Heather Langenkamp-Anderson

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**Heather Langenkamp-Anderson** (born July 17, 1964) is an American film, television, and voice actress, as well as a producer and prosthetic makeup coordinator. She is known for her roles both on- and off-camera in television and in horror films and blockbuster films—through her collaborations she had with Wes Craven and her career in special makeup effects coordination.

Langenkamp began her career under the direction of Francis Ford Coppola in *The Outsiders* and *Rumble Fish* (both in 1983). She had her breakthrough with a pioneering role as Nancy Thompson in Craven's *A Nightmare on Elm Street* (1984). Langenkamp's consecutive theatrical films were Craven horror productions—*A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors* (1987), *Shocker* (1989), and *Wes Craven's New Nightmare* (1994). She was later cast in his werewolf film *Cursed* (2005), but the film's notable "development hell" ultimately led to her departure.

Langenkamp's other film work includes: *The Demolitionist* (1995), *The Butterfly Room* (2012), *Star Trek Into Darkness* (2013), and *My Little Pony: A New Generation* (2021). Before taking on the anchoring role of Doctor Stanton in Mike Flanagan's *The Midnight Club* (2022), she was featured in the Emmy Award–winning sitcoms *Just the Ten of Us* and its parent series, *Growing Pains* (both 1988–1990). She also starred as Nancy Kerrigan in the NBC television film *Tonya and Nancy: The Inside Story* (1994).

Langenkamp was executive producer and narrator on the documentary films *Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy* (2010) and *I Am Nancy* (2011). She directed a segment in the unfinished anthology horror film *Prank* (2008) and the short film *Washed Away* (2019). Langenkamp co-owns the make-up FX firm *AFX Studio*, which has designed and manufactured award-winning make-up effects for film and television. She was the special makeup effects coordinator for other blockbuster movies, including *Dawn of the Dead* (2004), *Cinderella Man* (2005), *Evan Almighty* (2007), and *The Cabin in the Woods* (2012).

## Early life

Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother, Mary Alice (née Myers) is an artist. Her father, Robert Dobie Langenkamp, is a petroleum attorney. Her father was previously Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy during the Carter Administration, in which he was partially responsible for realizing the *Strategic Petroleum Reserve*. He also served under the Clinton Administration, helping with privatizing Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1. He later was the Director of the National Energy & Environmental Law & Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa College of Law. Heather later moved to Washington, D.C. after her father's appointment to the Carter administration, at which time she attended the National Cathedral School for Girls, along with former classmate and future Stanford University roommate Susan Rice.

## Career

### Early work and acting beginnings (1983)

At the age of nineteen, Langenkamp worked for the *Tulsa Tribune*, after answering an advertisement looking for extras for Francis Ford Coppola's *The Outsiders* in the summer of 1983. Auditions took place at a nearby elementary school, where Langenkamp gave the casting director her Polaroid. She got a callback to appear in a high school scene. Amidst what seemed like "hundreds" of other adolescents, she had to wear 1950's-based attire. That same summer, Coppola was shooting another film, *Rumble Fish*. Her friend got a callback to appear in a street scene. Her friend's mother felt more comfortable with Langenkamp going with her to the set at night. This, in turn, led the assistant director to inform her that they had dialogue, and wanted to give it to her. She did several takes of her speaking role with Matt Dillon's character; however, these scenes didn't make it into the final product of either film. Despite this, these extra parts helped her get into the Screen Actors Guild. Moving forward, Langenkamp stayed in close contact with the casting director, her assistant, and the producer.

While studying at Stanford University, she would travel to Los Angeles to pursue other acting opportunities. Her first official Hollywood audition was for Drew Denbaum's *Nickel Mountain* (1984), which was an adaptation of John Gardner's 1973 novel. During the audition, her rental car got hit by a runaway truck on Cahuenga Boulevard. Denbaum and the casting director helped Langenkamp throughout this ordeal. She quickly bonded with them, and eventually got cast in the lead role, portraying Callie Wells. She later expressed regret for doing the nude scene, as she had previously feared voicing her discomfort at the time of filming. She later got cast as Beth, alongside Joanne Woodward and Richard Crenna, in the CBS television film *Passions* (1984).

### Breakthrough with *A Nightmare on Elm Street* (1984–1994)

Langenkamp became aware of auditions for a horror film in production, *A Nightmare on Elm Street* (1984), in the winter of 1983. Casting director Annette Benson was already familiar with Langenkamp, as she had previously brought her in to read for the lead role in *Night of the Comet* (1984), although the part ultimately went to Catherine Mary Stewart. She auditioned for the highly-sought-after role of fifteen-year-old heroine Nancy Thompson. There were not enough chairs to accommodate all of the actresses auditioning. Her reading impressed both Benson and director Wes Craven enough that she was called back to read with another actress, Amanda Wyss, auditioning. Craven stated that he wanted someone very "non-Hollywood" as well as someone who embodied the "all-American, girl-next-door" for the role, and he believed that Langenkamp had these qualities. Craven informed her that she got the part that winter, although shooting didn't begin until June 1984. She beat out more than 200 actresses auditioning for the part, and even won the Best Actress Award at the Avoriaz Film Festival for her role as Nancy. That year, she starred in the music video for ZZ Top's "Sleeping Bag". In 1986, she guest-starred in both *CBS Schoolbreak Special* and *ABC Afterschool Specials*.

Langenkamp was cast in *Suburban Beat* (1985), a television pilot that was not picked up for a full series, in which she played Hope Sherman, the youngest housewife. Craven later approached Langenkamp in 1986 to reprise her role of Nancy Thompson in the sequel *A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors* (1987), which followed the survivors of Freddy Krueger's previous attempts. The film was a box office success in 1987, grossing over $44 million. Later, she made guest appearances as Tracy in the television series *The New Adventures of Beans Baxter*, and as Monica in the soap opera *Hotel* (both in 1987). Following *Nancy*, Langenkamp obtained further recognition for her portrayal of Marie Lubbock in the ABC television series *Just the Ten of Us*, a spin-off of the popular ABC sitcom *Growing Pains*, on which she guest-starred from 1988 to 1990. Both shows won Emmy Awards. That year, she and her fellow castmates were nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special.

She also had a cameo role as the first victim of Horace Pinker in Wes Craven's horror film *Shocker* (1989), in which she is featured in a news report being pulled away on a stretcher. Langenkamp returned to the *Elm Street* franchise with *Wes Craven's New Nightmare*, which was a standalone film following the journey of Freddy Krueger to the real world. Instead of portraying herself, Langenkamp instead starred as a fictionalized version of herself, which was based on a stalking incident she was subject to, involving a angry fan over the cancellation of her show, *Just the Ten of Us*. Regarding 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. *Wes Craven's New Nightmare* was released in 1994, opening to critical praise, being cited as an influential "meta-horror" film. Despite the poor reception, she won the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress for her performance. Following this, she portrayed then-figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the NBC television film *Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story* (also released in 1994), which focused on the real-life attack on Nancy Kerrigan.

### Further success and recurring work (1995–present)

Langenkamp starred in Robert Kurtzman's low-budget superhero film *The Demolitionist* (1995). 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). 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. Langenkamp played Janet Thompson in an episode of *JAG* (2002). After this, she took a break from acting to focus on her family.

In 2005, she was cast in the Wes Craven horror film *Cursed*, but the film had to be re-shot and re-written, causing her to leave, due to scheduling conflicts. Langenkamp portrayed a fictionalized version of herself in the indie-mockumentary film *The Bet* (2007), which was released as a Web series under 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, she produced a documentary, entitled *I Am Nancy*, focusing on her experience portraying Nancy Thompson in the *A Nightmare on Elm Street* film series. Langenkamp 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*, and also had a small role, portraying an alien in the film *Star Trek Into Darkness*, for which her husband, David LeRoy Anderson, designed all of the Special FX make-up. In 2014, she made a cameo appearance in the fourth season of the horror anthology series *American Horror Story*, entitled *American Horror Story: Freak Show*, as a Tupperware party lady.

In 2015, Langenkamp was cast in the short film *Intruder* in the role of Sharon Monroe, and also in four episodes of the drama series *The Bay*, as well as narrating the short horror film *Vault of the Macabre II*. In 2016, she starred in the horror/drama film *Home*. 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 had 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*, in which she guided a group of teenagers during their battle with a deadly spirit that left her physically scarred several years prior. She is confirmed to have the anchoring role in the Netflix series written, directed, and executive produced by Mike Flanagan, *The Midnight Club* (2022). Langenkamp voices Dazzle Feather and Mayflower in *My Little Pony: A New Generation* (2021).

## Personal life

Langenkamp met David LeRoy Anderson, special effects artist, at a wrap party for Wes Craven's *The Serpent and the Rainbow* (1989). They wed in 1989, and had two children together, son Daniel "Atticus" Anderson, who died as the result of a brain tumor, and daughter Isabelle Anderson. She was previously married to Alan Pasqua, a musician, from 1984 until 1987.

## Awards and nominations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'Nightmare on Elm Street': Whatever happened to Nancy?.
2. ↑ ZZ Top – Sleeping Bag (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO). YouTube.