Karen Jane Allen (born October , ) is an American film and stage
actress. After making her film debut in Animal House (), she became
best known for her portrayal of Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison
Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark (), a role she later reprised for
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (). She also
co-starred in Starman () and Scrooged (). Her stage work has included
performances on Broadway, and she has directed both for stage and
film.Allen was born in Carrollton, Illinois, to Ruth Patricia (née
Howell), a university professor, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI
agent. She is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent. Her
father's job forced the family to move often. "I grew up moving almost
every year and so I was always the new kid in school and always in a
way was deprived of ever really having any lasting friendships", Allen
said in . Although Allen says her father was very much involved in the
family, she felt that her two sisters and she grew up in a very
female-dominated household. After she graduated from DuVal High
School, in Lanham, Maryland, at , she moved to New York City to study
art and design at Fashion Institute of Technology for two years.Allen
later ran a boutique on the University of Maryland campus and spent
time traveling through South and Central Asia. She attended George
Washington University and began to study and perform with the
experimental company, the Washington Theatre Laboratory, in
Washington, DC. In , Allen joined Shakespeare & Company in
Massachusetts. Three years later, she moved back to New York City and
studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.
actress. After making her film debut in Animal House (), she became
best known for her portrayal of Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison
Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark (), a role she later reprised for
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (). She also
co-starred in Starman () and Scrooged (). Her stage work has included
performances on Broadway, and she has directed both for stage and
film.Allen was born in Carrollton, Illinois, to Ruth Patricia (née
Howell), a university professor, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI
agent. She is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent. Her
father's job forced the family to move often. "I grew up moving almost
every year and so I was always the new kid in school and always in a
way was deprived of ever really having any lasting friendships", Allen
said in . Although Allen says her father was very much involved in the
family, she felt that her two sisters and she grew up in a very
female-dominated household. After she graduated from DuVal High
School, in Lanham, Maryland, at , she moved to New York City to study
art and design at Fashion Institute of Technology for two years.Allen
later ran a boutique on the University of Maryland campus and spent
time traveling through South and Central Asia. She attended George
Washington University and began to study and perform with the
experimental company, the Washington Theatre Laboratory, in
Washington, DC. In , Allen joined Shakespeare & Company in
Massachusetts. Three years later, she moved back to New York City and
studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.
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