Karen Allen

Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951 in Carrollton, Illinois) is an American actress most famous for her roles in the films National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Starman (1984). Allen won a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a film for her role in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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October 5 - 1951 - Carrollton, Illinois - American - Actress - National Lampoon's Animal House - Raiders of the Lost Ark - Starman - Saturn Award - Best Actress in a film

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Born in rural southern Illinois, Karen spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her mother, her FBI agent father, and two sisters. At 17, after graduating from high school, she moved to New York to study art and design. She later attended the University of Maryland and spent time traveling through South and Central America. In 1974, Karen joined a theater group and three years later moved back to New York and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. In 1978, she made her major film debut in National Lampoon's Animal House and Hollywood took notice. Her next big break came in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) where she created the feisty heroine Marion Ravenwood.

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Illinois - New York - National Lampoon's Animal House - Raiders of the Lost Ark

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Karen also debuted on Broadway in 1982 in "The Monday After the Miracle". 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 film Starman (1984). She often took breaks from movie roles to concentrate on stage acting. She married actor Kale Browne in 1988 and had Nicholas, her first child in 1990. Since the birth of Nicholas, Karen Allen has done smaller film roles and TV films to concetrating on raising Nicholas. She has also had an ongoing interest in knitting and in 2003 started her own textile company, Karen Allen-Fiber Arts in Western Massachusetts.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Until September - Richard Marquand - Starman - Stage - Kale Browne

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