Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in
When she saw a performance by a Polish theatre company in 1971, Karen became interested in acting. Her early drama experiences were with the Washington Theatre Laboratory Company in Washington DC, where she spent 3 years producing, directing and acting in various plays. In 1976 she got a small role in an award-winning film The Whidjitmaker.
In 1977, Karen had moved to New York to study acting, paying her bills with a variety of part-time jobs. Her career took off when chosen for the female lead, Katy, in the cult comedy Animal House (1978).
Karen Allen's big break came in 1981 when Steven Spielberg chose her for the role of Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was some surprise that she was not asked to appear in either of the two sequels but she is currently filming the 4th instalment of the Indiana Jones Adventures called Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, due for release in May 2008.
In addition to her acting, Karen started her own yoga centre (Berkshire Mountain Yoga) which she ran for ten years. She then studied knitting technology, and created a range of cashmere sweaters and scarves. She opened the Karen Allen Fiber Arts in 2004.
Karen Allen was born in 1951, in Carrollton, Illinois. Her father worked for the FBI and her mother was a teacher. After graduating from High School in Glenn Dale, Maryland, she studied design in New York, ran a boutique, wrote short stories, and even lived for a while in Jamaica.
I saw the lovely Karen Allen at Collectormania in Milton Keynes in October 2005. I told her how much I enjoyed Raiders of the Lost Ark, and how pleased I was to be able to meet her. She smiled and complimented me on how smart I looked! I met her again in 2008 (see image at the bottom of the page).
Karen Allen is also a very accomplished singer, and in 1983 she was voted one of the "most beautiful women in the world".
Although she regularly appears in film roles like Martha in Wind River (1998), Bessie Emery in The Basket (1999) and Marla Keyes in In The Bedroom (2001), her tendancy to "go back to the theatre and smaller projects" are what has stopped Karen Allen from becoming a major film star.
Karen Allen married actor Kale Browne in 1988 but divorced in 1997. They played screen husband and wife in 2 films - the controversial TV production Challenger (1990) in which Karen plays crew member Christa McAuliffe in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and also the film 'Til There Was You (1997).
Karen Allen continued to combine stage appearances and film work throughout the 1980s and 90s. On stage (including Broadway) she appeared in The Glass Menagerie, Shakespeare's As You Like It and The Miracle Worker, whilst her film roles included Until September (1984), Starman (1984), a screen adaptation of The Glass Menagerie (1987), Scrooged (1988) and Animal Behaviour (1989).
Karen Allen in
Animal Behaviour
Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in
Raiders of the Lost Ark (above & right)
Harrison Ford & Karen Allen in
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Karen Allen as Katy in Animal House
Karen Allen & Jeff Bridges in Starman
Karen models for her Fiber Arts website
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Karen Allen on stage in New York
with Scott Hinson in Cinders
Thierry Hermitte & Karen Allen in
Until September
Karen as Bessie Emery in The Basket
Karen Allen signed my 'Indiana Jones' picture
(left) as Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie
I met Karen again at the London Film & Comic Convention held at Earls Court in July 2008. She signed the two photos you can see below.
I met Karen again at Earls Court in July 2008
Karen Allan & John Hurt have both signed this still from
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Karen has signed this photo to me
Karen Allen
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