Linda Blair

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Vocation

Lifestyle

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American model from age five who had two minor film roles before a remarkable performance at age 12 in "The Exorcist," for which she received an Oscar nomination. This was followed by several gross TV roles as a rape victim, a dipsomaniac and a kidnap victim. She also starred in the poor film sequel, "Exorcist II." Whether or not her performances were good, all of them made her a teen-age millionaire. At 18, running with a crowd of musicians, Blair was arrested for buying coke; she agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge. In 1988, she met actor Wings Hauser on the set of "Bedroom Eyes II;" they started going together six months later when he separated from his third wife. An avowed vegetarian from 1993, she does promo work for a Baltimore health-food company and published her book, "Going Vegan" in 2001. Blair also had a long term relationship with singer Rick Springfield but remains single (as of 2002.) In 1994, her mom died of cancer. A few months later, Blair had a bad car accident that left her with speech and motor impairment for months. She survived on residuals, theater roles and low-budget videos. Originally she wanted to be a vet and became an animal-rights activist, winning the PETA Humanitarian Award in 1999. Link to Wikipedia biography