Joan Allen (born August , ) is an American actress. She began her
career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in , won the Drama Desk
Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for And a Nightingale Sang,
and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway
debut in Burn This. She is also a three-time Academy Award nominee,
receiving Best Supporting Actress nominations for Nixon () and The
Crucible (), and a Best Actress nomination for The Contender
().Allen's other film roles include Manhunter (), Peggy Sue Got
Married (), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (), The Ice Storm (),
Face/Off (), Pleasantville (), The Bourne Supremacy (), The Upside of
Anger (), The Bourne Ultimatum (), Death Race (), and The Bourne
Legacy (). She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting
Actress for the film Room. She has also starred in the Broadway plays
The Heidi Chronicles (), Impressionism (), and The Waverly Gallery
().Allen, the youngest of four children, was born in Rochelle,
Illinois, the daughter of Dorothea Marie (née Wirth), a homemaker,
and James Jefferson Allen, a gas station owner. She has an older
brother, David, and two older sisters, Mary and Lynn. Allen attended
Rochelle Township High School, and was voted most likely to
succeed.[citation needed] She first attended Eastern Illinois
University, performing in a few plays with John Malkovich, who was
also a student, and then Northern Illinois University, where she
graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater.Allen began
her performing career as a stage actress and on television before
making her film debut in the movie, Compromising Positions (). She
became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in when
John Malkovich asked her to join. She's been a member ever since. In ,
she won a Clarence Derwent Award for her portrayal of Hellen Stott in
And a Nightingale Sang.[citation needed] Allen's work with Steppenwolf
has included productions of Three Sisters, Waiting For The Parade,
Love Letters, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and The Wheel. In , Allen
won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This
opposite Malkovich. She also starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning
play The Heidi Chronicles, with Boyd Gaines at the Plymouth Theatre.
The show was met with critical praise, receiving six Tony Award
nominations and winning Best Play. Allen received her second Tony
Award nomination for her performance.
career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in , won the Drama Desk
Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for And a Nightingale Sang,
and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway
debut in Burn This. She is also a three-time Academy Award nominee,
receiving Best Supporting Actress nominations for Nixon () and The
Crucible (), and a Best Actress nomination for The Contender
().Allen's other film roles include Manhunter (), Peggy Sue Got
Married (), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (), The Ice Storm (),
Face/Off (), Pleasantville (), The Bourne Supremacy (), The Upside of
Anger (), The Bourne Ultimatum (), Death Race (), and The Bourne
Legacy (). She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting
Actress for the film Room. She has also starred in the Broadway plays
The Heidi Chronicles (), Impressionism (), and The Waverly Gallery
().Allen, the youngest of four children, was born in Rochelle,
Illinois, the daughter of Dorothea Marie (née Wirth), a homemaker,
and James Jefferson Allen, a gas station owner. She has an older
brother, David, and two older sisters, Mary and Lynn. Allen attended
Rochelle Township High School, and was voted most likely to
succeed.[citation needed] She first attended Eastern Illinois
University, performing in a few plays with John Malkovich, who was
also a student, and then Northern Illinois University, where she
graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater.Allen began
her performing career as a stage actress and on television before
making her film debut in the movie, Compromising Positions (). She
became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in when
John Malkovich asked her to join. She's been a member ever since. In ,
she won a Clarence Derwent Award for her portrayal of Hellen Stott in
And a Nightingale Sang.[citation needed] Allen's work with Steppenwolf
has included productions of Three Sisters, Waiting For The Parade,
Love Letters, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and The Wheel. In , Allen
won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This
opposite Malkovich. She also starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning
play The Heidi Chronicles, with Boyd Gaines at the Plymouth Theatre.
The show was met with critical praise, receiving six Tony Award
nominations and winning Best Play. Allen received her second Tony
Award nomination for her performance.
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