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