March is a time of the celebration of women in Horror. A time to look at actresses, writers, directors, producers, and beyond, Cryptic Rock Magazine now spotlight Vera Farmiga. An excellent actress with a passion for storytelling with a brilliant ability to create her own world for each character, she is truly a starring lady of Horror.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Farmiga grew up with an interest for music and dance, resulting in her becoming a semi-professional folk dancer, but also classically trained pianist. Going onto to study theater in college, she would eventually land on Broadway. Something to remember, following her 1996 Broadway debut in Taking Sides, the actress went on to star in a list of TV series. Snowballing from here, soon she would work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood; like Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film The Departed and George Clooney in Jason Reitman’s 2009 film Up in the Air.
A diverse actress with many traits, the list of awards Farmiga has been nominated for through the years is quite long. To name a few, she was nominated for an Academy Award as the best supporting actress for Up in the Air, but also a Primetime Emmy for her outstanding performance as Norma Louise Bates in the hit series Bates Motel. Showcasing her vast talents further, she made her directorial debut in 2011 with Higher Ground; even earning a nomination for breakthrough director in the Gotham Awards. Moreover, not only did she direct it, but also starred in the film while five months pregnant.
Truly an accomplished mainstream performer who works on top rate projects, the question is, why is Farmiga so important in the Horror realm? Well, if you look at her career, she has never really shied away from the genre, and this is quite attractive to fans. Looking back, in 2009 she was the main star in the Horror film Orphan. One of her first roles in a Horror-based feature, it garnered well-deserved attention among fans, and opened the door for other big projects down the line.
Looking at these, in 2013 Farmiga had a leading role in the massively successful The Conjuring. A film based roughly on true stories, it would be the first installment in what would become a lengthy film franchise. A series which would not be complete without Farmiga, with her fierce beauty and piercing blue eyes she returned to the role of Lorraine Warren in 2016’s The Conjuring 2. Portraying the paranormal investigator with ties to the other realm as a clairvoyant, she continued to shine as Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring universe spin-offs, such Annabelle Comes Home from 2019, but also in 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
Standing out in each of these films, Farmiga’s performance keeps you enticed, thus giving true meaning to the real life of Lorraine Warren. In fact, her take on Lorraine Warren was so intriguing, that she became the official Lorraine Warren for each installment in The Conjuring universe; this also included cameos in 2018’s The Nun and 2023’s The Nun II. And if you have not had enough of Farmiga’s channeling of Lorraine Warren, she is slated to return in The Conjuring: Last Rites. Not yet given a release date, until then, there is still plenty of Farmiga to dig into, such as various roles in different genres; including recent works like 2023 Dramas Ezra or Origin. Beyond this, it would be remiss to overlook her role in Bates Motel; which aired five seasons on A&E from 2013 to 2017. A stunning modern telling of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho, Farmiga’s role as Norma Bates added new dimensions to the story that are forever associated with her.
With the ability to stun audiences with her emotional, highly capable acting, Vera Farmiga is sure to still have a long, interesting and dedicated film career. Although, unlike other mainstream performances in Hollywood, she has also earned the love and admiration of Horror fans worldwide.
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