Heather Donahue

Heather Donahue
Born (1974-12-22) December 22, 1974
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Actress, writer

Heather Donahue (born December 22, 1974) is an American writer and actress.

Early life and education

Donahue was born on December 22, 1974 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, an office manager, and James Donahue, a printer.[1]

Career

Donahue is best known for her role in the found footage horror film The Blair Witch Project. In 1997, Donahue read about an audition that was being advertised in Backstage magazine for actors with strong improvisational abilities, which was needed for an independent horror film. She auditioned at the Musical Theater Works in New York City, and was cast as one of the three principal roles.[2][3] For the role, Donahue had to learn how to be able to operate a camera, spending two days in a "crash course". Donahue said she modeled her character after a director she once worked with, citing the character's self assuredness when everything went as planned, and confusion during crisis.[4] After filming, Donahue and the two other leads were asked not to appear on any television shows or in any films, as the filmmakers made great advertising efforts to perpetuate the events in the film as factual, including the distribution of flyers at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, asking viewers to come forward with any information about the "missing" students.[5][6][7] The IMDb page also listed the actors as "missing, presumed dead" in the first year of the film's availability.[7][8] The promotion for the film was so well executed that Donahue's mother received sympathy cards from people who believed that her daughter was actually dead or missing.[5] Once released, the film received unexpected acclaim from critics and became a resounding box office success–grossing over US$248 million worldwide,[9] making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time. Despite the film's highly positive reception, Donahue's performance received a mixed reaction. While being nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Newcomer, and an Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress, she was also nominated for worst actress at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, and won in the same category at the Golden Raspberry Awards.[10]

Donahue later admitted there was an considerable amount of backlash against her because of her association with the film, which led to her having threatening encounters and difficulty finding other employment.[5][11] A year after the release of the film, she appeared in the independent film Home Field Advantage, and alongside Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Jason Biggs in the romantic comedy Boys and Girls.

In 2001, she appeared in the independent film Seven and a Match, and in the short film The Velvet Tigress.

In 2002, she had a starring role on the science fiction miniseries Taken, for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television. The same year, she appeared in an array of short films and televised films, such as The Walking Hack of Asbury Park, New Suit and The Big Time. Her last film was the direct-to-DVD horror film The Morgue.

In 2011, Donahue signed a publishing deal for her debut book GROWGIRL, about her time as a medical marijuana grower,[11][12] which was released on January 5, 2012 by Gotham Books, an imprint of Penguin Group, USA.[13] She resides in Nevada City, California

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 The Blair Witch Project Heather Donahue Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Newcomer
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
2000 Home Field Advantage Wendy Waitress
2000 Boys and Girls Megan
2001 Seven and a Match Whit
2001 The Velvet Tigress N/A Short film
2002 The Walking Hack of Asbury Park Wendy Short film
2002 New Suit Molly
2002 The Big Time Heather Television film
2005 Manticore Cpl. Keats Television film
2008 The Morgue Nan
2016 Blair Witch Heather Donahue Archive footage

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Outer Limits Claire Linkwood Episode: "The Surrogate"
2002 Taken Mary Crawford 5 episodes
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
2003 Without a Trace Linda Schmidt Episode: "The Friendly Skies"
2005 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Stacy Corvelli Episode: "Charlie Wants an Abortion"

References

  1. ↑ Femme Fatales, February 25, 2000, pp. 16-18, 21-22, 27, 28-29, 61.
  2. ↑ Donahue, Heater. Interview with Craig Kilborn. CBS Networks. August 1999.
  3. ↑ Staff (January 1, 1999). "Heather Donohue – Blair Witch Project". KAOS 2000 Magazine. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
  4. ↑ Lim, Dennis (July 14, 1999). "Heather Donahue Casts A Spell". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 "IMDb: The Blair Witch Project".
  6. ↑ "Editorial: The 12 Ballsiest Movie Publicity Stunts".
  7. 1 2 "The Blair Witch Project: The best viral marketing campaign of all time".
  8. ↑ "The Blair Witch Project".
  9. ↑ "The Blair Witch Project". Box Office Mojo.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
  10. ↑ "1999 22nd Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Nudd, Tim (December 21, 2011). "Blair Witch Actress Heather Donahue Quit Acting to Grow Pot". People. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  12. ↑ "'Blair Witch' Actress Heather Donahue Quit Acting For Pot". Huffington Post. December 21, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  13. ↑ Stern, Marlow (January 6, 2012). "Growgirl: Heather Donahue's Journey From 'Blair Witch' to Growing Marijuana". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 12, 2012.

External links

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