Heather Langenkamp was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. She got her start in acting when she was cast as an extra in the
Francis Ford Coppola films
The Outsiders (1983) and
Rumble Fish (1983), which were both filmed in Tulsa. Her scenes were deleted from the final cut of both films. While studying at Stanford University, she rose to international prominence when
Wes Craven cast her as Nancy Thompson in
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). After a string of television guest appearances, she returned as Nancy in the 1987 sequel
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Subsequently, she became known for her role as the moralistic Marie Lubbock on the ABC television series
Just the Ten of Us (1987), a spin-off of the popular ABC situation comedy
Growing Pains (1985) (on which she guest-starred), from 1988 to 1990. In 1994, she portrayed fictionalized versions of herself in
New Nightmare (1994) and the figure skater
Nancy Kerrigan in
Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story (1994). The following year, she had a supporting role as the reporter Christy Carruthers in the horror film
The Demolitionist (1995). She served as executive producer and narrator for the documentary
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010), followed by roles in
The Butterfly Room (2012),
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and
Truth or Dare (2017). She has since starred in a variety of independent films. She co-owns AFX Studio, a company responsible for the special effects for films such as
Dawn of the Dead (2004) and
The Cabin in the Woods (2011). She has been married to
David LeRoy Anderson since 1990. They have two children. She was previously married to
Alan Pasqua.