That Audacious Scream Queen Taught Us How to Die

“It’s too bad we had to kill her…I really liked the outfit she had on.” –Spider (Linnea Quigley) in Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, 1988.

Undoubtedly, Linnea Quigley was and is still a relatively flexible actor. In the past, she’d acted in adult films and comedies and hosted films and television shows in addition to her roles in horror films. Her role in 1985’s Return of the Living Dead was the role that helped her to earn her “scream queen” title, and she even got engaged on the set of Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master as she played a soul reaching out of Freddie Krueger’s chest. The long list of films she has taken part in and her varied roles are evidence of her significance to the entertainment industry.

It’s been 48 years, and Linnea Quigley, the award-winning horror film scream queen, is still spreading fun in her films, television shows, and with her signature screams. The actress, producer, singer, model, author, and actress has more than 200 credits to her name, and she will do more. In addition, she still travels worldwide to horror conventions to meet her fans.

Linnea Quigley is a multi-faceted character in her own right. She has written two books, has modeled for a PETA campaign, and is a representative for the South Florida Wildlife Center. The most significant award she has won to date was in 2017 when Playboy Magazine named her “The Sexiest Scream Queen of All Time.” Quigley was the 1992 Winner of the Fangoria Horror Hall of Fame. Also, She won the 2014 Best Actress Award with The Underground Monster Carnival for the 2014 film, They Came From the Ether. Next, she was ranked ninth on Maxim’s “Hottest Women of Horror Movies” list. Linnea Quigley is a horror force to be reckoned with. She even has the quirky honor of having some extra unique death scenes, such as a showerhead going through her chest in the 1989 film, Witchtrap, and in 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night she was killed by being skewered on wall-mounted deer antlers. 

Was it the Tantalizing Toothpaste That Hooked You?

Linnea Quigley was born Linnea Barbara Quigley on May 27, 1958, in Davenport, Iowa, with a population of approximately 75,000. Her father was a psychologist and chiropractor, and her mother was a housewife. Heath and Dorothy Quigley moved the family to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, where Linnea starred in her first television commercial advertising toothpaste. These early jobs are what gave Quigley the acting bug. 

Next, one of her first film roles was in the 1975 film Wheeler, later renamed Psycho From Texas when she played a barmaid. This film was one of her first nude scenes. But, her role in Return of the Living Dead in 1985 was her break-out role. From 1978 on, in most years, Quigley performed in at least two films – in some years, she performed more than ten films! From 1981’s Graduation Day to Silent Night, Deadly Night in 1984, to Shock Cinema: Volume 3 in 1991, to Kolobos in 1999, there weren’t too many B-movies she wouldn’t work. 

Besides those roles, it might surprise horror fans that Quigley was offered several parts in mainstream or A-list movies. In 1995, she was cast as a demon in the Clive Barker film Lord of Illusion, but her scenes were cut. She played a small part in the 1980 film American Gigolo, but it was cut too. Further, she was cast in a supporting role in the 1982 film Reservoir Dogs, but that role was removed from the script. She even turned down a role in the 1982 film, The House on Sorority Row.