Judy Spera is the daughter of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren — but that doesn’t mean her childhood was scary.
Spera, 75, isn’t a major public figure but has dutifully worked alongside her husband, Tony Spera, as steward of her parents’ legacy since their deaths in 2001 and 2019. (Ed Warren died in April 2006 due to complications following a stroke; Lorraine died in April 2019.)
Though her parents spent most of their lives studying the paranormal and were even the inspiration for the 2013 film The Conjuring and the subsequent sequels, Judy has been open about her disinterest in working too closely in the same realm. In September 2020 she admitted to Den of Geek, “Well, I had incidents happen, but I don’t pursue it. I back away from it. I had things happen that I’ll say, ‘Oh, my gosh. How did that happen?’ I don’t know if you want to attribute it to being anything to do with my mother’s gifts, but I have had some things happen.”
These days Judy and Tony, 71, run the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), their own paranormal investigation organization. Keep scrolling to learn more about Ed and Lorraine Warren’s daughter, Judy.
Her Parents Were Artists During Her Childhood
It might come as a surprise to those who know the Warrens best as paranormal investigators, but in a 2020 interview with Den of Geek, Spera revealed her parents were artists when she was a child.
Art is “what they did,” she explained. “They traveled and sold their paintings, and they did art classes. It wasn’t until I was getting older when this ghost thing happened.”
But her dad “always talked about ghost stories,” she continued, “so we had fantastic Halloween parties, and my father would make these witches and things, and paint them. It was fun. And we spent a lot of time walking around in cemeteries, which I still enjoy doing.”
She Didn’t Live with Her Parents
Spera also shared that due to her parents’ schedule, she lived with her grandparents while growing up. She said, “Because they traveled so much, and I had to go to school. I lived with them briefly. I was terrified there, in their house, so I just didn’t sleep there. I couldn’t sleep in a room by myself.”
Her Catholic Classmates Didn’t Know What Her Parents Did
Spera grew up attending Catholic school, but she didn’t tell her classmates what her parents did. In a 2019 interview with USA Today, she explained, “When I was in the sixth grade, I asked my father, ‘What should I say you do?’ And he said, ‘I’m a landscape artist. Tell them that.’ When the nun heard that, she put me in charge of the class plants for the rest of the year. I don’t know if they lived or died.”
She and Her Husband Are Caretakers of The Warrens’ Legacy
After her parents’ deaths, Spera and her husband Tony Spera took over as stewards of their legacy. The pair run the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), an organization that carries out paranormal investigations. The pair also host panels at paranormal conventions.
The Speras have embraced the legacy the Warrens left behind, and the NESPR website also boasts plenty of archival footage of interviews and case files that Lorraine and Ed worked on.
She Says Her Parents Had Pure Intentions
Judy also told Den of Geek that her parents didn’t go into paranormal investigation for “fame, money, or anything like that.” She explained, “I think that was one that came up probably a lot, and I had a hard time with that criticism. They were really, really trying, and they always tried.”
After Ed suffered a medical collapse in March 2001, he was in a coma for 11 weeks and “was a full-care patient for five years,” Judy added. As a result, her mom “would take these calls in the middle of the night and sit and talk to people.”
She and Tony “wanted to change the house [phone] number so many times, but she wouldn’t let us,” Judy continued. “She’d sit and talk to people until they were comfortable enough to go to bed and go to sleep, or if they felt, ‘OK, this will work’ or ‘We’ll talk to you in the morning.’ Then she’d get back to them.”
She and Tony Spera Met in 1979
Judy and Tony Spera connected in 1979. According to a recounting on Tony’s website, they grew close quickly, and Judy told her future husband about her parents’ work early and invited him to watch them speak at the University of Connecticut.
She Was Portrayed in ‘The Conjuring’ Films
Judy was portrayed in both the original Conjuring movie, 2016’s The Conjuring 2 and 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It by Sterling Jerins. She was also portrayed by McKenna Grace in the spinoff movie Annabelle Comes Home.
Mia Tomlinson took over the role of Judy Spera for 2025’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, and Tony Spera is played by Ben Hardy in the new movie.
