Karen Jane Allen was born on the 5th October 1951, in Carrollton, Illinois USA, of British ancestry. She is an actress, who is probably best recognized for starring in the role of Marion Ravenwood in the films “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” (1981), and “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” (2008). Her acting career has been active since the late 1970s.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Karen Allen is? Sources estimate that the total size of Karen’s net worth is over $10 million as of mid-2016, which has been accumulated through her successful career as an actress. Another source is coming from her owning a textile company. She is a teacher of acting as well, which has also contributed to her overall net worth.
Karen Allen Net Worth $10 Million
Karen Allen was born to Carroll Thompson Allen, who was an FBI agent, and Ruth Patricia, who worked as a teacher; she has two sisters; her father’s job meant that the family moved frequently. She attended DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland, and upon matriculation Karen relocated to New York City, where she enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, from which she eventually received an honorary MA degree in 2009. She was also a student at the University of Maryland, College Park, but spent only three semesters there, after which Karen spent time traveling around the world. Afterwards, in 1974, she became a member of Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, and after three years spent there, she returned to New York City and attended the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.
Karen’s career began in the late 1970s, when she earned the role of Katy in the film “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978), which was followed with roles in such films as “The Wanderers” (1979), and “A Small Circle Of Friends” in 1980. The following year her career took a turn for the better, when she appeared in the role of Marion Ravenwood in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”, alongside Harrison Ford. After that appearance, her career has gone only upwards, and so has her net worth. During the 1980s, she appeared in such films as “Shoot The Moon” (1982) with Diane Keaton and Albert Finney, “Starman” (1984) with Jeff Bridges, “The Glass Menagerie” (1987) starring John Malkovich and Joanne Woodward, and “Scrooged” (1988) with Bill Murray, among other films, all of which increased her net worth.
The next decade didn’t change much, as she continued to line up successful roles; she appeared in the film “Malcolm X” in 1992 alongside Denzel Washington, and the following year had a part in the film “King Of The Hill”. In the first half of the 1990s she also appeared in “The Sandlot” (1993), and TV series “The Road Home” (1994). Three years later, she featured in the film “’Til There Was You”, and in 1998 she was selected to play the role of Resse Nicholson in the film “Falling Sky”. Before the 1990s ended she appeared in “The Basket” (1999) – her net worth was certainly rising.
Her first role in the new millennium was in the film “The Perfect Storm” (2000), and in 2001 she appeared in the film “In the Bedroom”. In the first half of the 2000s, Karen’s net worth increased thanks to her appearances in such productions as “World Traveler” (2001), “Poster Boy” (2004), and “When Will I Be Loved” (2004).
After that she focused on her family, but returned to acting in 2008, reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood in the film “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Since then she has made several small roles in such films as “White Irish Drinkers” (2010), “The Tin Star” (2012), “Bad Hurt” (2015), and most recently she starred in the film “Year By The Sea” (2016), which only contributed a lot to the overall size of her net worth.
Thanks to her skills, Karen has received several nominations and awards, including the Saturn Award in category for Best Actress for her work on the film “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”, among other awards.
Apart from her successful career as an actress, Karen is also the owner of a textile company named Karen Allen Fiber Arts, which is located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Regarding her personal life, Karen Allen was married to Kale Browne, an actor, from 1988 to 1999; they are the parents of a son. Previously, she was briefly married to singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop. In free time, Karen enjoys teaching and practicing yoga. Her current residence is in Monterey, Massachusetts.
University of Maryland, College Park, Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, DuVal High School, Fashion Institute of Technology, George Washington University
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Movies
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Starman, Animal House, Scrooged, The Wanderers, Until September, The Perfect Storm, The Sandlot, Bad Hurt, In the Bedroom, A Small Circle of Friends, White Irish Drinkers, Shoot the Moon, King of the Hill, The Glass Menager...
TV Shows
The Road Home, East of Eden
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Quote
1
I just felt like I had to create a life for myself where I was more independent. Where what I was doing in my life was so interesting I could literally put my whole acting life on the back burner because I was so fascinated by what was right in front of me. And that was the only thing that felt healthy to me. Short of that, I felt like somebody who was waiting for the phone to ring.
2
I'm from a generation of fantastic actresses. It's a big pool of really wonderful actresses, and so many of them we never even get to see on the screen anymore.
3
(On ageing) I was in that kind of real weird transitional period there. I was in my late 40s, early 50s, and it's a strange little place that you can fall into. These days all somebody has to do is Google you and they know how old you are. I would show up for roles that were written for somebody in their early 50s, and people would say, 'You can't do that, you look too young,' but if I showed up for a role for somebody in their early 40s then the people would say, 'Well, but she's 50.'
4
(Asked if she had any disagreements with Richard Donner on Scrooged (1988)) Only a few. Every single minute of the day. That could have been a really, really great movie. The script was so good. There's maybe one take in the final cut movie that is mine. We made it so fast, it was like doing a movie live. He kept telling me to do things louder, louder, louder. I think he was deaf.
5
(On working with Steven Spielberg on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)) We're both older, and I've done other films like this. So I kind of come into it just so much more relaxed and open-minded. I already know what kind of film we're making.
6
(On John Carpenter) John is a really nice guy. The people working with him have a really nice thing going. They've developed this strong support system. He has chosen a good group of people. They stay with him film after film. They can bounce things off of each other in order to get the film made. I had a good time making Starman (1984).
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(How she got Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)) I was working on a television miniseries of East of Eden, and we were up somewhere in Napa. And he sent a courier to my hotel room, who had to sit in my room the whole time I read the script, and then took the script away.
8
I get recognized for Animal House (1978) a lot. That film is huge, too. That film has aged very well. People are still watching that film. I saw it not that long ago. It's just one of those films that seems as much fun now as when we made it. There's a whole huge Starman (1984) contingent as well. Believe it or not, there are people who have a little obsession with Starman (1984).
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(On Steven Spielberg) He thought, 'She's such a nice person, I have to toughen her up." And I think he often, from my perspective, was not very nice to me, and I think there was a method in his madness.
10
(On Steven Spielberg') I didn't quite get all the time what he was going for in certain ways, and he didn't quite get me, how I worked. I was kind of a much more internally oriented actor, and at times he wanted me to be much more external than I was being.
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(On The Wanderers (1979)) I love that picture. It's not my book, and I don't care. The spirit is right, and the way Phil Kaufman directed it showed me another way of looking at my own book.
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(On her diagnosis with EKC) I didn't know whether I was going to get my eyesight back, and I was pretty frightened.
13
(On Animal House (1978)) I think I auditioned five times for that role. And nobody but John Landis and the casting directors wanted me. Well, I think Harold Ramis liked me, too. But nobody at Universal wanted me because they wanted someone with more experience, someone who had more credits. Someone they could point to as more of a star.
14
(On whether she was considered for Princess Leia in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)) I think that's not true. I don't know where that ever came from. Because when Star Wars was being made I had never done a film in my life. I was either still living in Washington, D.C., working in the theater or had just moved to New York and working in theater there, too. I had heard that rumour but I just can't imagine anybody knew who I was.
15
(On Donald Sutherland and her nude scene in Animal House (1978)) I thought he was so sweet to do that, so I sort of let go of my objections and said, 'Okay, if Donald Sutherland is going to bare his bottom, by golly, I'll bare mine too!'
16
When one film is enormously successful, you get so identified with that film until you're in another film that is equally successful or more successful. Well, it's pretty difficult to make a film that's going to be more successful than Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
17
I've always done things the hard way. I was born like a piece of tangled yarn. The job is trying to untangle it, and I'll probably go on doing it for the rest of my life.
18
[on the difference between Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)] Crystal Skull was more low tech than you might think, although we did do some green screen on it, but not that much. I guess that is the difference, there wasn't that type of special effects in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). CGI [Computer Generated Imagery] didn't exist.
19
As far as acting in films, there is not much out there that is very interesting to do. The ones that are interesting to me are independent films and they have trouble raising money. With people putting their money into blockbusters, there is not much left for the independents.
20
It's a very instinctual relationship, a reaction to something in the script. I read a script and ask myself, "Is this a story I want to tell?" An actor is really a storyteller and sometimes the story being told is as important as the character in the story. Sometimes, I look at a character and say, "I don't know the first thing about this person, who she is and where she's coming from." That fascinates me. I know in order to get there I have to do my work, to think through in psychological terms who this person is and examine her whole thinking process. Sometimes you recognize certain elements of yourself that you didn't know were there. I also write biographies of my characters ever since Animal House (1978). I even do some research into the background if it's important. I create the character's history, who's her family and other things. It really does help.
21
I don't know if I've ever played a character who's close to me. There have been some elements of myself in different roles. Sometimes, I show one side of myself and then completely conceal the other.
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Fact
1
She was considered for the role of Dorothy Valance in Blue Velvet (1986).
2
She auditioned for the role of Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983).
3
She teaches yoga.
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An accomplished hand knitting fanatic, Karen runs her own knitwear design studio, "Karen Allen Fibre Arts". [November 2004]
Voted one of the most beautiful women in the world by the readers of Harpers Bazaar Magazine in 1983.
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Overcame temporary blindness caused by Kerato Conjunctivitis in 1978. She later won major theatre awards for playing a blind woman in "Monday Before the Miracle" and "Miracle Worker, The".