Heather Donahue

Heather Donahue (born December 22, 1974) is an American writer and retired actress, known for her role in the 1999 sleeper hit film The Blair Witch Project, which grossed nearly a quarter billion dollars on a $60,000 budget. 2Early 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. 2Acting 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. 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. 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. The IMDb page also listed the actors as "missing, presumed dead" in the first year of the film's availability. 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 missin