Heather Langenkamp

Heather Elizabeth Anderson (née Langenkamp; born July 17, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and prosthetic makeup coordinator.[2][3] She began her career as an extra in the Francis Ford Coppola films The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983), before becoming known for her role as Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Chuck Russell's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). She also had roles in two of Craven's cult films: a victim in Shocker (1989) and a fictionalized version of herself in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994).

Heather Langenkamp
Langenkamp in 2008
Born	Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp[1] (1964-07-17) July 17, 1964 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress writer director producer prosthetic makeup coordinator
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Alan Pasqua ​ ( m. 1984; div. 1987) David Leroy Anderson ( m. 1989)
Children	2
Signature

Langenkamp starred as Marie Lubbock and Amy Boutilier on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains (1988–1990) and Just the Ten of Us (1988–1990). Her other roles include the figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the NBC television film Tonya and Nancy: The Inside Story (1994), Dorothy in the horror film The Butterfly Room (2012), Moto in J. J. Abrams' sci-fi film Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Donna Boone in the horror film Truth or Dare (2017). In 2020, Langenkamp made her voice acting debut on the animated comedy series JJ Villard's Fairy Tales, which premiered on Adult Swim.

As a filmmaker, she served as executive producer and narrator on the horror documentary films Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) and I Am Nancy (2011). She directed a segment in the horror film Prank (2008) and the short film Washed Away (2019).

Langenkamp is the co-owner of the make-up FX firm AFX Studio[4] which has designed and manufactured award-winning make-up effects for film and television. She has worked as the special makeup effects coordinator for a variety of films, including Dawn of the Dead (2004), Cinderella Man (2005), Evan Almighty (2007), and The Cabin in the Woods (2012).

Early life

Langenkamp was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother, Mary Alice (née Myers), is an artist, and her father, Robert Dobie Langenkamp, is a petroleum attorney who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy in both the Carter Administration (where he was largely responsible for realizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) and the Clinton Administration (where he was largely responsible for privatizing Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1), and as Director of the National Energy & Environmental Law & Policy Institute of the University of Tulsa College of Law.[5][6] She is of German, Scottish, and English ancestry. Langenkamp attended Holland Hall School in Tulsa[7] but later moved to Washington, D.C. after her father's appointment to the Carter administration where she attended The National Cathedral School for Girls, graduating in 1982.[8]

Career

1983–1994: A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and other roles

Langenkamp's career began in film, where she was cast as an extra in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film The Outsiders. The same year, Langenkamp had a speaking role in Coppola's next film Rumble Fish, which earned her a SAG card.[9] Her scenes were deleted from the final cut of both films. The 1984 film Nickel Mountain, which is based on John Gardner's 1973 novel of the same name, marked her acting debut.[10]

While she was studying at Stanford University, Wes Craven cast her as teen heroine Nancy Thompson in his film A Nightmare on Elm Street. Craven wanted someone very "non-Hollywood" to play Nancy, and he believed Langenkamp met this quality.[11] She beat out more than 200 actresses auditioning for the part.[12] The film earned $25 million at the American box office.[13] Langenkamp received the Best Actress Award at the Avoriaz Film Festival for her role as Nancy.[14] Langenkamp's next role was Beth Kennerly in the television film Passions. The same year, she auditioned for the role of Samantha "Sam" Belmont in the science fiction horror comedy film Night of the Comet, but the part went to Kelli Maroney.[15]

In 1985, Langenkamp was cast in Suburban Beat, a TV pilot that was not picked up for a full series, where she played Hope Sherman, the youngest housewife.[16] The same year, Langenkamp starred in the music video for ZZ Top's "Sleeping Bag".[17] The following year, she guest starred in CBS Schoolbreak Special and ABC Afterschool Specials.

Langenkamp at the Fan Expo Canada in 2014

In 1987, Langenkamp reprised her role as Nancy in the film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The film focused on the survivors of Freddy Krueger's previous attempts.[18] The same year, she portrayed Tracy in The New Adventures of Beans Baxter and Monica in Hotel.

Langenkamp played Marie Lubbock on the ABC television series Just the Ten of Us, a spin-off of the popular ABC situation comedy Growing Pains (on which Langenkamp guest-starred), from 1988 to 1990. Both Growing Pains and Just the Ten of Us won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Series.[19][20] That same year, she and her castmates were nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special. In 1989, she had a cameo role as the first victim of Horace Pinker in Wes Craven's Shocker.[21][22] In the film, she is shown on a news report being pulled away on a stretcher. In a retrospective interview, Langenkamp revealed that she auditioned for an episode of the television series Freddy's Nightmares.[23]

Langenkamp returned to the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, playing a fictionalized version of herself in the 1994 film Wes Craven's New Nightmare. The same year, she portrayed the figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the NBC television film Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story, which focused on the 1994 attack on Kerrigan.

1995–2011: Film and television work

In 1995, Langenkamp starred in The Demolitionist.[24] In 1997, Langenkamp portrayed Lou Ann Solomon in one episode of the short-lived science fiction/horror television series Perversions of Science. Langenkamp later starred in the direct-to-video film Fugitive Mind (1999). In 2000, she had a guest role in 18 Wheels of Justice as a waitress. The following year, Langenkamp, alongside her husband David Anderson, launched the Malibu Gum Factory which sold locally manufactured chewing gum that featured trading cards of local surfers inside each package.[25] In 2002, Langenkamp portrayed Janet Thompson in an episode of JAG. After this appearance, she took a break from acting to focus on her family.[26] In 2005, Langenkamp was cast in the Wes Craven horror film Cursed. The film had to be reshot and rewritten causing Langenkamp to leave the production due to scheduling conflicts.[27]

In 2007, Langenkamp was cast as herself in the indie mockumentary film The Bet (released as a web series with the same title in April 2020). She starred in, executive produced, and narrated the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. The following year, Langenkamp produced a documentary entitled I Am Nancy, which focused on her experience portraying Nancy in the A Nightmare on Elm Street films.[28]

2012–present: The Butterfly Room, Truth or Dare, and other projects

I would never say no to the option of doing something like that. It's a great universe and it's one of the most creative franchises, there's more to be made, I'm sure.

—Langenkamp on the possibility of returning to the A Nightmare on Elm Street series[29]

In 2012, Langenkamp portrayed Dorothy in the horror film The Butterfly Room. As a partner in her husband's Special FX Make-up company, AFX Studio, Heather worked on the horror comedy film The Cabin in the Woods. The same year, she appeared as herself in a short documentary entitled The Cabin in the Woods: An Army of Nightmares - Makeup & Animatronic, which was included in the film's Blu-ray release and examined how the creatures were brought to life through special effects.[30][31]

In 2013, Langenkamp appeared as herself in the documentary Fantasm[32] and had a small role of an alien in the film, Star Trek Into Darkness in which her husband David Leroy Anderson designed all of the Special FX make-up.[33] In 2014, she made a cameo appearance in the fourth season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story, titled Freak Show, as a Tupperware party lady.[34]

In 2015, Langenkamp was cast in the short film Intruder, portrayed Sharon Monroe in four episodes of the drama series The Bay, and narrated the short horror film Vault of the Macabre II.[35][36] In 2016, Langenkamp starred in the horror drama film Home.[37]

In 2017, Langenkamp had a cameo role in the short horror comedy film The Sub and appeared as herself in the documentary Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary. She has a cameo appearance in the horror sequel film Hellraiser: Judgment. Also in 2017, Langenkamp portrayed the adult version of the "final girl" Donna Boone in the Syfy television horror film Truth or Dare, guiding a group of teenagers with their battle with a deadly spirit that left her physically scarred several years prior.[38]

Personal life

Langenkamp wed David LeRoy Anderson, a special effects artist, in 1989, and together, they have two children, son Daniel "Atticus" Anderson (1991-2018), who died as the result of brain tumor, and daughter Isabelle Anderson.[39] She was previously married to Alan Pasqua, a musician, from 1984 until 1987.[40]

Her personal life as the wife of a special effects artist with a young son, and a stalking incident involving an obsessed fan angry over the cancellation of her show, Just the Ten of Us, served as the basis for Wes Craven's New Nightmare, in which she played a fictionalized version of herself.[41]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	The Outsiders	Evie	Scenes deleted
1983	Rumble Fish	Extra	Scenes deleted
1984	Nickel Mountain	Callie Wells
1984	A Nightmare on Elm Street	Nancy Thompson
1987	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors	Nancy Thompson
1989	Shocker	Victim	Cameo
1994	Wes Craven's New Nightmare	Heather Langenkamp
1995	The Demolitionist	Christy Carruthers
1999	Fugitive Mind	Suzanne Hicks	Direct-to-video
2003	Freddy vs. Jason	Nancy Thompson	Archive footage; special thanks
2007	The Bet	Heather Langenkamp
2008	Prank	None	Director; segment: "Jennifer"
2010	Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy	Narrator / Herself	Documentary; also executive producer
2011	I Am Nancy	Herself	Documentary; also producer
2012	The Butterfly Room	Dorothy
2013	Fantasm	Herself	Documentary
2013	Star Trek Into Darkness	Moto	Cameo
2015	Intruder	Sally	Short film
2015	Vault of the Macabre II	Narrator	Short film
2016	Home	Heather
2017	The Sub	Senora Babcock	Short film
2017	Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary	Herself	Documentary
2018	Hellraiser: Judgment	Landlady	Direct-to-video; cameo
2018	Unholy Blood	Lead	Short film
2019	In Search of Darkness	Herself	Documentary
2019	Road Trash	Narrator	Short film
2019	Getting the Kinks Out	Esther
2019	Portal	Fiona
2019	The Magic Shop	Aunt Jen	Short film
2019	Washed Away	None	Short film; writer and director
2020	#StopTheNightmare	Nancy Thompson	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Passions	Beth Kennerly	Television film
1985	Suburban Beat	Hope Sherman	Television pilot
1986	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Erica	Episode: "Have You Tried Talking to Patty?"
1986	ABC Afterschool Special	Paula Finkle	Episode: "Can a Guy Say No?"
1986	Heart of the City	Audrey	Episode: "Of Dogs and Cat Burglars"
1987	The New Adventures of Beans Baxter	Tracy	Episode: "Beans Goes to Camp"
1987	Hotel	Monica	Episode: "Desperate Moves"
1988	Circus of the Stars #13	Herself	Television special
1988–1990	Growing Pains	Marie Lubbock / Amy Boutilier	5 episodes
1988–1990	Just the Ten of Us	Marie Lubbock	Main role (47 episodes)
1990	ABC TGIF	Marie Lubbock	Episode: "#1.19"
1992	Freddy Speaks	Herself	Television documentary
1994	Tonya and Nancy: The Inside Story	Nancy Kerrigan	Television film
1997	Perversions of Science	Lou Ann Solomon	Episode: "Ultimate Weapon"
1999	Partners	Suzanne	Episode: "Always..."
2000	18 Wheels of Justice	Waitress	Episode: "Genesis
2002	JAG	Janet Thompson	Episode: "Odd Man Out"
2014	American Horror Story: Freak Show	Female Toulouse	2 episodes
2017	Truth or Dare	Donna Boone	Television film
2020	JJ Villard's Fairy Tales	Charla (voice)	Episode: "Boypunzel"

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	The Bay	Sharon Monroe	4 episodes
2016–2020	The Bet	Heather Langenkamp	4 episodes

AFX Studio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Prosthetics production crew	As Heather Langenkamp Anderson
2005	Cinderella Man	Special makeup effects: AFX Studios	As Heather Langenkamp Anderson, co-owner of Make-Up FX Lab
2007	Evan Almighty	Special makeup effects coordinator: AFX Studio	Co-owner of Make-Up FX Lab
2007	Dead Silence	Makeup artist	Co-owner of Make-Up FX Lab[42]
2012	The Cabin in the Woods	Special makeup effects crew: AFX Studio / Herself	Special features: An Army of Nightmares - Makeup & Animatronic; documentary short as Heather L. Anderson

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Role	Ref.
1985	"Sleeping Bag"	ZZ Top	Sleeping Girl	[43]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
1985	Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival	Best Performance	A Nightmare on Elm Street	Won
	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama		Nominated
1989		Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special	Just the Ten of Us	Nominated
1995	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Actress	Wes Craven's New Nightmare	Won
2010	Fright Night Film Fest	Scream Queen of the Year	N/A	Won
2020	Indie Fest	Best Ensemble Cast	The Bet: The Web Series	Won

References

1. "Annual Commencement: Order of Exercises - Stanford University". Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
2. "Heather Langenkamp - Filmography - Movies & TV". NYTimes.com. 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
3. "Heather Langenkamp singing". Youtube.com. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
4. "AFX Studio". AFX Studio. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
5. "Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1981 ... - United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Dept. of the Interior and Related Agencies - Google Books". Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
6. "M. A. Langenkamp - Biography". Langenkamp-art.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
7. "Tulsa World: Scream queen". archive.vn. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 1 November 2009.
8. "Heather Langenkamp". Wn.com. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
9. Collis, Clark (July 29, 2011). "'Nightmare on Elm Street': Whatever happened to Nancy?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
10. "Heather Langenkamp, Star of ABC's Just the Ten of Us, Who Has Put Her Nightmares Down for the Count". People. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
11. "A Nightmare on Elm Street (Digitally Remastered): Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Charles Fleischer, Joseph Whipp, Lin Shaye, Joe Unger, Mimi Craven, Jacques Haitkin, Wes Craven, John H. Burrows, Joseph Wolf, Robert Shaye, Sara Risher, Stanley Dudelson: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
12. "Horror Movie News | Reviews | Release Dates | Trailers | Arrow in the Head". Joblo.com. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
13. "A Nightmare on Elm Street business statistics". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
14. Barton, Steve (2010-04-26). "Heather Langenkamp Explains Why You Should Never Sleep Again". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
15. Muir, John (2012). Horror Films of the 1980s, Volume 1. McFarland. ISBN 0-786-45501-2.
16. Corry, John (August 16, 1985). "TV WEEKEND; 'SUBURBAN BEAT,' AN NBC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
17. Bartel, Jordan (November 8, 2015). "Flashback Friday: The top 10 songs this week in 1985". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
18. "Dream Warriors". IMDb.com. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
19. "JUST THE TEN OF US". Emmys. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
20. "Growing Pains". Emmys. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
21. Heerden, Bill van (2008). Film and Television In-Jokes: Nearly 2,000 Intentional References, Parodies, Allusions, Personal Touches, Cameos, Spoofs and Homages. McFarland. ISBN 9781476612065.
22. Muir, John Kenneth (2017). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. McFarland. ISBN 9780786419234.
23. Scott, Darren (October 30, 2015). "It's just a nightmare… Heather Langenkamp talks Nancy's Nightmare on Elm Street". GT. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
24. "Heather Langenkamp". Flixster. Fandango. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
25. Jones, Noa (December 11, 2001). "Trading Cards Are Added to Surfers' Turf". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
26. "Interview: Heather Langenkamp". Retrieved June 11, 2016.
27. Dietsch, Drew (September 14, 2016). "Movie of the Day: Cursed (2005)". CHUD.com.hk. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
28. "Exclusive: Heather Langenkamp Discusses Her New Documentary I Am Nancy". Dread Central. May 5, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
29. "Heather Langenkamp thinks there are more Elm Street stories to tell". JoBlo.com. US. March 3, 2017.
30. "The Butterfly Room cast". The Butterfly Room. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
31. Collis, Clark. "'Cabin in the Woods': Joss Whedon and the cast talk about the horror of waiting". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
32. "Horror Convention Documentary Fantasm Arrives on DVD November 11th". Dread Central. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
33. "Langenkamp In Star Trek Into Darkness". Trek Today. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
34. Squires, John. "Heather Langenkamp in American Horror Story: Freakshow". iHorror. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
35. "Intruder Short Review". Shock Ya Movies. March 31, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
36. Jones, Tamika (November 3, 2015). "Round-Up: UNCANNY Q&A with Lucy Griffiths, EMELIE, ONE EYED GIRL Blu-ray / DVD, VAULT OF THE MACABRE II". Daily Dead. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
37. "Heather Langenkamp Narrated This Nancy Thompson Fan Film". iHorror.com. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
38. McGrew, Shannon (October 5, 2017). "An innocent game turns deadly in SYFY's 'Truth or Dare'". 1428 Elm. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
39. "Obituary: Daniel Atticus Anderson". The Malibu Times. The Malibu Times. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
40. Yu, Ting. "Beyond Freddy". People.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
41. "New Nightmare based on factual events". Games.tcm.com. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
42. Klein, Brennan. "Cool Horror Videos: Take a tour of the AFX Studio with Heather Langenkamp". JoBlo.com. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
43. "ZZ Top – Sleeping Bag (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". YouTube. Retrieved November 11, 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Heather Langenkamp on IMDb
• Heather Langenkamp at AllMovie
• Heather Langenkamp at the TCM Movie Database