Heather Langenkamp

Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp (born July 17, 1964) is an American actress, make-up artist and producer. She first became known for portraying Nancy Thompson in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. She served as executive producer and narrator to the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. Her other film roles include Nickel Mountain (1984), The Demolitionist (1995), The Butterfly Room (2012), and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). Langenkamp is also known for her role as Marie Lubbock on the sitcom Just the Ten of Us and has had numerous television guest appearances.

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. She is of German, Scottish, and English ancestry. Langenkamp attended Holland Hall School in Tulsa but later moved to Washington, D.C where she graduated from The National Cathedral School for Girls in 1982.

Career

1980s-1990s

In 1984, Langenkamp made her film debut portraying Callie Wells in Nickel Mountain, which is based on the novel of the same name. 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. She beat out more than 200 actresses auditioning for the part. The film earned $25 million at the American box office.

She portrayed Beth in the television film Passions. In 1985, Langenkamp received the Best Actress Award at the Avoriaz Film Festival for her role as Nancy. She was later cast in the television film Suburban Beat. The same year, Langenkamp starred in the music video for ZZ Top's "Sleeping Bag". The following year, she guest starred in CBS Schoolbreak Special and ABC Afterschool Specials.

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. 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. 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 a victim in Wes Craven's Shocker.

Langenkamp at the Fan Expo Canada in 2014

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 Nancy Kerrigan in Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story. In 1995, Langenkamp starred in The Demolitionist.

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).

2000s-present

In 2000, she had a guest role in 18 Wheels of Justice as a waitress. 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. 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.

In 2007, Langenkamp was cast as herself in the indie mockumentary film The Bet (released ten years later as a web series with the same title). 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. In 2012, Langenkamp starred in the horror film The Butterfly Room and worked on the special effects for The Cabin in the Woods.

In 2013, Langenkamp had a supporting role in the film, Star Trek Into Darkness. In 2014, she made a cameo appearance in American Horror Story's fourth season, Freak Show, as Female Toulouse. The following year, she was cast in the short film Intruder and portrayed Sharon Monroe in 4 episodes of The Bay.

In 2016, Langenkamp starred in Home and narrated the fan film Don't Fall Asleep. She is set to star in the upcoming films The Sub, and The Survivors. In February 2016, it was announced that Langenkamp will have a role in Hellraiser: Judgment (2017).

Personal life

Langenkamp married Alan Pasqua while filming A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, but they divorced in 1987. Elements of the plot for Wes Craven's New Nightmare are based on an incident in which Langenkamp received numerous threatening letters from an obsessed fan after the cancellation of Just the Ten of Us. Langenkamp is married to David LeRoy Anderson since 1989 and has two children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works