Ellen Taper-Leigh

Ellen Graham is one of the supporting antagonists in the horror film Hereditary.

Hereditary
Ellen is the matriarch of the Graham family as well as the original leader of the Cult of Paimon. As the demon needed a male vessel in order to incarnate in, Ellen attempted to use her son as a sacrifice. However, her attempts culminated in her son committing suicide after claiming that his mother was trying to put small people inside of him. This would cause a schism between her daughter Annie and herself which would continue until the birth of Annie's son, Peter. Knowing her true intentions with her grandson, Annie prohibits her from any contact with him. However, Ellen was granted permission to become involved with her granddaughter Charlie's life. Unbeknownst to the family, Charlie served as a temporary vessel for Paimon, and she began to groom her by breastfeeding her and contributing to her odd behavior. It's also implied that Ellen instilled her allergy for peanuts, apparently realizing that it would be beneficial to her plan in the future.

Eventually, Ellen died and her best friend Joan took over the cult and continued her plan of summoning Paimon. Through the cult, several of the supernatural events befallen on the family are orchestrated by Joan and the cult beginning with the death of Charlie. Whilst going through her mother's belongings, Annie notices a message from her mother stating that the events transpiring were necessary. Despite her death, Ellen's plans would pull off posthumously as her grandson Peter is forced to jump out of a window thereby allowing Paimon to enter into his body, completing the ritual.