Felissa Rose Esposito, better known as simply Felissa Rose (born May 23, 1969), is an American actress and producer. Rose has amassed over 100 film credits, and is best known for her work in the
horror genre
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...
, for which she is recognized as a
scream queen.
Rose made her film debut as
Angela Baker in the
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
horror film ''
Sleepaway Camp
''Sleepaway Camp'' (released as ''Nightmare Vacation'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1983 American slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik, who also served as executive producer. It is the first film in the ''Sleepaway Camp'' film ser ...
'' (1983), which established her as a
horror icon
A horror icon is a person or fictional character that is considered to be significant to horror fiction within mediums such as film, literature, television, or video games.
History
Pre 1900s: literary beginnings
Examples of early horror icon ...
.
She reprised the role in the 2008 sequel ''
Return to Sleepaway Camp''. Her other horror roles include Elsa Lansing in ''
Silent Night, Zombie Night'' (2009), Mother in ''
The Perfect House'' (2012), Rachel Steele in ''
Camp Dread
''Camp Dread'' is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Harrison Smith and starring Eric Roberts and Danielle Harris.
Cast
* Eric Roberts as Julian Barrett
*Danielle Harris as Sheriff Donlyn Eldridge
*Felissa Rose
Felissa Rose ...
'' (2014), Angela Freeman in ''
Death House
''Death House'' is a 2017 American horror film written by Gunnar Hansen, who has a cameo in the film, and directed by Harrison Smith. The film features an ensemble cast of horror icons including Kane Hodder, Barbara Crampton, Bill Moseley, Dee ...
'' (2018), Kathleen in ''
Victor Crowley
''Hatchet'' is an American horror franchise created by Adam Green, that consists of four slasher films. The main antagonist in the series is Victor Crowley, a deformed boy who was kept hidden from the world by his father. One Halloween, a grou ...
'' (2018), and Ms. Principe in ''
Terrifier 2
''Terrifier 2'' is a 2022 American slasher film written, directed, edited and produced by Damien Leone. A sequel to ''Terrifier'' (2016), it is the third feature-length film to feature Art the Clown. It features the return of David Howard Thor ...
'' (2022).
In 2016, Rose produced a number of music videos for the
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
.
Early life
Born in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
in New York City, Rose grew up in Woodbury, New York. Rose graduated from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Career
Rose made her debut film appearance in the 1983 horror film ''
Sleepaway Camp
''Sleepaway Camp'' (released as ''Nightmare Vacation'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1983 American slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik, who also served as executive producer. It is the first film in the ''Sleepaway Camp'' film ser ...
'', in which she plays Angela Baker.
She later said of the film, "It was such a big part of my childhood. It's really hard to look at it objectively. On opening night I went to the theater with all my friends and watched it for the first time with a public audience. It was the best feeling. The energy in the theater was intense. People were really freaked out by the ending. I felt really good about the film."
After appearing in ''Sleepaway Camp'', she made some more sporadic appearances in a few films and television series, including the 1993
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film ''
The Night We Never Met
''The Night We Never Met'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed by Warren Leight. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Annabella Sciorra and Kevin Anderson.
Plot summary
Upset with his current living arrangements, Sam rotates occup ...
'' and an episode of the short-lived 1998 television series ''
Prey
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
''. In 1999, she was contacted by
Jeff Hayes, who operates the official ''Sleepaway Camp'' website, via a letter in the mail asking her to do an interview for the website and gauge her interest in doing a new ''Sleepaway Camp'' sequel. Shortly thereafter, Hayes met with Rose in New York.
She has since returned to cinema and has appeared in such films as ''Zombiegeddon'' (2003), ''
Nikos Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of t ...
'' (2003), and ''Sludge'' (2005). She has also appeared in two films by New Jersey filmmaker
Dante Tomaselli
Dante Tomaselli (born October 29, 1969, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an Italian-American horror screenwriter, director, and score composer. In 2013 ''Fearnet'' named Tomaselli one of their "Favorite Underrated Horror Directors", as they found his ...
: ''
Horror'' (2002) and ''
Satan's Playground'' (2005). In addition Felissa co-hosted the 2005
Village Halloween Parade
The Village Halloween Parade is an annual holiday parade on the night of every Halloween, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. The parade, initiated in 1974 by Greenwich Village puppeteer and mask maker Ralph Lee, is the world' ...
in New York City with fellow scream queens
Debbie Rochon
Debbie Ann Rochon (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films.
Early life
When Rochon was ten years old, her parents were deemed unfi ...
and Raine Brown. She also had a cameo role in the sequel to the 2008 ''Sleepaway Camp'' sequel ''
Return to Sleepaway Camp''. In the sequel, she reprises the role of Angela Baker. The movie had a straight to
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
release on November 4, 2008. She also appears in ''Hotdog Casserole'', written and directed by
Chris Raab, as the mother in a dysfunctional family. Rose starred in a role as Mother in the segment "Dinner Guest" in the anthology horror film, ''The Perfect House''. She also portrayed forensic pathologist Amy Short in the thriller ''
Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...
''.
Cast and Crew of Poe to Hold Autograph Session at Dark Delicacies
/ref>
In 2016, Felissa starred in the paranormal horror film ''Family Possessions'', written and directed by Tommy Faircloth. The film also starred Mark Patton
Mark Patton (born September 22, 1959) is an American interior designer and actor. Beginning his professional acting career in 1982, Patton is perhaps best known for his feature film roles as Joe Qualley in the dramatic film '' Come Back to the ...
. In May 2017, she helped produce and acted in the horror film ''Death House
''Death House'' is a 2017 American horror film written by Gunnar Hansen, who has a cameo in the film, and directed by Harrison Smith. The film features an ensemble cast of horror icons including Kane Hodder, Barbara Crampton, Bill Moseley, Dee ...
''. That same year, she appeared in ''Victor Crowley
''Hatchet'' is an American horror franchise created by Adam Green, that consists of four slasher films. The main antagonist in the series is Victor Crowley, a deformed boy who was kept hidden from the world by his father. One Halloween, a grou ...
''. In November 2022, Rose worked with Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an American actress and producer who is known for her portrayals of distinct, often eccentric characters. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peab ...
on the film ''The Forest Hills''.
Personal life
Rose lives in California with her husband, former CKY CKY may refer to:
* CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself"
** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band
**CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects
*CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...
singer/guitarist Deron Miller
Deron John Miller is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Other bands Miller fronts include the progressive metal band Foreign Objec ...
, and their two daughters, Bianca Rose (born 2005) and Lola Marue (born 2007), and son Thomas Carver (born 2009). Rose and Miller were co-stars in Dave Campfield's 2008 horror comedy '' Caesar and Otto's Summer Camp Massacre''.
Partial filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Felissa
1969 births
American film actresses
Living people
People from Greenwich Village
American people of Italian descent
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
People from Woodbury, Nassau County, New York