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 · House of Abraham as
- 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
- 2020 · The Call as Edith Cranston
- 2020 · The Horror Crowd as Self
- 2020 · The Voices as The Vagabond
- 2020 · Dreamkatcher as Ruth
- 2020 · Penny Dreadful: City of Angels as Dottie Minter
- 2019 · The Grudge as Faith Matheson
- 2019 · Gothic Harvest as Griselda
- 2019 · The Final Wish as Kate Hammond
- 2018 · Eli Roth's History of Horror as Self
- 2018 · Los Angeles Overnight as Cousins
- 2018 · Insidious: The Last Key as Elise Rainier
- 2017 · The Black Room as Miss Black
- 2017 · Grow House as Mrs. Gilliam
- 2017 · Mountain Top as Muriel Miller
- 2016 · Ouija: Origin of Evil as Old Paulina Zander
- 2016 · The Midnight Man as Anna
- 2016 · Director's Cut as Captain Wheeler
- 2015 · Tales of Halloween as Lynn's Mother
- 2015 · Insidious: Chapter 3 as Elise Rainier
- 2014 · Ouija as Paulina Zander
- 2014 · Lost Time as Mysterious Woman
- 2014 · The Signal as Mirabelle
- 2013 · Insidious: Chapter 2 as Elise Rainier
- 2012 · EastSiders as Diane
- 2012 · Life's an Itch as Gloria
- 2012 · Matchmaker Santa as Debbie
- 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 · Insidious as Elise Rainier
- 2011 · Take Me Home as Jill
- 2011 · Sedona as Claire
- 2010 · Small Town Saturday Night as Phyllis Ryan
- 2010 · Pickin' and Grinnin' as Bonnie Johnson
- 2010 · Killer by Nature as Leona
- 2009 · Dark Moon Rising as Sunny
- 2009 · My Sister's Keeper as Nurse Adele
- 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 · Snakes on a Plane as Grace
- 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
- 2004 · The Hillside Strangler as Jenny Buono
- 2004 · Cellular as Exotic Car Driver
- 2004 · A Cinderella Story as Mrs. Wells
- 2004 · The Almost Guys as Repo Boss
- 2004 · Who's Your Daddy? as Ms. Harding
- 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
- 2002 · Contagion as Laura Crowley
- 2001 · Crossing Jordan as Leather Lauren
- 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
- 1997 · Trading Favors as Darla
- 1996 · Last Man Standing as The Madame
- 1996 · Kingpin as Landlady
- 1996 · Project: ALF as Waitress
- 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 · National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 as Witness
- 1992 · Roadside Prophets as Celeste
- 1991 · Critters 3 as Sal (archive footage)
- 1990 · Book of Love as Mrs. Flynn
- 1989 · Life Goes On as Parent #2
- 1988 · Critters 2 as Sal
- 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")
- 1985 · Brewster's Millions as Journalist at Rally
- 1984 · A Nightmare on Elm Street as Teacher
- 1984 · Who's the Boss? as Mrs. Padnick
- 1984 · Highway to Heaven as Lila Barnes
- 1984 · Summer Fantasy as Woman on Beach
- 1982 · Cagney & Lacey as Secretary
- 1981 · Falcon Crest as Smoking Female Prisoner
- 1978 · Goin' South as Parasol Lady
- 1977 · Eight Is Enough as Band Member
- 1975 · Hester Street as Whore
- Future · The Possession at Gladstone Manor as Nurse
- Future · Carrier as Joan Pierson
- 2026 · Insidious: The Bleeding World as Elise Rainier
- 2026 · Scared to Death as Max
- 2025 · Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies as Self - (archive footage)
- 2025 · 1000 Women in Horror as Self
- 2022 · Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story as Self
- 2022 · Remote as Kane
- 2022 · We Are Gathered Here Today as Jean Cole
- 2022 · Living with Chucky as Self
- 2022 · Pines as Julie (voice)
- 2021 · Behind the Monsters as Self
- 2021 · Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman as Mrs. Bundy
- 2020 · Max Reload and the Nether Blasters as Mrs. Wylder
- 2020 · Dead Talk Live as Self - Guest
- 2020 · Darkness Falls as Angela Anderson
- 2019 · Ambition as Lady Bum
- 2019 · Get Gone as Mama
- 2019 · Room for Rent as Joyce
- 2018 · Herbert West: Reanimator as Meredith
- 2018 · The Main Course: The Making of Critters 2 as Self
- 2018 · They Bite!: The Making of Critters as Self
- 2017 · All About the Money as Mrs. Womack
- 2017 · Buster's Mal Heart as Pauline
- 2016 · Abattoir as Allie
- 2016 · Texas Heart as Mrs. Smith
- 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
- 2014 · Grace as Helen
- 2013 · All American Christmas Carol as Barbara Belnap
- 2013 · Big Ass Spider! as Mrs. Jefferson
- 2013 · Crazy Kind of Love as Denise Mack
- 2013 · Noobz as Mrs. Theodore
- 2012 · FDR: American Badass! as Eleanor Roosevelt
- 2012 · Waffle Hut as Jerrie Wolf
- 2011 · Chillerama as Baglady / Nurse Maleva
- 2011 · A Good Old Fashioned Orgy as Dody
- 2011 · I Was a Teenage Werebear as
- 2011 · Goldberg - P.I. as Violet
- 2010 · Farewell Mr. Kringle as Zelda
- 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 · 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams as Granny Boone
- 2010 · Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy as Self
- 2010 · The Penthouse as Frances
- 2010 · VideoDome Rent-O-Rama as The Lush
- 2009 · Stuntmen as Bumble Jackson
- 2009 · American Cowslip as Lou Anne
- 2008 · Doggie Heaven as Woman
- 2008 · Starz Inside: In the Gutter as Self
- 2008 · Chronic Town as Nurse
- 2008 · Asylum as String's Mother
- 2006 · Surf School as Larry's Mom
- 2006 · Surf School as Larry's mom
- 2006 · Down the P.C.H. as Wendy O'Hara
- 2006 · Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror as Clara
- 2006 · Bachelor Party Vegas as Cassandra
- 2006 · Unbeatable Harold as Jeannie
- 2005 · Drop Dead Sexy as Ma Muzzy
- 2005 · Confessions of an Action Star as Samantha Jones
- 2005 · Hate Crime as Kathleen Slansky
- 2005 · Born Killers as Willow
- 2003 · Dead End as Laura Harrington
- 2003 · ManFast as Marge
- 2002 · Wish You Were Dead as Jinny Macintosh
- 2001 · A Letter from My Father as Elise
- 2001 · Say It Isn't So as Nurse Bautista
- 2001 · Without Charlie as
- 2000 · Attention Shoppers as Libby
- 1999 · Detroit Rock City as Mrs. Bruce
- 1998 · Breakfast with Einstein as Miss Desmond
- 1995 · Trial by Fire as Phyliis Cardell
- 1995 · Sketch Artist II: Hands That See as Bonnie
- 1994 · Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter as Inmate
- 1994 · Even Cowgirls Get the Blues as Rubber Rose Maid
- 1994 · In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance as Foreman #2
- 1993 · Brain Smasher... A Love Story as Make up Artist
- 1993 · Amityville: A New Generation as Nurse Turner
- 1993 · Three of Hearts as Operator
- 1993 · The Temp as Rosemary
- 1990 · Pump Up the Volume as PTA Parent #3
- 1988 · Lucky Stiff as Bratty Kid's Mom
- 1987 · The Hidden as Carol Miller
- 1987 · Mistress as Woman Customer
- 1987 · Extreme Prejudice as Employment Office Clerk
- 1987 · My Demon Lover as Anemic Counter Girl
- 1987 · Stillwatch as
- 1984 · Why Me? as
- 1982 · Alone in the Dark as Receptionist at Haven
- 1982 · Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again as Nurse with Telegram
- 1980 · A Cry for Love as
- 1980 · The Long Riders as Kate
- 1979 · The Seeding of Sarah Burns as 2nd Nurse
- 1979 · The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal as Freida
- 1977 · A Secret Space as Amy
- 1977 · Sex and the Married Woman as Sandra
- Future · Before Memory as
- Future · The Bench as
- Future · Devoted as Aunt Dottie
- Future · The Old World as The Aunt (voice)
- Future · Dead of Nowhere 3D as Meemaw