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Heather Langenkamp

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Heather Langenkamp
Langenkamp in 2023
Born
Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp[1]

(1964-07-17) July 17, 1964 (age 60)[2]
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Other namesHeather Langenkamp Anderson
Heather L. Anderson
Heather Anderson
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
  • disc jockey
  • producer
Years active1983–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1984; div. 1987)​
​
​
(m. 1989)​
Children2
Signature

Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp (born July 17, 1964) is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and disc jockey. Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which earned her recognition as a scream queen and in popular culture. She reprised the role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and played a fictionalized version of herself in the meta film Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). In 1995, she was inducted into the Fangoria Chainsaw Hall of Fame.

Langenkamp was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She appeared as an extra in the Francis Ford Coppola productions The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983), and had a leading role in the little-seen Nickel Mountain (1984). Asides from her Nightmare on Elm Street appearances, she is also known for starring in the sitcoms Growing Pains (1988-1990) and Just the Ten of Us (1988-1990). Langenkamp experienced an acting resurgence after being cast as Dr. Georgina Stanton in Mike Flanagan's The Midnight Club (2022) and is set to star in Flanagan's drama film The Life of Chuck (2024) and Spider One's horror film Little Bites (2024).

Langenkamp runs AFX Studio with her second husband David LeRoy Anderson, where she has worked as a special make-up effects coordinator for films such as Dawn of the Dead (2004), Cinderella Man (2005), Evan Almighty (2007), and The Cabin in the Woods (2012). She has worked on two documentaries about her experiences with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise: executive producing and narrating Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010), and starring in and producing I Am Nancy (2011). She has been a disc jockey for the Malibu radio station KBUU-LP since the 2010s, going under the pseudonym Sandy Bottoms.[3] She wrote and directed the short film Washed Away (2019).

Early life

[edit]

Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[4] Her mother, Mary Alice (née Myers), is an artist and an abstract expressionist painter. Her father, Robert Dobie Langenkamp, was a petroleum attorney and a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy. She later moved to Washington, DC where she attended the National Cathedral School for Girls, graduating in 1982.

Career

[edit]

A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and television stardom

[edit]

At age eighteen, Langenkamp worked for the Tulsa Tribune where she saw an advertisement looking for extras for Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders in the summer of 1982.[5] Auditions occurred at a nearby elementary school where the casting director took a Polaroid of her; Langenkamp got a call back to appear in a high school scene, in which she had to wear attire based on 1950s fashion.[5] Coppola was shooting another film in Tulsa the same summer, Rumble Fish, after The Outsiders; Langenkamp's friend got a phone call to appear in a street scene, and her friend's mother felt more comfortable with Langenkamp going with her to the set at night.[5] The casting director allowed her to join and gave dialogue to Langenkamp—in which she did several takes of her saying dialogue to Matt Dillon's character; The Outsiders and Rumble Fish did not include her scenes but helped her get into the Screen Actors Guild.[5] These positive experiences made Langenkamp feel like she should attempt to pursue an acting career in Hollywood.[6]

While studying at Stanford University, she would travel to Los Angeles on the weekends to pursue auditions, where she had her first official Hollywood audition for Drew Denbaum's independent drama film Nickel Mountain (1984).[6] While auditioning, her rented car got hit by a runaway truck on Cahuenga Boulevard.[6] Denbaum and the casting director helped Langenkamp during the ordeal.[6] She bonded with them and got cast in the lead role of Callie Wells.[6] She has expressed regret for doing the nude scene as she feared voicing her discomfort while filming—as she was an up-and-coming actress.[7] Her next role was Beth, the daughter of Joanne Woodward and Richard Crenna's characters in the CBS television film Passions (1984).[6] The direction towards her character received praise.[8] Langenkamp reflects, "It was a complex part. Richard plays a philandering husband who has a son with his mistress, so my character was acting like a bridge between these two families."[6]

Langenkamp became aware of auditions for a horror film known as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at the end of 1983.[9] Casting director Annette Benson was familiar to Langenkamp as she had brought her in to read for the lead role in Night of the Comet (1984); the part ultimately went to Catherine Mary Stewart.[10] She auditioned for the highly sought after role of fifteen-year-old heroine Nancy.[10] There were not enough chairs to accommodate the number of actresses auditioning.[9] Craven stated that he wanted someone very "non-Hollywood" and someone who embodied the "all-American, girl-next-door" for the role and believed that Langenkamp had these qualities.[10] Craven informed her that she got the part in January 1984.[9] She beat out more than 200 actresses auditioning for the part. She won the Best Actress Award at the Avoriaz Film Festival for her role as Nancy,[11] and Empire magazine wrote that "Heather Langenkamp [is] an appealing high school lead."[12] She was then established as a scream queen. Later that year, she starred in the music video for ZZ Top's "Sleeping Bag".[13]

In 1986, she guest-starred in CBS Schoolbreak Special and ABC Afterschool Specials before being cast in Suburban Beat (1985), a television pilot that did not get picked up, where she played Hope Sherman, the youngest housewife.[14] Craven approached Langenkamp to reprise her role of Nancy in the sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), about the survivors of Freddy Krueger's previous attempts;[15] it opened to box office success in 1987 grossing over $44 million.[16] Later, she had a guest appearance as Tracy in the television series The New Adventures of Beans Baxter and Monica on the soap opera Hotel (both in 1987).[17] Langenkamp obtained further recognition when she portrayed lead character 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 she guest-starred), from 1988 to 1990. Langenkamp had a cameo role as a victim in Craven's horror film Shocker (1989).[18][19] Langenkamp portrayed the figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the NBC television film Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story, released in 1994, which focused on Tonya Harding's husband's attack.[20]

Langenkamp returned to the Elm Street franchise with Wes Craven's New Nightmare,[21] which is a standalone film, and follows the journey Freddy Krueger takes to the real world.[22] She instead starred as a fictionalized version of herself, based on a stalking incident she was subject to that involved a fan angry over the cancellation of her show, Just the Ten of Us.[23] On the film, Langenkamp stated "It's a really interesting concept, and it's one of the only horror movies where the monster's really in the background, at least until the end. But it's all about our mentality about fear."[24] It was released in 1994, and opened to critical praise,[25] being cited as an influential "metahorror" film. Joe Leydon of Variety stated that she "proves she is still one of cinema’s most resourceful scream queens here."[26] Langenkamp starred in Robert Kurtzman's low-budget superhero film The Demolitionist (1995).[27] In 1997, she portrayed Lou Ann Solomon in one episode of the short-lived science fiction/horror television series Perversions of Science. She later starred in the direct-to-video film Fugitive Mind (1999).

Other endeavors

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Langenkamp in 2008

In 2000, she had a guest role in 18 Wheels of Justice as a waitress. The following year, she and her husband, David LeRoy Anderson, launched the Malibu Gum Factory which sold locally manufactured chewing gum that featured trading cards of local surfers inside each package.[28] Langenkamp played Janet Thompson in an episode of JAG (2002). After this, she took a break from acting to focus on her family.[29] In 2005, she was cast in the Wes Craven horror film Cursed. The film had to be reshot and rewritten, causing her to leave due to scheduling conflicts.[30] Langenkamp portrayed a fictionalized version of herself in the indie mockumentary film The Bet (2007).

Langenkamp starred in, executive produced, and narrated the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. The following year, she produced a documentary entitled I Am Nancy, which focused on her experience portraying Nancy in the A Nightmare on Elm Street films.[31] She portrayed Dorothy in the horror film The Butterfly Room (2012).

As a partner in her husband's Special FX Make-up company, AFX Studio, she worked on the horror-comedy film The Cabin in the Woods. 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, she starred in the horror drama film Home.[37] Langenkamp had a cameo role in the short horror comedy film The Sub (2017) and appeared as herself in the documentary Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (2017). She has a cameo appearance in the horror sequel film Hellraiser: Judgment. Also that year, she 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]

Collaborations with Mike Flanagan and acting comeback

[edit]

Langenkamp started the 2020s with roles in voice acting, providing a voice role an episode of the Cartoon Network adult animated horror comedy JJ Villard's Fairy Tales (2020) and the voices of Dazzle Feather, Mayflower, and a confused mother in the animated adventure film My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021).[39][40] On February 1, 2021, reports confirmed Langenkamp as being a cast member in Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong's 10-episode Netflix horror mystery-thriller series The Midnight Club (2022); an adaptation of Christopher Pike's 1994 novel of the same name as well as various other Pike novels.[41] Langenkamp portrays Dr. Georgina Stanton, an enigmatic doctor who runs Brightcliffe Hospice, the primary setting of the series.[42] The series premiered on October 7, 2022.[43] While intended to have multiple seasons, Netflix ultimately canceled it in December.[44]

On October 25, 2023, Flanagan confirmed that Langenkamp would have a role in his forthcoming drama film The Life of Chuck (2024), an adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name.[45] Langenkamp will have a supporting role as Ellenor in Spider One's upcoming horror film Little Bites, which is executive-produced by Cher and Chaz Bono.[46] Speaking of her character's role in the film: "I really responded to the way my character, Ellenor, thrusts Spider’s terrifying story in a new direction. I love that I get to deliver a kind of wisdom that older women often carry with them and are mysteriously duty-bound to pass along."[46]

Personal life

[edit]

Langenkamp's first husband was musician Alan Pasqua, from 1984 until 1987.[47] Her second husband is make-up artist David LeRoy Anderson, whom she met at a wrap party for the 1988 film The Serpent and the Rainbow.[4] The couple were introduced by casting director Jill Simpson, a good friend of Langenkamp from when they worked together on The Outsiders (1983); Simpson also worked on The Serpent and the Rainbow. Anderson proposed to Langenkamp on the set of Pet Sematary (1989) and they wed that year. Anderson and Langenkamp had two children: Daniel "Atticus" Anderson, who died in 2018 of brain tumor complications at age 26, and daughter Isabelle Anderson.[48]

Filmography

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Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1983 The Outsiders Uncredited extra role Scenes deleted[6]
Rumble Fish
1984 Nickel Mountain Callie Wells
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 Herself / Nancy Thompson
1995 The Demolitionist Christy Carruthers
1999 Fugitive Mind Suzanne Hicks Direct-to-video
2007 The Bet Herself Short film
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 [49]
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness Moto Cameo appearance
2015 Intruder Sally Short film
2016 Home Heather
2017 The Sub Senora Babcock Short film
2018 Hellraiser: Judgment Landlady Direct-to-video; cameo
2019 Road Trash Narrator Short film
Portal Fiona
Washed Away None Short film; writer and director
In Search of Darkness Herself Documentary
2020 In Search of Darkness: Part II Herself Documentary
2021 My Little Pony: A New Generation Dazzle Feather / Mayflower (voice)
2022 Glitch Emily's mother
2024 The Life of Chuck Vera

Television

[edit]
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?"
ABC Afterschool Special Paula Finkle Episode: "Can a Guy Say No?"
Heart of the City Audrey Episode: "Of Dogs and Cat Burglars"
1987 The New Adventures of Beans Baxter Tracy Episode: "Beans Goes to Camp"
Hotel Monica Episode: "Desperate Moves"
1988 Circus of the Stars #13 Herself Television special
1988–1990 Growing Pains Marie Lubbock / Amy Boutilier 5 episodes
Just the Ten of Us Marie Lubbock Main role (47 episodes)
1990 ABC TGIF Marie Lubbock Episode: "#1.19"
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 Tupperware Housewife 2 episodes
2015 The Bay Sharon Monroe Web series; 4 episodes
2016–2020 The Bet Herself Web series; 4 episodes
2017 Truth or Dare Donna Boone Television film
2020 JJ Villard's Fairy Tales Charla (voice) Episode: "Boypunzel"
2022 The Midnight Club Dr. Stanton Main role

Music video

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Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Work Result
1985 Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Best Performance A Nightmare on Elm Street Won
1985 Young Artist Awards Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama Nominated
1989 Young Artist Awards 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
Fangoria Horror Hall of Fame — Won
2010 Fright Night Film Fest Scream Queen of the Year — Won
2020 Atlanta Horror Film Festival Best Actress Cottonmouth Won
2021 Indie Fest Best Ensemble Cast The Bet Won

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Annual Commencement: Order of Exercises – Stanford University". 1987. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  2. ^ "Heather Langenkamp". AllMovie. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  3. ^ Tallal, Jimy (October 6, 2022). "Malibu's 'Spooky' couple put their talents to work on Netflix". The Malibu Times. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Yamato, Jen (October 31, 2018). "Beyond slashers and 'scream queens': Three iconic women of horror on the legacies of their legendary roles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Hutson 2016, p. 106.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Hutson 2016, p. 108.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ Jarvis, Jeff (October 1, 1984). "Picks and Pans Review: Passions". People. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Hutson 2016, p. 112.
  10. ^ a b c Hutson 2016, p. 110.
  11. ^ Barton, Steve (April 26, 2010). "Heather Langenkamp Explains Why You Should Never Sleep Again". Dread Central. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  12. ^ "A Nightmare On Elm Street, Part 3: Dream Warriors". Empire. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Bartel, Jordan (November 8, 2015). "Flashback Friday: The top 10 songs this week in 1985". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  14. ^ From staff. "Heather Langenkamp - Actress". TV Insider. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Crow, David (November 18, 2020). "The New Mutants and Its Nightmare on Elm Street Influences". Den of Geek. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  16. ^ "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Therkelsen, Michael (July 13, 2012). "Where Are They Now? : Heather Langenkamp". Horror Society. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2017). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. McFarland. ISBN 9780786419234.
  20. ^ Bianculli, David (April 30, 1994). "'Most Wanted' looks for 300th fugitive". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  21. ^ Maslin, Janet (October 14, 1994). "FILM REVIEW; Freddy Krueger Enters The Real World. Yikes!". The New York Times. p. 8. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Peitzman, Louis. "How "New Nightmare" Changed The Horror Game". BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  23. ^ "New Nightmare based on factual events". Games.tcm.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  24. ^ "INTERVIEW: Heather Langenkamp Reminisces About Being Freddy's First Final Girl". nerdbastards.com. September 1, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  25. ^ "Wes Craven's New Nightmare Meta Message Cuts Deeper Than Ever". Collider. October 14, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  26. ^ Leydon, Joe (September 12, 1994). "Wes Craven's New Nightmare". Variety. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Heather Langenkamp". Flixster. Fandango. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  28. ^ Jones, Noa (December 11, 2001). "Trading Cards Are Added to Surfers' Turf". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  29. ^ "Interview: Heather Langenkamp". April 9, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  30. ^ Dietsch, Drew (September 14, 2016). "Movie of the Day: Cursed (2005)". CHUD.com.hk. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  31. ^ "Exclusive: Heather Langenkamp Discusses Her New Documentary I Am Nancy". Dread Central. May 5, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  32. ^ "Horror Convention Documentary Fantasm Arrives on DVD November 11th". Dread Central. November 4, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  33. ^ "Langenkamp In Star Trek Into Darkness". Trek Today. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  34. ^ Squires, John (December 11, 2014). "Heather Langenkamp in American Horror Story: Freakshow". iHorror. Retrieved October 4, 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. September 8, 2016. 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. ^ Pockross, Adam (June 12, 2020). "Corey Feldman talks 'depraved' J.J. Villard's Fairy Tales, Edgar Frog, and why Goonies 2 will never say die". Syfy. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  40. ^ Mireri, Julian (January 11, 2022). "Cast of My Little Pony A New Generation". Yen News. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  41. ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (February 1, 2021). "Netflix's 'The Midnight Club' Series Adaptation Sets Cast". Variety. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  42. ^ Rosenstock, Ben (October 14, 2022). "The Midnight Club's Heather Langenkamp on Returning to Horror 38 Years After Elm Street". Vulture. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  43. ^ Nemetz, Dave (June 6, 2022). " The Midnight Club, From Hill House Creator, Gets Release Date at Netflix — Plus, Watch a Spooky Teaser". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  44. ^ Oganesyan, Natalie (December 1, 2022). "The Midnight Club Canceled by Netflix After One Season (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  45. ^ Wampler, Scott (October 25, 2023). "Matthew Lillard (And A Million Other People) Just Joined The Cast Of THE LIFE OF CHUCK". Fangoria. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  46. ^ a b Melanson, Angel (July 10, 2023). "LITTLE BITES Gives Us A Sneak Peek At A Big Monster". Fangoria. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  47. ^ Yu, Ting. "Beyond Freddy". People.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  48. ^ "Obituary: Daniel Atticus Anderson". The Malibu Times. The Malibu Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  49. ^ Collis, Clark. "'Nightmare on Elm Street': Whatever happened to Nancy?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  50. ^ "ZZ Top – Sleeping Bag (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2018 – via YouTube.

Sources

[edit]
  • Hutson, Thommy (2016). Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy: The Making of Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street. Permuted Press. ISBN 978-1-61-868640-4.
[edit]
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