Lorna Raver, best known for starring in horror films The Caller and Drag Me to Hell, has died aged 81.
The American actress’ death was announced in the In Memoriam section of SAG-AFTRA’s Summer 2025 magazine edition, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Although limited details were given, it was shared that she died on May 12.
Born in York, Pennsylvania, Raver had early acting experience performing at the Hedgerow Theater in her home state.
She then moved to New York City, appearing off-Broadway in the premieres of Last Days at the Dixie Girl Cafe and Between Daylight and Boonville.
After spending several years working as a stage actress in Chicago, she then moved to Los Angeles, where she continued appearing in theatre productions but also took on screen roles.
Her on-screen debut was in Donald Petrie’s Opportunity Knocks in 1990.
Raver also featured on episodes of The Young and the Restless, Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, ER, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Beverly Hills, 90210, Felicity, Judging Amy, Star Trek: Voyager, Gilmore Girls, Charmed, Cold Case, Desperate Housewives, Weeds, Nip/Tuck, Bones and Grey’s Anatomy.
But it was in 2009 that she earnt critical acclaim for playing Mrs Ganush in Sam Raimi’s horror film Drag Me to Hell.
Written before Raimi started working on the Spider Man film trilogy, the movie followed a loan officer who chooses not to extend the mortgage of the elderly Mrs Ganush, and then has a curse placed on her that involves facing three days of escalating torment before being plunged into the depths of Hell to burn for eternity.
Drag Me to Hell premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was a critical and commercial success. It grossed $90.8million (£66million) worldwide on a $30million (£22million) budget.
It also won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film at the 36th Saturn Awards.
In the 2014 book Welcome to Our Nightmares: Behind the Scene With Today’s Horror Actors, the actress admitted she had no idea what the movie was about when she auditioned for the part.
‘I was so ignorant of the whole horror genre. I was definitely interested in doing it because of Sam Raimi, but I was not fully aware of exactly what I was getting into until it happened,’ she said.
Raver then went on to appear in the 2011 British supernatural horror film The Caller, playing the character of Rose.
Away from the screen, Raver was also an audiobook narrator for Tantor, Books on Tape, and Blackstone Audio.
Her partner of 25 years, Yuri Rasovsky – who was a Peabody Award winner known for his work as a writer, producer and director for radio and a Grammy nominee – died aged 67 in 2012.
Raver’s last screen credit was in the 2013 movie Rushlights. She eventually retired from acting in 2014.
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