Ilene Kristen (born Ilene Schatz on July , ) is an American actress,
singer, songwriter, cabaret performer, and one-time cinema owner. She
is best known for her role as Delia Ryan in the ABC soap opera Ryan's
Hope (â€", â€", â€") and her Emmy-nominated performances as Roxy
Balsom on One Life to Live (â€").Ilene Kristen was born Ilene Schatz
in Brooklyn, New York. She is the daughter of Arthur Schatz of
Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Myrna Levin of Boro Park, Brooklyn. Her
father was a hairdresser who owned a series of beauty parlors across
Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Palm Beach, Florida. She has a younger
sister, Karen Schatz. Ilene lived in Brooklyn until the age of . She
then moved to Forest Hills, Queens and lived there for two years. In ,
she moved to Manhattan’s Upper West Side on West th Street. She
attended PS in Brooklyn, Russell Sage Junior High School in Queens,
and Professional Children's School in Manhattan. Upon graduating high
school, she went to Finch College where she majored in Drama and
minored in Art History.She first studied dance under Sara
Felcherâ€"and, later, under Alwin Nikolais, Jojo Smith, Matt Mattox,
Luigi, and Jaime Rogers (one of the Sharks in West Side Story). Her
early inspirations were the dancer Bambi Lynn and Sondra Lee, whose
performance as Tiger Lily in Jerome Robbins’s Peter Pan left the
young Kristen mesmerized. Kristen was inspired to someday become a
professional actor when she saw the Off-Broadway show The Fantasticks.
She later studied acting under the celebrated acting coach Jack
Waltzer.Her first television appearance was in on bandleader Ted
Steele’s Dance Party, based in Newark, New Jersey. Her first
professional job was on NBC's The Bell Telephone Hour as a dancer when
she was years old. She was brought on board by the show's
choreographer Matt Mattox. Kristen was a dancer in the ensemble of the
musical Henry, Sweet Henry, based upon The World of Henry Orient.
This was the first of several collaborations with the choreographer
Michael Bennett, with whom she later worked on the television show Let
Us Entertain You (starring Robert Morse) and the show Pinocchio (with
Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits).
singer, songwriter, cabaret performer, and one-time cinema owner. She
is best known for her role as Delia Ryan in the ABC soap opera Ryan's
Hope (â€", â€", â€") and her Emmy-nominated performances as Roxy
Balsom on One Life to Live (â€").Ilene Kristen was born Ilene Schatz
in Brooklyn, New York. She is the daughter of Arthur Schatz of
Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Myrna Levin of Boro Park, Brooklyn. Her
father was a hairdresser who owned a series of beauty parlors across
Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Palm Beach, Florida. She has a younger
sister, Karen Schatz. Ilene lived in Brooklyn until the age of . She
then moved to Forest Hills, Queens and lived there for two years. In ,
she moved to Manhattan’s Upper West Side on West th Street. She
attended PS in Brooklyn, Russell Sage Junior High School in Queens,
and Professional Children's School in Manhattan. Upon graduating high
school, she went to Finch College where she majored in Drama and
minored in Art History.She first studied dance under Sara
Felcherâ€"and, later, under Alwin Nikolais, Jojo Smith, Matt Mattox,
Luigi, and Jaime Rogers (one of the Sharks in West Side Story). Her
early inspirations were the dancer Bambi Lynn and Sondra Lee, whose
performance as Tiger Lily in Jerome Robbins’s Peter Pan left the
young Kristen mesmerized. Kristen was inspired to someday become a
professional actor when she saw the Off-Broadway show The Fantasticks.
She later studied acting under the celebrated acting coach Jack
Waltzer.Her first television appearance was in on bandleader Ted
Steele’s Dance Party, based in Newark, New Jersey. Her first
professional job was on NBC's The Bell Telephone Hour as a dancer when
she was years old. She was brought on board by the show's
choreographer Matt Mattox. Kristen was a dancer in the ensemble of the
musical Henry, Sweet Henry, based upon The World of Henry Orient.
This was the first of several collaborations with the choreographer
Michael Bennett, with whom she later worked on the television show Let
Us Entertain You (starring Robert Morse) and the show Pinocchio (with
Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits).
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.