Veteran Hollywood actress Lorna Raver has died at the age of 81. The star died on May 12 but the news was only confirmed in the “In Memoriam” section of SAG-AFTRA’s Summer 2025 magazine edition. Having begun her career in off Broadway productions, she moved to Los Angeles where she became a familiar face on both the big and small screen. She had roles in popular shows such as Star Trek: Voyager and Desperate Housewives.
In recent years she had attracted a whole new generation of fans, thanks to her work with legendary director Sam Rami on the 2009 horror Drag Me To Hell. The film was a huge hit although in a 2014 interview for the book, Welcome to Our Nightmares: Behind the Scene With Today’s Horror Actors, she confessed she had no idea what the movie was about when she auditioned for it although she was familiar with the director’s previous work.
“While I knew of [Raimi’s] work from other films, I was so ignorant of the whole horror genre that I had never even heard of the Evil Dead [movies],” she said.
“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. What I liked about the character was that she was powerful.”
Her extensive CV includes appearances insome of the biggest shows of the past few deacades. She appeared in the 1997 pilot of The Practice and played judges in Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.
She also had roles on ER, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Beverly Hills, 90210, Felicity, Judging Amy, Gilmore Girls, Charmed, First Watch, NYPD Blue, Cold Case,Weeds, Nip/Tuck, Bones and Grey’s Anatomy alongside her film work.
Tributes flooded in as people learned the news, with many taking to social media to share their sadness at her death. “Oh dear, another one gone. What a fantastic and talented actor. I smiled at how she approached the role in the film and relished it. Great in everything she did. Rest in peace,” one wrote.
“RIP prayers to the family and friends,” another simply added. “Rest In Peace to stage and screen actress Lorna Raver, the actress best known for her role as the vengeful Mrs. Ganush in the 2009 horror film Drag Me to Hell, has died at the age of 81,” a third chimed in.
“Rest on peace to Lorna Raver she played the gypsy lady with the cursed button in drag me to hell . Sending my deepest condolences ,” a fourth penned.”
“RIP Lorna Ravner. Sometimes you only need one role to truly make your career,” a fifth observed. Meanwhile a sixth commented: “R.I.P to Lorna Raver who terrorized Alison Lohman in Sam Raimi’s post 2000s Spiderman trilogy Drag Me to Hell.”