I think we can label her “The Comeback Kid of Halloween.” You’ll see why as this installment of the Where Are They Now Halloween saga continues.
Ellie Cornell was born in New York during the month of December 1963. Despite only having a cameo in her first credited role, the Oscar nominated Married to the Mob (1988), it was still an early sign of success and an ode to her talent. When fame came knocking again during the same year, Ellie knew she had to take the risk and booked herself the role of Rachel in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988). Rachel was under the charge of Laurie Strode several times as a young girl, whatever the bond shared between them was, Laurie left Jamie Lloyd to Rachel and her family when she and her husband reportedly died in a car crash. She ends up babysitting Jamie on Halloween night and inadvertently finding her semi-boyfriend in the arms of another woman. When Michael Myers attacks she is forced to shack up with them for a while, but they’re quickly murdered by Michael and eventually Rachel runs him over with a truck. She and Jamie are saved by off duty police officers who fire dozens of rounds into Michael.
After doing an “Afterschool Special” for ABC, Ms. Cornell went back into horror film production and reprised her role as Rachel in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989). The fifth installment in the Halloween franchise only saw a brief appearance from Rachel. Plagued by horrific nightmares, Rachel visits Jamie Lloyd in a children’s mental institution with her friends Tina and Samantha. She plans to leave for a few days and eventually leaves after a tense act of vandalism that leaves her feeling guilty. Rachel is in the shower when Jamie has a vision of her being attacked, which prompts Dr. Loomis to call her and order to the neighbors house to call the police. The house is cleared by two deputies, but Michael was hiding in the closet. He finally kills her by stabbing her to death with a pair of scissors.
Now that her role in the Halloween series had officially come to an end, Ellie was able to pursue other projects in Hollywood. First she got married to Mark Gottwald in 1990 and they founded the production company, Mindfire Entertainment. Around the same time she also booked a role in A League of Their Own, but had to drop out due to her first pregnancy. She later appeared in cameos and as an executive producer in two Mindfire Entertainment pictures – Free Enterprise (1998) and The Specials (2000)
So, where is Ellie Cornell now?
Her career experienced a very strong second wind, and as a matter a fact almost all of her gigs since then have been horror related. She landed supporting roles in House of the Dead (2003) as Casper, All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos (2005), House of the Dead 2 (2005), The Darkroom (2006), Room 6 (2006), and The Thirst (2006). Then, for the first time in eighteen years, she booked lead roles in Dead & Deader (2006) and Dead Calling (2006). Her other credits include providing commentary for Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006), directing a segment of the Prank (2008) anthology, and returning to television with three episodes of “Femme Fatales” from 2011-2012.
