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Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American actress, perhaps most famous for her roles in the films National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Split Image (1982), Starman (1984), Scrooged (1988), The Sandlot (1993) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Blessed with a husky voice, an earthy manner and a generous smile, Karen Allen was a popular actress in the late 1970s and early 1980s with roles in such blockbuster hits as “Animal House” (1978), “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) and “Starman” (1984). Allen seemed to prefer stage acting to movie stardom, and after the birth of her son in 1990, stepped away from acting to concentrate on running her own yoga center and knitwear company, as well as teaching acting and directing at a college in Massachusetts. That all changed once buzz began surrounding a possible Indiana Jones film years after the final installment in 1989. Fans would not accept any other leading lady on the arm of the beloved archeologist than the one who had made the most impact from the jump. So in 2007, Allen announced that she would be reprising her role as the feisty Marion Ravenwood in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008), the long-awaited third sequel to “Raiders.” Allen remained away from the film business until it was announced in 2007 that she would reprise her role as Marion Ravenwood in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” The picture – her first in four years – would reunite her with director Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, and explain her absence from the Jones chronicles by introducing a son, Mac (Shia LeBoeuf), who may or may not be Indy’s offspring – much to the relief of die-hard Indy fans. Allen was born in Carrollton, rural western Illinois, the daughter of Patricia A. (née Howell), a teacher, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI agent. Allen spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her parents and two sisters. After graduating from DuVal Senior High School, in Lanham, Maryland at 17, she moved to New York to study art and design at Fashion Institute of Technology. She later attended the University of Maryland, College Park and spent time traveling through South and Central America. In 1974, Allen joined a theater group and three years later moved back to New York and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. She later attended the University of Maryland and spent time traveling through South and Central America. In 1974 Karen joined a theatre group and 3 years later moved back to New York and studied with the Lee Strasberg Institute. In 1978, she made her major film debut in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and Hollywood took notice. Her next big break came in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) where she created the role of "Marion Ravenwood". Karen also debuted on Broadway in 1982 in "Monday After the Miracle, The". After a few small films, including the underrated Until September (1984), directed by Richard Marquand, and other stage appearances, she made the successful science fiction movie Starman (1984). After that her movie career waned as she preferred to work on the stage. She married Kale Browne in 1988 and had Nicholas, her first child in 1990. Since the birth of Nicholas, Karen has done smaller film roles and TV movies to concentrate on raising Nicholas. In 1978, Allen made her major film debut in National Lampoon's Animal House. Her next two appearances were in The Wanderers in 1979 and A Small Circle of Friends in 1980, where she played one of three radical college students during the 1960s. The United Artists-release of that film received only limited theatrical exposure, ultimately grossing under $1 million. Her next big role came with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), in which she played the feisty heroine Marion Ravenwood. Allen won a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a film for her role in the film. 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 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 Animal House (1978) opened Karen was struck by a rare and dangerous eyesight condition called Kerato Conjunctivitis. Luckily, the condition subsided and Karen 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 Animal House (1978), that caught the eye of a certain Steven Spielberg. He then cast her as the feisty heroine and Harrison Ford's co-star in his big budget blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which became a huge hit in 1981-82 and is regarded by many as the greatest action adventure film ever made. Strangely following the huge success of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Karen chose to spend over 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 creation of "Abra" in the hugely successful ABC production of "East of Eden" (1981) and had parts in two smaller indie 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 the hugely successful 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 doing more stage-work and some troubled 'indie' films. While Karen 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 1980's 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 films like Challenger (1990) (TV) in which she portrayed tragic schoolteacher "Christa McAuliffe" and All the Winters That Have Been (1997) (TV), co-starring Richard Chamberlain. She has also made 'special guest star appearances' on such shows as "Law & Order" (1990), "Knots Landing" (1979), "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1985), and several TV movies including Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (1996) (TV) and Secret Weapon (1990) (TV). 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 Karen 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 Astranga Yoga enterprise and spends time at her Berkshire Mountains farm or Upper Westside Manhattan townhouse. The classically trained actress also has a screenplay called "Second Coming, The", which is about to be made into a movie. Most recently she stars opposite Peter Coyote in The Basket (1999) and the blockbuster The Perfect Storm (2000) in which she co-stars with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Diane Lane. In addition to these, she is working on Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001) (TV) and recently made an independent film, In the Bedroom (2001). |
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