Cast & creator
Lin Shaye
Best known for Frasier, ER, Crossing Jordan
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). Description above from the Wikipedia article Lin Shaye, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also known as: Linda Shaye
194
film credits
24
television credits
213
1975–2026 · acting roles
5.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (218)
Showing 218 of 218 credits
Frasier
Anne
1993
ER
Margaret
1994
Crossing Jordan
Leather Lauren
2001
Falcon Crest
Smoking Female Prisoner
1981
Private Practice
Mrs. Taylor
2007
My Name Is Earl
Paul's Mom
2005
The Twilight Zone
Kate Simmons (segment "Chameleon")
1985
Highway to Heaven
Lila Barnes
1984
Cagney & Lacey
Secretary
1982
Who's the Boss?
Mrs. Padnick
1984
Arli$$
Shurja
1996
Insidious: Out of the Further
Elise Rainier
2026
Becker
Mrs. Cooper
1998
Life Goes On
Parent #2
1989
Eight Is Enough
Band Member
1977
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Teacher
1984
Insidious: The Last Key
Elise Rainier
2018
Insidious: The Red Door
Elise Rainier
2023
Common Side Effects
Sonia (voice)
2025
Dumb and Dumber
Mrs. Neugeboren
1994
Insidious: Chapter 2
Elise Rainier
2013
Made in Hollywood
Self
2005
Insidious
Elise Rainier
2011
My So-Called Life
Parent #2
1994
Insidious: Chapter 3
Elise Rainier
2015
Eli Roth's History of Horror
Self
2018
Me, Myself & Irene
Mrs. Caleron
2000
A Cinderella Story
Mrs. Wells
2004
There's Something About Mary
Magda
1998
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Old Paulina Zander
2016
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels
Dottie Minter
2020
The Running Man
Propaganda Officer
1987
The Grudge
Faith Matheson
2019
My Sister's Keeper
Nurse Adele
2009
The Last Stand of Ellen Cole
Ellen
2024The Last Stand of Ellen Cole
Executive Producer
2024
EastSiders
Diane
2012
Perversions of Science
Nurse
1997
Cellular
Exotic Car Driver
2004
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Nurse with Pills
1994
Snakes on a Plane
Grace
2006
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
Margie
2003
Last Man Standing
The Madame
1996
Critters
Sally
1986
Brewster's Millions
Journalist at Rally
1985
Ouija
Paulina Zander
2014
The Three Stooges
Nurse Crotchet
2012
The Signal
Mirabelle
2014
Frank and Penelope
Ophelia
2022
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
Witness
1993
The Long Riders
Kate
1980
The Hidden
Carol Miller
1987
Critters 2
Sal
1988
Pump Up the Volume
PTA Parent #3
1990
Stuck on You
Makeup Babe
2003
Dead Talk Live
Self - Guest
2020
Kingpin
Landlady
1996
Critters 3
Sal (archive footage)
1991
Barely Legal
Tequlia
2003
Corrina, Corrina
Repeat Nanny
1994
2001 Maniacs
Granny Boone
2005
Boat Trip
Sonya the Coach
2002
Project: ALF
Waitress
1996
Detroit Rock City
Mrs. Bruce
1999
Alone in the Dark
Receptionist at Haven
1982
Say It Isn't So
Nurse Bautista
2001
Dead End
Laura Harrington
2003
Behind the Monsters
Self
2021
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
Self
2010
The Midnight Man
Anna
2016
The Temp
Rosemary
1993
The Call
Edith Cranston
2020
Tales of Halloween
Lynn's Mother
2015
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
Dody
2011
Extreme Prejudice
Employment Office Clerk
1987
Goin' South
Parasol Lady
1978
Big Ass Spider!
Mrs. Jefferson
2013
Dreamkatcher
Ruth
2020Dreamkatcher
Executive Producer
2020
Who's Your Daddy?
Ms. Harding
2004
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Rubber Rose Maid
1994
Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror
Clara
2006
Drop Dead Sexy
Ma Muzzy
2005
Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again
Nurse with Telegram
1982
Amityville: A New Generation
Nurse Turner
1993
The Black Room
Miss Black
2017
Homo Erectus
Museum Guide
2007
Pledge This!
Miss Prin
2007
Chillerama
Baglady / Nurse Maleva
2011
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman
Mrs. Bundy
2021
The Final Wish
Kate Hammond
2019
Abattoir
Allie
2016
Living Out Loud
Lisa's Nurse
1998
Nature of the Beast
Carol Powell
1995
Buster's Mal Heart
Pauline
2017
Brain Smasher... A Love Story
Make up Artist
1993
Take Me Home
Jill
2011
2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams
Granny Boone
2010
Wish You Were Dead
Jinny Macintosh
2002
Mountain Top
Muriel Miller
2017
Confessions of an Action Star
Samantha Jones
2005
Grace
Helen
2014
Small Town Saturday Night
Phyllis Ryan
2010
Living with Chucky
Self
2022
Crazy Kind of Love
Denise Mack
2013
Asylum
String's Mother
2008
Jack Goes Home
Teresa
2016
The Quarry: Movie Mode
Constance Hackett
2022
Jewtopia
Dr. Sutton
2012
Max Reload and the Nether Blasters
Mrs. Wylder
2020
Bachelor Party Vegas
Cassandra
2006
Darkness Falls
Angela Anderson
2020
Life's an Itch
Gloria
2012
My Demon Lover
Anemic Counter Girl
1987
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
Self
2022
The Land of the Astronauts
2010
All American Christmas Carol
Barbara Belnap
2013
In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance
Foreman #2
1994
Helen Keller vs. Nightwolves
Helen Keller
2015
Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha
The Grand Lady
2015
All About the Money
Mrs. Womack
2017A Cry for Love
1980
They Bite!: The Making of Critters
Self
2018
Book of Love
Mrs. Flynn
1990
Texas Heart
Mrs. Smith
2016
Slam Dance
Librarian
1987
Trial by Fire
Phyliis Cardell
1995
Three of Hearts
Operator
1993
Sex and the Married Woman
Sandra
1977
Rosewood Lane
Mrs. Hawthorne
2011
Hate Crime
Kathleen Slansky
2005
The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal
Freida
1979
The Hidden II
Carol Miller (archive footage)
1993
Matchmaker Santa
Debbie
2012
Hester Street
Whore
1975
Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter
Inmate
1994
We Are Gathered Here Today
Jean Cole
2022
The Penthouse
Frances
2010
Stillwatch
1987
Noobz
Mrs. Theodore
2013
3 Days of Normal
May
2012
Starz Inside: In the Gutter
Self
2008
I Was a Teenage Werebear
2011
Room for Rent
Joyce
2019Room for Rent
Co-Producer
2019
Director's Cut
Captain Wheeler
2016
Sketch Artist II: Hands That See
Bonnie
1995
Pure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane
Self
2006
Mascotland
Farewell Mr. Kringle
Zelda
2010
1000 Women in Horror
Self
2025
Sedona
Claire
2011
American Cowslip
Lou Anne
2009
The Main Course: The Making of Critters 2
Self
2018
Trading Favors
Darla
1997
Waffle Hut
Jerrie Wolf
2012
VideoDome Rent-O-Rama
The Lush
2010
Unbeatable Harold
Jeannie
2006
Born Killers
Willow
2005
Mistress
Woman Customer
1987
Snakes on a Plane: Meet the Reptiles
Self
2007
Dark Moon Rising
Sunny
2009
Los Angeles Overnight
Cousins
2018
Hoboken Hollow
Mrs. Brodrick
2006
The Accidental Death of Joey by Sue
Mrs. Rawlings
2010
The Voices
The Vagabond
2020
The Horror Crowd
Self
2020
Snakes on a Set: Behind the Scenes
Self
2007
House of Abraham
2025House of Abraham
Executive Producer
2025
Down the P.C.H.
Wendy O'Hara
2006
Pines
Julie (voice)
2022
Roadside Prophets
Celeste
1992
Grow House
Mrs. Gilliam
2017
Surf School
Larry's Mom
2006
Breakfast with Einstein
Miss Desmond
1998
Killer Pad
Marge
2008Pickin' and Grinnin'
Bonnie Johnson
2010
Lost Time
Mysterious Woman
2014
Next Stop Murder
Detective Reeson
2010
Insidious: Spectral Sightings
Elise
2013
Lucky Stiff
Bratty Kid's Mom
1988
Get Gone
Mama
2019
Contagion
Laura Crowley
2002
The Hillside Strangler
Jenny Buono
2004
The Snake Pit: On the Set of 'Snakes on a Plane'
Self
2007
Scared to Death
Max
2026Scared to Death
Executive Producer
2026
Attention Shoppers
Libby
2000
Doggie Heaven
Woman
2008The Possession at Gladstone Manor
Nurse
Killer by Nature
Leona
2010
ManFast
Marge
2003
Summer Fantasy
Woman on Beach
1984
FDR: American Badass!
Eleanor Roosevelt
2012
The Almost Guys
Repo Boss
2004
The Seeding of Sarah Burns
2nd Nurse
1979
Goldberg - P.I.
Violet
2011
Driftwood
Nancy Forrester
2006Dead of Nowhere 3D
Meemaw
A Letter from My Father
Elise
2001
Jackson's Hole
Netter
Ambition
Lady Bum
2019
Gothic Harvest
Griselda
2019Without Charlie
2001
A Secret Space
Amy
1977
Chasing Robert
Martha the Bookie
2007
Herbert West: Reanimator
Meredith
2018
Why Me?
1984
Stuntmen
Bumble Jackson
2009
The Old World
The Aunt (voice)
The Election
The Wife
2007
Before Memory
Remote
Kane
2022Devoted
Aunt Dottie
Chronic Town
Nurse
2008Carrier
Joan Pierson