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 Karen Jane Allen was born in Carrollton, rural southern Illinois, to Patricia (Howell), a teacher, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI agent. She spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her parents and two sisters. She was always "the new girl in school." Acting did not really cross Allen's mind until she was in her early 20s, when she saw a Jerzy Grotowski theater production that impressed her so much, she instantly decided to give it a shot. She trained as a classical actress and enrolled at the Actors Studio and with Lee Strasberg in New York City. During this period, she made several student films and directed and acted in several plays. In 1976, she made her first film appearance in the award-winning small film The Whidjitmaker (1976).Her first major film role came as Katy in 1978's National Lampoon's National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), which became one of the biggest hits of the year, obtained "classic" status, and launched a whole host of young "hot" stars. However, shortly after National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) opened, Allen was struck by a rare and dangerous eyesight condition called keratoconjunctivitis. Luckily, the condition subsided and Allen could continue her dramatic rise to the top. Lead roles in cult favorites like The Wanderers (1979) and the controversial thriller Cruising (1980) followed, as did smaller parts as in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979). However, it was her performance in Rob Cohen's A Small Circle of Friends (1980), as well as her previously mentioned turn in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), that caught the eye of a certain Steven Spielberg. He then cast her as the feisty heroine and co-star of Harrison Ford in his big-budget blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which became a huge hit in 1981-82 and is regarded by many film buffs as the greatest action-adventure film ever made.Following the huge success of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Allen chose to spend more than two years out of the limelight, concentrating on smaller, more personal projects. She won a major award for her performances on Broadway, won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Abra in the hugely successful ABC production of East of Eden (1981), and had parts in two smaller films: Alan Parker's Shoot the Moon (1982) and Split Image (1982), co-starring James Woods and Peter Fonda. She returned to the mainstream in 1984 with Until September (1984) and Starman (1984), co-starring Jeff Bridges and directed by John Carpenter (of Halloween (1978) fame), but once again decided to leave the limelight for a couple of years to do more stage work and some troubled indie films. While Allen has worked almost constantly since then, giving notable performances in Paul Newman's screen adaptation of The Glass Menagerie (1987), the Christmas hit Scrooged (1988), and Steven Soderbergh's underrated King of the Hill (1993), she has not been able to scale the same dizzy heights as the early 1980s hits. Most of her lead roles in feature films since Starman (1984) have not been that well-received (Animal Behavior (1989), Ghost in the Machine (1993), and The Turning (1992) among them). However, she has been seen to good effect on TV in such films as Challenger (1990), in which she portrayed tragic schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, and All the Winters That Have Been (1997), co-starring Richard Chamberlain.She has also made special guest star appearances on such shows as Law & Order (1990), Knots Landing (1979), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985), and in several TV movies, including Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (1996) and Secret Weapon (1990). She also played the lead in the CBS series The Road Home (1994). Karen Allen was married to soap star Kale Browne (with whom she co-starred in 'Til There Was You (1997)) in 1988 and they have a son, Nicholas. Apart from acting, Allen is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and musician. She played in a band with Kathleen Turner, and recorded a duet with Jeff Bridges for the Starman (1984) soundtrack album.She also writes plays, screenplays, and poetry; owns her own Ashtanga yoga enterprise; and spends time at her Berkshire Mountains farm or Upper West Side Manhattan townhouse. The classically trained actress also has a screenplay called "The Second Coming," which is about to be made into a movie. Most recently she has starred opposite Peter Coyote in The Basket (1999), and appeared in the blockbuster The Perfect Storm (2000), in which she co-starred with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane. In addition to these, she is working on Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001) and recently made an independent film, In the Bedroom (2001). Karen Allen is undoubtedly one of the most talented, ambitious, and versatile actresses of the last 20 years. In many ways, her own choices to "go back to theater and smaller projects" are the only things that have really stopped her being a major, major star. Allen was voted one of the most beautiful women in the world in 1983, and is a naturally attractive lady - who often plays characters significantly younger than herself. She also often plays unglamorous types - and there is no one better at portraying real, human, and wholly believable people.
Bio:
Karen Jane Allen was born in Carrollton, rural southern Illinois, to Patricia (Howell), a teacher, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI agent. She spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her parents and two sisters. She was always "the new girl in school." Acting did not really cross Allen's mind until she was in her early 20s, when she saw a Jerzy Grotowski theater production that impressed her so much, she instantly decided to give it a shot. She trained as a classical actress and enrolled at the Actors Studio and with Lee Strasberg in New York City. During this period, she made several student films and directed and acted in several plays. In 1976, she made her first film appearance in the award-winning small film The Whidjitmaker (1976).Her first major film role came as Katy in 1978's National Lampoon's National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), which became one of the biggest hits of the year, obtained "classic" status, and launched a whole host of young "hot" stars. However, shortly after National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) opened, Allen was struck by a rare and dangerous eyesight condition called keratoconjunctivitis. Luckily, the condition subsided and Allen could continue her dramatic rise to the top. Lead roles in cult favorites like The Wanderers (1979) and the controversial thriller Cruising (1980) followed, as did smaller parts as in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979). However, it was her performance in Rob Cohen's A Small Circle of Friends (1980), as well as her previously mentioned turn in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), that caught the eye of a certain Steven Spielberg. He then cast her as the feisty heroine and co-star of Harrison Ford in his big-budget blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which became a huge hit in 1981-82 and is regarded by many film buffs as the greatest action-adventure film ever made.Following the huge success of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Allen chose to spend more than two years out of the limelight, concentrating on smaller, more personal projects. She won a major award for her performances on Broadway, won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Abra in the hugely successful ABC production of East of Eden (1981), and had parts in two smaller films: Alan Parker's Shoot the Moon (1982) and Split Image (1982), co-starring James Woods and Peter Fonda. She returned to the mainstream in 1984 with Until September (1984) and Starman (1984), co-starring Jeff Bridges and directed by John Carpenter (of Halloween (1978) fame), but once again decided to leave the limelight for a couple of years to do more stage work and some troubled indie films. While Allen has worked almost constantly since then, giving notable performances in Paul Newman's screen adaptation of The Glass Menagerie (1987), the Christmas hit Scrooged (1988), and Steven Soderbergh's underrated King of the Hill (1993), she has not been able to scale the same dizzy heights as the early 1980s hits. Most of her lead roles in feature films since Starman (1984) have not been that well-received (Animal Behavior (1989), Ghost in the Machine (1993), and The Turning (1992) among them). However, she has been seen to good effect on TV in such films as Challenger (1990), in which she portrayed tragic schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, and All the Winters That Have Been (1997), co-starring Richard Chamberlain.She has also made special guest star appearances on such shows as Law & Order (1990), Knots Landing (1979), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985), and in several TV movies, including Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (1996) and Secret Weapon (1990). She also played the lead in the CBS series The Road Home (1994). Karen Allen was married to soap star Kale Browne (with whom she co-starred in 'Til There Was You (1997)) in 1988 and they have a son, Nicholas. Apart from acting, Allen is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and musician. She played in a band with Kathleen Turner, and recorded a duet with Jeff Bridges for the Starman (1984) soundtrack album.She also writes plays, screenplays, and poetry; owns her own Ashtanga yoga enterprise; and spends time at her Berkshire Mountains farm or Upper West Side Manhattan townhouse. The classically trained actress also has a screenplay called "The Second Coming," which is about to be made into a movie. Most recently she has starred opposite Peter Coyote in The Basket (1999), and appeared in the blockbuster The Perfect Storm (2000), in which she co-starred with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane. In addition to these, she is working on Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001) and recently made an independent film, In the Bedroom (2001). Karen Allen is undoubtedly one of the most talented, ambitious, and versatile actresses of the last 20 years. In many ways, her own choices to "go back to theater and smaller projects" are the only things that have really stopped her being a major, major star. Allen was voted one of the most beautiful women in the world in 1983, and is a naturally attractive lady - who often plays characters significantly younger than herself. She also often plays unglamorous types - and there is no one better at portraying real, human, and wholly believable people.
Tivia:
She designs clothes for her own clothing label, Image.Overcame temporary blindness caused by keratoconjunctivitis in 1978. She later won major theater awards for playing a blind woman in "Monday Before the Miracle" and "The Miracle Worker.".Member of a notable group of Lee Strasberg alumni: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, and Matt Zemlin, among others.Considered for the role of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), later cast in the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).In 1995 she founded Berkshire Mountain Yoga in Massachusetts.Voted one of the most beautiful women in the world by the readers of Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1983.Has a major in design from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.She inaugurated her own knitwear design studio in 2004 in Massachusetts: Karen Allen Fiber Arts.An accomplished hand-knitting fanatic, Allen runs her own knitwear design studio, Karen Allen Fiber Arts. (November 2004)Parents: Carroll Thompson Allen (FBI agent) and Patricia A. Howell (schoolteacher).She teaches yoga.She is of Irish, Scottish, English, and Welsh descent.Son, Nicholas Browne, was born on September 14, 1990.She has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Manhattan (1979), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Malcolm X (1992).Studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.Has two sisters.Studied in the Washington Theater Laboratory.She was considered for the role of Dorothy Valance in Blue Velvet (1986).Graduated from DuVal High School in Glenndale, Maryland, in 1969.Lived with musician Stephen Bishop.Former student of New York acting teacher David Gideon, when she studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute.She auditioned for the role of Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983).Was famously tied up and had her mouth gagged in both the "Indiana Jones" movies she appeared in: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).Is a good harmonica player. She was shown playing the harmonica in the 1984 movie "Until September".Born at 10:11 AM. |
| Name: |
Karen Allen |
Type: |
Actress,Director,Soundtrack (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Actress,Director,Soundtrack |
| Products for sale: |
Actress,Director,Soundtrack |
| Model rank: |
931 |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 03:18:58 |
| Height: |
5' 5' (1.65 m) |
| Biography: |
Karen Jane Allen was born in Carrollton, rural southern Illinois, to Patricia (Howell), a teacher, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI agent. She spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her parents and two sisters. She was always \" |
| Trivia: |
She designs clothes for her own clothing label, Image.Overcame temporary blindness caused by keratoconjunctivitis in 1978. She later won major theater awards for playing a blind woman in "Monday Before the Miracle" and "The Miracle Worker.".Member of a notable group of Lee Strasberg alumni: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, and Matt Zemlin, among others.Considered for the role of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), later cast in the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).In 1995 she founded Berkshire Mountain Yoga in Massachusetts.Voted one of the most beautiful women in the world by the readers of Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1983.Has a major in design from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.She inaugurated her own knitwear design studio in 2004 in Massachusetts: Karen Allen Fiber Arts.An accomplished hand-knitting fanatic, Allen runs her own knitwear design studio, Karen Allen Fiber Arts. (November 2004)Parents: Carroll Thompson Allen (FBI agent) and Patricia A. Howell (schoolteacher).She teaches yoga.She is of Irish, Scottish, English, and Welsh descent.Son, Nicholas Browne, was born on September 14, 1990.She has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Manhattan (1979), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Malcolm X (1992).Studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.Has two sisters.Studied in the Washington Theater Laboratory.She was considered for the role of Dorothy Valance in Blue Velvet (1986).Graduated from DuVal High School in Glenndale, Maryland, in 1969.Lived with musician Stephen Bishop.Former student of New York acting teacher David Gideon, when she studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute.She auditioned for the role of Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983).Was famously tied up and had her mouth gagged in both the "Indiana Jones" movies she appeared in: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).Is a good harmonica player. She was shown playing the harmonica in the 1984 movie "Until September".Born at 10:11 AM. |
| Quotes: |
I don't know if I've ever played a character who's close to me. There have been some elements of myself in different roles. Sometimes, I show one side of myself and then completely conceal the other.
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It's a very instinctual relationship, a reaction to something in the script. I read a script and ask myself, "Is this a story I want to tell?" An actor is really a storyteller and sometimes the story being told is as important as the character in the story. Sometimes, I look at a character and say, "I don't know the first thing about this person, who she is and where she's coming from." That fascinates me. I know in order to get there I have to do my work, to think through in psychological terms who this person is and examine her whole thinking process. Sometimes you recognize certain elements of yourself that you didn't know were there. I also write biographies of my characters ever since National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). I even do some research into the background if it's important. I create the character's history, who's her family and other things. It really does help.
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<hr>
As far as acting in films, there is not much out there that is very interesting to do. The ones that are interesting to me are independent films and they have trouble raising money. With people putting their money into blockbusters, there is not much left for the independents.
<br />
<hr>
[on the difference between Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)] Crystal Skull was more low tech than you might think, although we did do some green screen on it, but not that much. I guess that is the difference, there wasn't that type of special effects in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). CGI [Computer Generated Imagery] didn't exist.
<br />
<hr>
I've always done things the hard way. I was born like a piece of tangled yarn. The job is trying to untangle it, and I'll probably go on doing it for the rest of my life. |
| Job title: |
Actress,Director,Soundtrack |
| Others works: |
Stage: "The Country Girl" (January 1991)
Stage: "Speaking in Tongues" (Oct 26, 2001 - Jan 20, 2002)
Stage: "Extremities" (29 March 1983 - 31 May 1983)
Stage: "The Miracle Worker" (April to June 1987)
Radio comme |
| Spouse: |
Kale Browne (May 1, 1988 - June 6, 1998) (divorced, 1 child) |
| Children: |
Nicholas |
| Parents: |
Carroll Thompson Allen
Patricia A. Allen (Howell) |
| Relatives: |
Sibling (Sibling)
Sibling (Sibling) |
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