
- 1979 · The Seeding of Sarah Burns as 2nd Nurse
- Future · Before Memory as
- 2025 · 1000 Women in Horror as Self
- 2025 · House of Abraham as
- 2024 · Scared to Death as Max
- 2022 · Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story as Self
- 2022 · Remote as Kane
- 2021 · Behind the Monsters as Self
- 2020 · The Horror Crowd as Herself
- 2020 · Max Reload and the Nether Blasters as Mrs. Wylder
- 2020 · Dead Talk Live as Self - Guest
- 2018 · Herbert West: Reanimator as Meredith
- 2018 · They Bite!: The Making of Critters as Self
- 2018 · Los Angeles Overnight as Cousins
- 2016 · Director's Cut as Captain Wheeler
- 2016 · Jack Goes Home as Teresa
- 2015 · Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves as Helen Keller
- 2015 · Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha as The Grand Lady
- 2012 · Life's an Itch as Gloria
- 2012 · Waffle Hut as Jerrie Wolf
- 2011 · A Good Old Fashioned Orgy as Dody
- 2011 · I Was a Teenage Werebear as
- 2010 · The Land of the Astronauts as
- 2010 · Next Stop Murder as Detective Reeson
- 2010 · The Accidental Death of Joey by Sue as Mrs. Rawlings
- 2010 · VideoDome Rent-O-Rama as The Lush
- 2010 · Killer by Nature as Leona
- 2009 · American Cowslip as Lou Anne
- 2008 · Starz Inside: In the Gutter as Self
- 2006 · Bachelor Party Vegas as Cassandra
- 2005 · Drop Dead Sexy as Ma Muzzy
- 2005 · Confessions of an Action Star as Samantha Jones
- 2004 · Who's Your Daddy? as Ms. Harding
- 2003 · Dead End as Laura Harrington
- 2001 · A Letter from My Father as Elise
- 1998 · Breakfast with Einstein as Miss Desmond
- 1995 · Trial by Fire as Phyliis Cardell
- 1995 · Sketch Artist II: Hands That See as Bonnie
- 1994 · Even Cowgirls Get the Blues as Rubber Rose Maid
- 1993 · Brain Smasher... A Love Story as Make up Artist
- 1993 · Amityville: A New Generation as Nurse Turner
- 1990 · Book of Love as Mrs. Flynn
- 1988 · Critters 2 as Sal
- 1987 · Mistress as Woman Customer
- 1987 · My Demon Lover as Anemic Counter Girl
- 1987 · Stillwatch as
- 1984 · Summer Fantasy as Woman on Beach
- 1980 · A Cry for Love as
- 1980 · The Long Riders as Kate
- 1979 · The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal as Freida
- 1978 · Goin' South as Parasol Lady
- 1977 · A Secret Space as Amy
- Future · Dead of Nowhere 3D as Meemaw
- 1977 · Sex and the Married Woman as Sandra
- 1975 · Hester Street as Whore
- Future · The Old World as The Aunt (voice)