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Why Judy Warren From The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Looks So Familiar

There's one phrase that has the power to turn any horror movie from mildly scary to downright terrifying — "Based on a true story."

The idea that ghosts and monsters exist in the real world is too much for some people to handle, but that's exactly what "The Conjuring" series proposes. The movies follow the supposed real-life exploits of Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) as they seek to commune with satanic spirits to expel them from this world. For the couple's most recent outing, "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," the Warrens take on the real-life murder case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor), who claims he murdered his landlord after falling prey to a demon's possession.

It's up to the Warrens to get to the bottom of the case, and as we've seen before, the fiends impact more than just the couple. Their family also gets the blunt end of the stick in many cases, and young Judy Warren (Sterling Jerins) has seen her fair share of apparitions over the years. Jerins has been a fixture in "The Conjuring" franchise from the very beginning, and she parlayed that success into a litany of roles you may recognize her from. 

Sterling Jerins was scared of zombies as much as demons in World War Z

Sterling Jerins got her start in Hollywood pretty much terrified of everything. The same year she starred in "The Conjuring," she made an appearance in a different kind of horror film, "World War Z." She portrayed Constance Lane, the youngest daughter to Brad Pitt's character. The movie begins with the Lanes all in a car together, messing around like one big, happy family. Then, out of nowhere, the zombie apocalypse breaks out, forcing the family to go on the run. They manage to escape momentarily, but it's clear this outbreak isn't going away unless Gerry's willing to put his life on the line to help find a cure. 

It was clear the young actress was destined for great things even at an early age. The Hollywood Reporter ran an exposé on the rising star back in 2012 after she was cast in a slew of high-profile projects. It's clear directors knew talent when they saw it, and Jerins hasn't slowed down in the slightest in the last few years.

From Brad Pitt's daughter to Owen Wilson's daughter...

A good rule of thumb for watching any movie is that if Sterling Jerins plays the protagonist's daughter, then you should expect some very bad things to happen. That was also the case for 2015's "No Escape," which sees Jack (Owen Wilson) and Annie Dwyer (Lake Bell) bring their family to a Southeast Asian country. During their visit, a social uprising takes place, forcing the family to fight for their lives to find some semblance of a safe haven. 

Even from a young age, it's clear Jerins took the craft of acting seriously, as evidenced in an interview where she spoke about what it was like to play a character so different from who she is in real life: "Lucy is very stubborn, so I like playing a stubborn girl. It's very fun, and in some of, like, the rooftop scenes it's sort of like Lucy doesn't want to do anything ... I am sort of like the opposite. I want to do everything." Clearly, she's brought that attitude throughout her career, playing an eclectic arrangement of characters over the last decade.

She could most recently be seen as Lila on HBO's Divorce

Sarah Jessica Parker returned to HBO in fabulous fashion for a three-season run on "Divorce." As the title suggests, the show follows a married couple — Frances (Parker) and Robert (Thomas Hayden Church) — making the difficult decision to separate. Through this transition, they still need to juggle their responsibilities, especially when it comes to raising their kids, among them is Lila (Sterling Jerins). While Lila's ready to leave the nest, she often finds herself at the realization that her parents are still growing up as much as she is. Her mom and dad may have to remind her to put on a seat belt, but Lila's there to remind her mother that it's probably not a good idea to make out with some random guy on their family trampoline. 

The show may have ended back in 2019, but it's still a hidden gem worth checking out on HBO Max. It's sometimes funny, but other times, it's a heart-wrenching portrayal of what it means for two former lovers to part ways. As for where Sterling Jerins will pop up next, expect to see her land somewhere great in the near future.