A svelte, raspy-voiced, wide-eyed brunette, Karen Allen is one of those actresses that Hollywood doesn't seem to know how to cast, despite her appearances in two blockbusters.

Born in Illinois, this daughter of an FBI employee and schoolteacher was raised in Tennessee and Pennsylvania before the family settled in the Washington, DC, area. After graduating from high school, Allen drifted to NYC where she enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology before dropping out to travel throughout Central and South America. Returning to Washington, DC, she attended George Washington University before deciding to pursue an acting career. Allen joined the Washington Theatre Lab in 1974 and toured with the troupe for several months. While working there, she also made her first film appearance in "The Widget Maker" (c. 1975)

In 1977, Allen moved back to NYC, worked at various jobs (from house painter to sandwich maker), studied with Lee Strasberg, and appeared in student films (i.e., "The Aftermath"). John Landis then cast her as the formidable girlfriend of Boon (Peter Riegert) in "National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978), which also marked the beginning of a four-year romance with singer-songwriter Stephan Bishop who had a small role in the film.

Allen followed with bit roles in high quality features (Woody Allen's "Manhattan" 1979) and larger parts in dubious films (William Friedkin's "Cruising" and Rob Cohen's "A Small Circle of Friends", both 1980). She then landed the role of the hard-drinking, tomboyish and determined Marion Ravenswood in Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981). Critics, praising her pairing with Harrison Ford, compared her resiliency and tough sensuality to Lauren Bacall (especially when directed by Howard Hawks). The same year, she offered a fine portrait of a cynical "other woman" in Alan Parker's "Shoot the Moon". Subsequent features have been uneven and few have really provided Allen with good roles. Exceptions would include "Starman" (1984), as a grieving widow whose husband comes back to life thanks to an alien (Jeff Bridges) and Paul Newman's "The Glass Menagerie" (1987), as Laura to Joanne Woodward's Amanda.

On the small screen, Allen appeared as Abra in the ABC TV remake of "East of Eden" (1981). She later played Christa McAullife, the spirited teacher whose death in the "Challenger" (ABC, 1990) disaster heightened the tragedy for the nation. Allen was also a Mossad agent in "Secret Weapon" (TNT, 1990) and Alison Matson, the strong mother of the clan, in CBS' short-lived family drama series, "The Road Home" (1994). Allen's work on stage has been infrequent, but she did portray Helen Keller in "Morning After the Miracle" on Broadway in 1982, directed by Arthur Penn, and has produced and performed in plays at the Whole Theatre in Montclair, New Jersey.

from movies.yahoo.com

  When Will I Be Loved (2004) .... Alexandra Barrie
Poster Boy (2004) .... Eunice Kray
Briar Patch (2003) .... Butcher Lee
... aka Plain Dirty (USA: DVD title)
The Root (2003/I)
Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update (2003) (V) .... Katy Schoenstein
Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001) (TV) .... Katherine Farewell
World Traveler (2001) .... Delores
... aka Globe-trotter, Le (Canada: French title)
My Horrible Year! (2001) (TV) .... Belinda Faulkner
In the Bedroom (2001) .... Marla Keyes
The Perfect Storm (2000) .... Melissa Brown
... aka Sturm, Der (Germany)

The Basket (1999) .... Bessie Emery
Falling Sky (1998) .... Resse Nicholson
Wind River (1998) .... Martha (Wilson)
All the Winters That Have Been (1997) (TV) .... Hannah Raven
'Til There Was You (1997) .... Betty Dawkan
Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (1996) (TV) .... Margaret
Ripper (1996) (VG) .... Dr. Clare Burton
"The Road Home" (1994) TV Series .... Allison Matson
Ghost in the Machine (1993) .... Terry Monroe
... aka Deadly Terror
King of the Hill (1993) .... Miss Mathey, Aaron's Teacher
Voyage (1993/I) (TV) .... Catherine 'Kit' Norvell
... aka Cruise of Fear
The Sandlot (1993) .... Mom
... aka The Sandlot Kids
Rapture (1993) (TV) .... Georgianne Corcoran
Malcolm X (1992) .... Miss Dunne
... aka X (USA: poster title)
The Turning (1992) .... Glory Lawson
... aka Pocahontas, Virginia
Nonesense and Lullabyes: Nursery Rhymes (1992) (V)
Nonesense and Lullabyes: Poems (1992) (V)
Sweet Talker (1991) .... Julie Maguire
... aka Confidence
Secret Weapon (1990) (TV) .... Ruth
Challenger (1990) (TV) .... Christa McAuliffe

Animal Behavior (1989) .... Alex Bristow
Scrooged (1988) .... Claire Phillips
The Glass Menagerie (1987) .... Laura Wingfield
Terminus (1987) .... Gus
Backfire (1987) .... Mara McAndrew
Starman (1984) .... Jenny Hayden
... aka John Carpenter's Starman (USA: complete title)
Until September (1984) .... Mo Alexander
Split Image (1982) .... Rebecca/Amy
... aka Captured (Canada: English title)
... aka Envoûtement, L' (Canada: French title)
Shoot the Moon (1982) .... Sandy, George's Girlfriend
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) .... Marion Ravenwood
... aka Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (USA: video title)
"East of Eden" (1981) (mini) TV Series .... Abra
... aka John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden'
Cruising (1980) .... Nancy Gates
... aka William Friedkin's Cruising (USA: closing credits title)
A Small Circle of Friends (1980) .... Jessica Bloom

The Wanderers (1979) .... Nina
Manhattan (1979) .... Television Actor #2
Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II (1978) (TV) .... Elizabeth
Animal House (1978) .... Katy
... aka National Lampoon's Animal House