Regan MacNeil

Regan Teresa MacNeil (born April 7, 1959) is a fictional character in the 1971 novel The Exorcist and one of the supporting characters in its 1973 film adaptation and the 1977 film Exorcist II: The Heretic, while being one of the main protagonists in the first season of the television series The Exorcist (2016–2017). She was portrayed by Linda Blair in both films and by Geena Davis in the television series. Blair reprised the role in the 2023 film, The Exorcist: Believer. Character Regan MacNeil is a 12-year-old girl and the daughter of actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn). Regan is caught between her mother's grueling working schedule and the fact that her parents are in the process of an acrimonious divorce (her father is in Europe and is not seen in the film). She is named for the character of the same name in William Shakespeare's King Lear. She is described as shy, even diffident, and it is not within her nature to behave aggressively. She is devoted to her mother, making clay animals as gifts for her and leaving a rose at her place at the kitchen table each morning. Chris is determined to be a good mother, spending all her off days with her. Because she is an atheist, she does not teach Regan about religion, although Chris' secretary Sharon Spencer (Kitty Winn) teaches Regan about the general ideas of Christianity without Chris' approval. Even though Chris knows Regan very well, it takes her some time to realize that Regan's bizarre changes are not neurological. As soon as she accepts the idea of possession, she consults Fr. Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and begs him to evaluate Regan for an exorcism. While Karras is initially skeptical, he slowly becomes convinced that she is indeed possessed by the ancient demon Pazuzu, and eventually calls for an exorcism.