Who is Heather Langenkamp?
Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA, on 17 July 1964 – her zodiac sign is Cancer, and she holds American nationality. She’s an actress, film producer and a make-up artist, who has been credited with appearing in close to 50 movies and TV series, while she’s perhaps still known best for her portrayal of the main character Nancy Thompson, in the 1984 horror movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. Written and directed by Wes Craven, it also starred Johnny Depp and Robert Englund, and follows the spirit of a murderer, who’s killing people through their dreams; the movie won four of the 10 awards for which it was nominated.
Early life and education
Heather was raised in Tulsa alongside her siblings Matthew, Daniel and Lucy, by their father Robert Dobie Langenkamp, who was a petroleum lawyer, and their mother Mary Alice (nee Myers) who was an artist.
After her father found work in Washington, D. C., the family moved there, and Heather enrolled at the National Cathedral School for Girls, at which she became interested in acting. She appeared in various plays performed at the school, as well as many performed at a local theatre. She matriculated in 1982, and only a year later, Heather launched her acting career by appearing in the critically acclaimed crime film “The Outsiders”.
Concurrently, she still focused on her education, and enrolled at the prestigious Stanford University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1986.
Roles in movies
In 1984, Heather was cast to play Nancy Thompson in the drama “Passions”, followed the same year by appearing in the drama “Nickel Mountain”. A couple of her most notable performances during the remainder of the ‘80s were in the 1985 mystery crime drama “Suburban Beat”, and the 1989 horror thriller comedy “Shocker”.
Her following strong performance was her portrayal of the main character Nancy, in the 1994 fantasy mystery horror “New Nightmare”, written and directed by Wes Craven, and which also starred Robert Englund and Jeff Davis. A sequel to “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, the film follows the same evil force which is using Freddy Krueger to enter into the real world, and it won three of the 10 awards for which it was nominated.
Heather wasn’t so active in the film industry in the following years, and her next memorable performance was in the 2007 biographical comedy “The Bet”, as well as in the critically acclaimed 2013 action science fiction adventure “Star Trek into Darkness”, which won seven of the 67 awards for which it was nominated, including an Oscar nomination.
In 2015, we saw Heather star in the short films “Vault of the Macabre II” and “Intruder”, and in 2016, she appeared in the horror thriller “Home”. In 2017, she portrayed Donna Boone – Adult, in the mystery horror thriller “Truth or Dare”, directed by Nick Simon, and which starred Cassandra Scerbo, Brytni Sarpy and Mason Dye; it follows eight college students who have rented a haunted house for Halloween, and have awoken a supernatural force.
Three of Heather’s most recent film roles have been in the 2019 horror thriller “Portal”, and the 2020 short horrors “#StopTheNightmare” and “Cottonmouth”; she’s currently shooting for the upcoming short films “The Magic Shop” and “Glitch”.
Roles in TV series
Heather made her debut TV series appearance in the 1986 episode “Have You Tried Talking to Patty” of the adventure comedy drama “CBS Schoolbreak Special”, and the following years saw her appear in an episode of various series, such as the adventure comedy drama “ABC Afterschool Specials”, the drama “Heart of the City”, and the adventure fantasy comedy “The New Adventures of Beans Baxter”.
She gained recognition when she starred as Marie Lubbock, in the family comedy “Just the Ten of Us” between 1988 and 1990, created by Steve Marshall and Dan Guntzelman, and which also starred Bill Kirchenbauer and Deborah Harmon.
It follows the lives of Elizabeth and Graham Lubbock, who are raising their eight children in Eureka, California; the series won three awards, including a Primetime Emmy, while it was nominated for three other awards.
In the ‘90s, Heather guest starred in an episode of a couple of series, such as the action comedy drama “Perversions of Science”, the crime drama “Partners”, and the action crime drama “18 Wheels of Justice”.
The following decade saw Heather appear in only a couple of TV series, and her next notable performance was in 2015, in the romantic drama “The Bay”, which has been airing since 2010, and stars Kristos Andrews, Mary Beth Evans and Jade Harlow. It follows the wealthy people who are living in Bay City, and the series has won 36 of the 119 awards for which it has been nominated.
Two of Heather’s most recent roles in TV series have been in three episodes of the short biographical comedy “The Bet” in 2020, and the episode “Boypunzel” of the animated horror comedy “JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales” (voice role) also in 2020; she’s currently shooting for the upcoming mystery horror drama “The Midnight Club”.
Other credits
Heather has one writing, three producing and two directing credits. In 2008, she directed the horror movie “Prank”, and in 2010 produced the documentary horror film “Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy”. Heather also produced the 2011 documentary horror movie “I Am Nancy”, and in 2019, she wrote, produced and directed the short horror movie “Washed Away”.
She has been featured in numerous documentaries, such as the 2013 short film “Hollywood Ramblings at TFW 2013”, the 2016 series “Where It Was Made”, and the 2018 film “Wolfman’s Got Nards”.
Awards and nominations
Heather has won five awards: a 1985 Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Award for “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, two Fangoria Chainsaw Awards in 1994, for her performance in “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”, a 2010 Louisville Fright Night Film Fest Award for Scream Queen of the Year, and a 2020 Atlanta Horror Film Festival Award for Best Actress, for her performance in “Cottonmouth”.
She was also nominated for two Young Artist Awards, one in 1985 for “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, and the other in 1989, for “Just the Ten of Us”.
Husband and son
Heather met David LeRoy Anderson in 1988, at a party organized to celebrate the end of the shooting for the horror movie “The Serpent and the Rainbow”; David is an American make-up artist, as well as a special effects artist, who has won two Oscars for Best Make-up.
The two married on 24 March 1991, after having been together for close to three years, and in the following year, Heather gave birth to their son Daniel ‘Atticus’ Anderson – he died from a brain tumor in 2018.
On 24 December 1994, Heather gave birth to their daughter Isabelle Anderson.
It’s not really widely known that Heather was married once before meeting David; she exchanged vows with the American pianist and composer Alan Pasqua on 16 March 1984, but they divorced in 1987.
As of September 2021, Heather’s married to her second husband David LeRoy Anderson, and has two children with him, one deceased.
Hobbies and other interests
Heather was also into modelling when she launched her career as an actress, but considered it a hobby rather than a job. The magazine “Maxim” featured her in sixth place in their list ‘Hottest Women of Horror Movies’.
She loves to travel, and her acting career has taken her all around the world.
Wake up the bats!!!! Dodgers vs Cardinals Wild Card game 1-1!! pic.twitter.com/coKYgpY5Z1
— Heather Langenkamp (@LangenkampH) October 7, 2021
Heather has travelled to nearly all the US states, and various European and Asian countries, while her dream travel destination is Oslo in Norway.
She’s a lover of animals, and has had several pet dogs and cats since the launch of her acting career.
Heather has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are the late Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, and Meryl Streep – a couple of her favorite movies are “Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Ace Venture: Pet Detective – When Nature Calls” and “The Bridges of Madyson County”.
Age, height and net worth
Heather’s age is 57. She has long black hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs).
As of September 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $1.5 million.
