Lin Shaye
- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- October 12, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Active Years
- 1975–2026 (52 Years)
- Total Credits
- 218 credits in database
Acting Born Oct 12, 1943 Detroit, Michigan, USA 218 credits
Biography
Lin Shaye is an American actress born on October 12, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She has appeared in over a hundred feature films throughout her career spanning more than fifty years. Shaye is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions. Her known credits total 213, and her content score is 100. She is also known as Linda Shaye.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Career overview
Lin Shaye is an American actress born on October 12, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Her acting career spans over fifty years, during which she has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. Shaye is known for her roles in various horror productions.
She has been involved in numerous films, including Alone in the Dark, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, and its sequel Critters 2: The Main Course. Her filmography also includes Amityville: A New Generation, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Dead End, 2001 Maniacs, and its sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams. Additionally, she has appeared in Ouija, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Tales of Halloween, Abattoir, The Final Wish, Room for Rent, and other films.
Throughout her extensive career, Lin Shaye has accumulated a large number of acting credits, with over 213 known credits. Her acting career has been marked by a consistent presence in the film industry, with a focus on horror and other genres.
Ask the Vault
Ask anything about Lin Shaye.
Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Insidious: Out of the FurtherScared to DeathScared to Death · Executive Producer
Common Side EffectsHouse of AbrahamHouse of Abraham · Executive Producer1000 Women in Horror
The Last Stand of Ellen ColeThe Last Stand of Ellen Cole · Executive Producer
Insidious: The Red Door
Frank and PenelopePinesLiving with ChuckyThe Quarry: Movie ModeHollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
Behind the MonstersTed Bundy: American Boogeyman
Penny Dreadful: City of AngelsDreamkatcherDreamkatcher · Executive ProducerDead Talk LiveThe Call
The GrudgeThe Final WishAmbitionRoom for RentRoom for Rent · Co-Producer
Insidious: The Last KeyEli Roth's History of HorrorLos Angeles OvernightHerbert West: ReanimatorThe Main Course: The Making of Critters 2
All About the MoneyThe Black RoomBuster's Mal HeartMountain TopGrow House
Director's CutOuija: Origin of EvilAbattoirTexas HeartThe Midnight Man
Insidious: Chapter 3Tales of HalloweenHelen Keller vs. NightwolvesDon Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha
OuijaThe SignalGraceLost Time
Insidious: Chapter 2Big Ass Spider!Crazy Kind of LoveInsidious: Spectral SightingsNoobz
The Three StoogesEastSidersWaffle HutFDR: American Badass!Life's an Itch
InsidiousChilleramaTake Me HomeA Good Old Fashioned OrgyRosewood Lane
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street LegacyKiller by NatureSmall Town Saturday NightPickin' and Grinnin'The Penthouse
My Sister's KeeperDark Moon RisingAmerican CowslipStuntmen
AsylumKiller PadDoggie HeavenStarz Inside: In the GutterChronic Town
Private PracticeHomo ErectusSnakes on a Plane: Meet the ReptilesPledge This!The Snake Pit: On the Set of 'Snakes on a Plane'
Snakes on a PlaneBachelor Party VegasSnoop Dogg's Hood of HorrorUnbeatable HaroldPure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane
My Name Is EarlMade in Hollywood2001 ManiacsDrop Dead SexyConfessions of an Action Star
A Cinderella StoryCellularWho's Your Daddy?The Hillside StranglerThe Almost Guys
Barely LegalDumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met LloydDead EndStuck on YouManFast
Boat TripWish You Were DeadContagion
Crossing JordanSay It Isn't SoWithout CharlieA Letter from My Father
Me, Myself & IreneAttention Shoppers
Detroit Rock City
BeckerThere's Something About MaryBreakfast with EinsteinLiving Out Loud
Perversions of ScienceTrading Favors
Full Filmography
218 titles- Insidious: Out of the Further (2026) as Elise Rainier
- Scared to Death (2026) as Max
- Scared to Death (2026) Executive Producer
- Common Side Effects (2025) as Sonia (voice)
- House of Abraham (2025)
- House of Abraham (2025) Executive Producer
- 1000 Women in Horror (2025) as Self
- The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024) as Ellen
- The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024) Executive Producer
- Insidious: The Red Door (2023) as Elise Rainier
- Frank and Penelope (2022) as Ophelia
- Pines (2022) as Julie (voice)
- Living with Chucky (2022) as Self
- The Quarry: Movie Mode (2022) as Constance Hackett
- Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story (2022) as Self
- We Are Gathered Here Today (2022) as Jean Cole
- Remote (2022) as Kane
- Behind the Monsters (2021) as Self
- Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021) as Mrs. Bundy
- Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020) as Dottie Minter
- Dreamkatcher (2020) as Ruth
- Dreamkatcher (2020) Executive Producer
- Dead Talk Live (2020) as Self - Guest
- The Call (2020) as Edith Cranston
- Darkness Falls (2020) as Angela Anderson
- Max Reload and the Nether Blasters (2020) as Mrs. Wylder
- The Voices (2020) as The Vagabond
- The Horror Crowd (2020) as Self
- The Grudge (2019) as Faith Matheson
- The Final Wish (2019) as Kate Hammond
- Ambition (2019) as Lady Bum
- Room for Rent (2019) as Joyce
- Room for Rent (2019) Co-Producer
- Get Gone (2019) as Mama
- Gothic Harvest (2019) as Griselda
- Insidious: The Last Key (2018) as Elise Rainier
- Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018) as Self
- Los Angeles Overnight (2018) as Cousins
- Herbert West: Reanimator (2018) as Meredith
- The Main Course: The Making of Critters 2 (2018) as Self
- They Bite!: The Making of Critters (2018) as Self
- All About the Money (2017) as Mrs. Womack
- The Black Room (2017) as Miss Black
- Buster's Mal Heart (2017) as Pauline
- Mountain Top (2017) as Muriel Miller
- Grow House (2017) as Mrs. Gilliam
- Director's Cut (2016) as Captain Wheeler
- Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) as Old Paulina Zander
- Abattoir (2016) as Allie
- Texas Heart (2016) as Mrs. Smith
- The Midnight Man (2016) as Anna
- Jack Goes Home (2016) as Teresa
- Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) as Elise Rainier
- Tales of Halloween (2015) as Lynn's Mother
- Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves (2015) as Helen Keller
- Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha (2015) as The Grand Lady
- Ouija (2014) as Paulina Zander
- The Signal (2014) as Mirabelle
- Grace (2014) as Helen
- Lost Time (2014) as Mysterious Woman
- Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) as Elise Rainier
- Big Ass Spider! (2013) as Mrs. Jefferson
- Crazy Kind of Love (2013) as Denise Mack
- Insidious: Spectral Sightings (2013) as Elise
- Noobz (2013) as Mrs. Theodore
- All American Christmas Carol (2013) as Barbara Belnap
- The Three Stooges (2012) as Nurse Crotchet
- EastSiders (2012) as Diane
- Waffle Hut (2012) as Jerrie Wolf
- FDR: American Badass! (2012) as Eleanor Roosevelt
- Life's an Itch (2012) as Gloria
- 3 Days of Normal (2012) as May
- Jewtopia (2012) as Dr. Sutton
- Matchmaker Santa (2012) as Debbie
- Insidious (2011) as Elise Rainier
- Chillerama (2011) as Baglady / Nurse Maleva
- Take Me Home (2011) as Jill
- A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011) as Dody
- Rosewood Lane (2011) as Mrs. Hawthorne
- Sedona (2011) as Claire
- I Was a Teenage Werebear (2011)
- Goldberg - P.I. (2011) as Violet
- Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) as Self
- Killer by Nature (2010) as Leona
- Small Town Saturday Night (2010) as Phyllis Ryan
- Pickin' and Grinnin' (2010) as Bonnie Johnson
- The Penthouse (2010) as Frances
- 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010) as Granny Boone
- VideoDome Rent-O-Rama (2010) as The Lush
- Farewell Mr. Kringle (2010) as Zelda
- Next Stop Murder (2010) as Detective Reeson
- The Land of the Astronauts (2010)
- The Accidental Death of Joey by Sue (2010) as Mrs. Rawlings
- My Sister's Keeper (2009) as Nurse Adele
- Dark Moon Rising (2009) as Sunny
- American Cowslip (2009) as Lou Anne
- Stuntmen (2009) as Bumble Jackson
- Asylum (2008) as String's Mother
- Killer Pad (2008) as Marge
- Doggie Heaven (2008) as Woman
- Starz Inside: In the Gutter (2008) as Self
- Chronic Town (2008) as Nurse
- Private Practice (2007) as Mrs. Taylor
- Homo Erectus (2007) as Museum Guide
- Snakes on a Plane: Meet the Reptiles (2007) as Self
- Pledge This! (2007) as Miss Prin
- The Snake Pit: On the Set of 'Snakes on a Plane' (2007) as Self
- Snakes on a Set: Behind the Scenes (2007) as Self
- Chasing Robert (2007) as Martha the Bookie
- The Election (2007) as The Wife
- Snakes on a Plane (2006) as Grace
- Bachelor Party Vegas (2006) as Cassandra
- Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror (2006) as Clara
- Unbeatable Harold (2006) as Jeannie
- Pure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane (2006) as Self
- Hoboken Hollow (2006) as Mrs. Brodrick
- Surf School (2006) as Larry's Mom
- Driftwood (2006) as Nancy Forrester
- Down the P.C.H. (2006) as Wendy O'Hara
- My Name Is Earl (2005) as Paul's Mom
- Made in Hollywood (2005) as Self
- 2001 Maniacs (2005) as Granny Boone
- Drop Dead Sexy (2005) as Ma Muzzy
- Confessions of an Action Star (2005) as Samantha Jones
- Born Killers (2005) as Willow
- Hate Crime (2005) as Kathleen Slansky
- A Cinderella Story (2004) as Mrs. Wells
- Cellular (2004) as Exotic Car Driver
- Who's Your Daddy? (2004) as Ms. Harding
- The Hillside Strangler (2004) as Jenny Buono
- The Almost Guys (2004) as Repo Boss
- Barely Legal (2003) as Tequlia
- Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) as Margie
- Dead End (2003) as Laura Harrington
- Stuck on You (2003) as Makeup Babe
- ManFast (2003) as Marge
- Boat Trip (2002) as Sonya the Coach
- Wish You Were Dead (2002) as Jinny Macintosh
- Contagion (2002) as Laura Crowley
- Crossing Jordan (2001) as Leather Lauren
- Say It Isn't So (2001) as Nurse Bautista
- Without Charlie (2001)
- A Letter from My Father (2001) as Elise
- Me, Myself & Irene (2000) as Mrs. Caleron
- Attention Shoppers (2000) as Libby
- Detroit Rock City (1999) as Mrs. Bruce
- Becker (1998) as Mrs. Cooper
- There's Something About Mary (1998) as Magda
- Breakfast with Einstein (1998) as Miss Desmond
- Living Out Loud (1998) as Lisa's Nurse
- Perversions of Science (1997) as Nurse
- Trading Favors (1997) as Darla
- Arli$$ (1996) as Shurja
- Last Man Standing (1996) as The Madame
- Kingpin (1996) as Landlady
- Project: ALF (1996) as Waitress
- Trial by Fire (1995) as Phyliis Cardell
- Nature of the Beast (1995) as Carol Powell
- Sketch Artist II: Hands That See (1995) as Bonnie
- ER (1994) as Margaret
- Dumb and Dumber (1994) as Mrs. Neugeboren
- Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) as Nurse with Pills
- My So-Called Life (1994) as Parent #2
- Corrina, Corrina (1994) as Repeat Nanny
- Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994) as Rubber Rose Maid
- Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter (1994) as Inmate
- In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance (1994) as Foreman #2
- Frasier (1993) as Anne
- National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) as Witness
- The Temp (1993) as Rosemary
- Three of Hearts (1993) as Operator
- Amityville: A New Generation (1993) as Nurse Turner
- Brain Smasher... A Love Story (1993) as Make up Artist
- Roadside Prophets (1992) as Celeste
- Critters 3 (1991) as Sal (archive footage)
- Pump Up the Volume (1990) as PTA Parent #3
- Book of Love (1990) as Mrs. Flynn
- Life Goes On (1989) as Parent #2
- Critters 2 (1988) as Sal
- Lucky Stiff (1988) as Bratty Kid's Mom
- The Running Man (1987) as Propaganda Officer
- Extreme Prejudice (1987) as Employment Office Clerk
- The Hidden (1987) as Carol Miller
- Stillwatch (1987)
- My Demon Lover (1987) as Anemic Counter Girl
- Slam Dance (1987) as Librarian
- Mistress (1987) as Woman Customer
- Critters (1986) as Sally
- The Twilight Zone (1985) as Kate Simmons (segment "Chameleon")
- Brewster's Millions (1985) as Journalist at Rally
- Highway to Heaven (1984) as Lila Barnes
- Who's the Boss? (1984) as Mrs. Padnick
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as Teacher
- Summer Fantasy (1984) as Woman on Beach
- Why Me? (1984)
- Cagney & Lacey (1982) as Secretary
- Alone in the Dark (1982) as Receptionist at Haven
- Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again (1982) as Nurse with Telegram
- Falcon Crest (1981) as Smoking Female Prisoner
- The Long Riders (1980) as Kate
- A Cry for Love (1980)
- The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal (1979) as Freida
- The Seeding of Sarah Burns (1979) as 2nd Nurse
- Goin' South (1978) as Parasol Lady
- Eight Is Enough (1977) as Band Member
- Sex and the Married Woman (1977) as Sandra
- A Secret Space (1977) as Amy
- Hester Street (1975) as Whore
- Mascotland
- Thread: An Insidious Tale as Elise Rainier
- Dead of Nowhere 3D as Meemaw
- The Old World as The Aunt (voice)
- The Possession at Gladstone Manor as Nurse
- Devoted as Aunt Dottie
- Carrier as Joan Pierson
- Before Memory
- Jackson's Hole as Netter
- The Bench
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Lin Shaye best known for?
Lin Shaye is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including Insidious: Out of the Further (2026), Common Side Effects (2025), The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024), The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024).
When and where was Lin Shaye born?
Lin Shaye was born on October 12, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
How many credits does Lin Shaye have?
Lin Shaye has accumulated over 218 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1975 to 2026.
What is Lin Shaye's background in cinema and television?
Lin Shaye is an American actress born on October 12, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She has appeared in over a hundred feature films throughout her career spanning more than fifty years. Shaye is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions. Her known credits total 213, and her content sc...
Lin Shaye by the numbers
218credits
194films
24TV series
1975–2026active years
Age in their best-rated roles
- Pines (2022) as Julie (voice) — aged about 78
- Common Side Effects (2025) as Sonia (voice) — aged about 81
- The Last Stand of Ellen Cole (2024) as Ellen — aged about 80
- ER (1994) as Margaret — aged about 50
- My So-Called Life (1994) as Parent #2 — aged about 50
- Frasier (1993) as Anne — aged about 49
What viewers say
No comments yet. Be the first to share your take on Lin Shaye.