Bonnie Aarons

Bonnie Aarons (born September 9, 1960) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as the Nun, a personification of the demon Valak, in The Conjuring Universe (2016–present), starring in The Conjuring 2 (2016), The Nun (2018) and The Nun II (2023). Other roles include the bum in Mulholland Drive (2001), Baroness Joy von Troken in The Princess Diaries (2001) and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).

Career
Aarons attended acting school in New York City and found work in Europe, where she acted short films and commercials. Her first American film was 1994's Exit to Eden, portraying a prostitute. She then appeared in the Roger Corman-produced "woman in prison" film, Caged Heat 3000. Aarons already had notable roles in other horror movies, such as I Know Who Killed Me, and Drag Me to Hell. She also had a short but memorable role in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Since 2016, Aarons has starred in the Conjuring Universe making her first appearance in the franchise's second main film The Conjuring 2, portraying a shape shifting demon by the name of Valak that takes the form of a nun. Aarons was only added during reshoots of the film but her character was received well with fans and a spin off was announced shortly after the film's release. Production of The Nun began in May 2017 and the film was released on September 7, 2018. A sequel, The Nun II, was announced in April 2019 and was released on September 8, 2023. In August 2023, Aarons sued Warner Bros., New Line, and Scope productions, the distribution and production companies behind the films in which she starred as the Nun, for breach of contract relating to a lack of pay over merchandising sales.

She appeared in the 2018 film Adi Shankar's Gods and Secrets. In 2022, it was announced that Aarons will be starring in the horror film Camp Pleasant Lake with Michael Paré and Jonathan Lipnicki.