Heather Michele O'Rourke was an American child actress. She made her debut after being discovered by director Steven Spielberg while visiting MGM studios. Spielberg promptly cast her in the horror film Poltergeist as Carol Anne Freeling, and O'Rourke earned recognition for her performance. Wikipedia

Born: December 27, 1975, Santee, CA

Died: February 1, 1988, Rady Childrens Specialist, Encinitas, CA

Height: 4′ 8″

Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She made her debut after being discovered by director Steven Spielberg while visiting MGM studios.[2] Spielberg promptly cast her in the horror film Poltergeist (1982) as Carol Anne Freeling, and O'Rourke earned recognition for her performance. She then reprised the role in the second and third installments. O'Rourke was also recognized for her work in television, and appeared in recurring roles on Happy Days from 1982 to 1983, on Webster in 1983, as well as appearing in the television-film Surviving in 1985.

Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975, in San Diego, California,[3] to Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke. Her mother worked as a seamstress and her father was a carpenter. She had an older sister, Tammy O'Rourke, also an actress. Her parents divorced in 1981, and O'Rourke's mother married part-time truck driver Jim Peele in 1984, while they were living in a trailer park in Anaheim, California.[4][5]
Her success later allowed the family to purchase a home in Big Bear Lake, California.[5] Between acting jobs, O'Rourke attended Big Bear Elementary School where she was president of her 5th grade class.[6] At the time of her death, the family was living in Lakeside, California, a suburb of San Diego.[7]

Film and television career

In a contemporary interview with American Premiere magazine, producer Steven Spielberg explained that he was looking for a "beatific four-year-old child...every mother's dream" for the lead in his horror film Poltergeist (1982).[8] While eating in the MGM commissary,[2] Spielberg saw five-year-old O'Rourke having lunch with her mother[8] while older sister Tammy was shooting Pennies from Heaven.[5][9] After his lunch, Spielberg approached the family and offered O'Rourke the Poltergeist role; she was signed the next day, beating Drew Barrymore, who was also up for the role.[8][10]
In the Poltergeist trilogy, O'Rourke played Carol Anne Freeling, a young suburban girl who becomes the conduit and target for supernatural entities. The New York Times noted that she had played the key role in the films and commented, "With her wide eyes, long blonde hair and soft voice, she was so striking that the sequel played off her presence."[2] During the production of the original Poltergeist, Spielberg twice accommodated the child actress when frightened. When scared by performing a particular stunt, Spielberg replaced O'Rourke with a stunt double wearing a blonde wig; and when disturbed by the portrayal of child abuse, Spielberg did not require her to perform the take again.[11] For her work in Poltergeist, O'Rourke earned between $35,000 and $100,000.[12] O'Rourke played the role in all three films.

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