Karen Jane Allen was born October 5, 1951. She is an American actress on stage and film. After her debut film in Animal House (1978), she was best known for playing Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford (1981), which she then reprised for Indiana Jones (1982) and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
She was also a star in Starman (1984), and Stricked (1988). She has performed on Broadway and has also directed for film and stage.
Karen Allen Early life
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Allen was born in Carrollton (Illinois) to Ruth Patricia, a university professor and Carroll Thompson Allen, a FBI agents. She is English, Irish and Scottish-born.
Because her father was a truck driver, the family had to move quite often. Allen stated in 1987 that she grew up moving nearly every year, so she was always the “new kid” at school.
This meant that she was never able to make lasting friendships. Allen claims her father was involved in her family’s life, but she feels that Allen and her sisters were raised in a predominantly female household.
At 17 she graduated from DuVal High School in Lanham (Maryland). She then moved to New York City to pursue art and design at Fashion Institute of Technology.
Later, Allen ran a boutique at the University of Maryland campus. She also spent time travelling through South and Central Asia.
After attending George Washington University, she began studying and performing with the Washington Theatre Laboratory in Washington, DC.
In 1974, Allen joined Shakespeare & Company. She returned to New York City three years later and continued her studies at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.
karen allen career
Allen made her major film debut in 1978 in National Lampoon’s Animal House. In 1979, Allen made her first major film appearance in The Wanderers.
She also appeared in A Small Circle of Friends, 1980. There, she played one of three radical college-aged students in the 1960s. As a guest star, she also appeared in the pilot episode of CBS’s long-running series Knots Landing (1979).
She played Annie Fairgate (the daughter of Don Murray’s character Sid Fairgate as well as Sid’s first spouse Susan Philby).
The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), starring Steven Spielberg and Marion Ravenwood (Harrison Ford), was her career-changing role.
Her performance earned Allen a Saturn Award as Best Actress. She appeared in a handful of minor films, including the dramatic thriller Split Image (1982), which Ted Kotcheff directed, and the Paris-set romance drama Until September (1984), which Richard Marquand directed.
In addition to other stage appearances, she starred alongside Jeff Bridges in Starman (1984).
Allen played Marion Ravenwood, her most well-known role, for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). She rekindles her relationship with Indiana Jones and tells him that she has a son named Henry Jones III. Shia LaBeouf plays Mutt Williams.
Allen was the star of the American premiere at Cherry Lane Theater in New York City of Jon Fosse’s A Summer Day. It opened in October 2012.
Allen was Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny, which she directed for the Berkshire Theater Group in August 2015. Allen’s first movie directed was A Tree, which she made in 2016. A Rock. Based on the short story of Carson McCullers, A Cloud.
It was awarded the Best International Short Prize at the Manchester Film Festival in February 2017. Allen played the leading role in Year by the Sea 2017, a film that was based on Joan Anderson’s New York Times bestseller memoir.
Karen Allen Personal life
Allen was married to actor Kale browne in 1988 and they had a son, Nicholas, who was born in 1990. In 1998, the couple split.
After the birth of her child, Allen took on smaller roles in television and film to focus on Nicholas’s education. Nicholas became a chef and won a Chopped contest on Food Network. This competition aired on December 22, 2016.
Karen Allen Fiber Arts was founded in Great Barrington in Massachusetts in 2003. She discovered a passion for knitting and started her own textile business.
A store is located in Great Barrington where Allen knits and sells other compatible products. In 2009, Allen was honored with an honorary master’s diploma from the Fashion Institute of Technology for her contributions to textile arts.
Allen also teaches acting at Bard College, Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington. She currently resides in Massachusetts. She is also a stage director.
Karen Allen net worth
Karen Allen is an American actress and director who has a net worth of $2 million.
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