Academy Awards 2016: 22 Youngest Winners and Nominees

#17. Linda Blair

Age at Awards Show: 15 years, 2 months, 11 days old
Award: Actress in a Supporting Role (1974) for “The Exorcist
Result: Nominee

Linda Blair started out her career as a model at the age of 5 but achieved mainstream success when she played Regan, the possessed child in “The Exorcist.” The scandals arising from the revelation that not all aspects of her character were performed by her (such as the demon voice) and her late-teens involvement in a drug bust created challenging hurdles for her to overcome in Hollywood. Her career in acting continued for a few decades, but now Blair pursues her passion for animals by running the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, a nonprofit that assists animals in the Los Angeles area.