Lin Shaye

Linda Shaye (born October 12, 1943) is an American film, television, and theatre actress. In a career spanning over forty years, she has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is perhaps best known for her starring role as Elise Rainier in the Insidious film series (2010–2018), and as Magda in There's Something About Mary.Shaye is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films, including Alone in the Dark (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Amityville: A New Generation (1993), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994), Dead End (2003), 2001 Maniacs (2005) and its sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010), Ouija (2014) and its prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Tales of Halloween (2015), Abattoir (2016), The Final Wish (2018), Room for Rent (2019), and The Grudge (2020).Shaye is also well known for her comedic roles in numerous films by the Farrelly brothers, including Dumb and Dumber (1994), Kingpin (1996), There's Something About Mary (1998), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Stuck on You (2003), and The Three Stooges (2012).

Shaye has been married twice. Her first husband, writer and musician Marshall Rubinoff, died in 1968 at age 24. In 1988, she married actor Clayton Landey, with whom she appeared in 2002's Wish You Were Dead. The couple had one child before divorcing in 2003.

Shaye was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Dorothy (née Katz; 1914 – 1989), a homemaker, and Max Mendle Shaye (1911 – 2004), a painter and supermarket owner affiliated with the Grosse Point Quality Food Co. in Detroit. Her brother is film executive Robert Shaye. Her family is Jewish; her mother was born in Russia, and her paternal grandparents were from Romania, and settled in Michigan.Shaye studied acting at the University of Michigan before she moved to New York to appear in Off Broadway productions. In 1977, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career.