Karen Allen

format_quote 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.

stars  She designs clothes for her own clothing label Image.

stars  Studied in the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.

stars  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".

stars  Has a major in Design by New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.

stars  In 1995 she founded the Berkshire Mountain Yoga in Massachussets.