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Karen Black (I)

Actress | Writer | Soundtrack

Karen Black was born Karen Blanche Ziegler in 1939. She entered Northwestern University at 15 in 1954 and left two years later. She studied under Lee Strasberg in New York and worked in a number of off-Broadway plays. In 1959 she made her film debut with a small role in The Prime Time, then was offscreen for seven years until her appearance in You're a Big Boy Now... See full bio »

Born:

Karen Blanche Ziegler
in Park Ridge, Illinois, USA
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Karen Black Still of Karen Black in Some Guy Who Kills People Karen Black, Lynn Hershman-Leeson and Tilda Swinton at event of Teknolust Karen Black, Lynn Hershman-Leeson and Tilda Swinton at event of Teknolust Karen Black
23 photos | 73 videos | 157 news articles »

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Known For


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Filmography

Hide HideActress (192 titles)
2013 Periphery (announced)
Leanne Cross (rumored)
 
2013 Heated Rivalry (pre-production)
Dorothy
 
2011 The Ganzfeld Experiment (post-production)
The Ghost in the Machine
 
2011 Vacationland (completed)
Louise Bergen
 
2012 In the Woods
 
2011 Letters from the Big Man
Sean's Colleague
 
2011 Some Guy Who Kills People
Ruth Boyd
 
2011 OowieWanna (short)
The Donna
 
2011 Maria My Love
Maria
 
2010 Funny or Die Presents... (TV series)
Debbie Rubbie
– Episode #1.8 (2010) … Debbie Rubbie
 
2010 Better People (TV movie)
Marci
 
2010 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (TV series)
Jennifer
– Choices (2010) … Jennifer
 
2010 Nothing Special
May
 
2009 Double Duty
Annabelle
 
2009 Stuck!
Next Door Neighbor Lady
 
2009 Repo Chick
Aunt de la Chasse
 
2009 Irene in Time
Sheila Shivvers
 
2009 First Time Long Time (short)
Dr. Shneidel
 
2008 A Single Woman
Storyteller
 
2008 The Blue Tooth Virgin
Zena
 
2008 Watercolors
Mrs. Martin
 
2008 Contamination
Mavis
 
2007 Greater Than a Tiger (short)
Paige
 
2007 One Long Night
Barbara
 
2007 Suffering Man's Charity
Renee
 
2006 Read You Like a Book
Kate
 
2006 Hollywood Dreams
Luna
 
2006 Whitepaddy
Mrs. Leider
 
2005 Firecracker
Sandra/Eleanor
 
2005 Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (short)
Agrippina
 
2005 Crazy for Love
Grace's Mom
 
2005/I Carma
Kate Burns (voice)
 
2005 Love Wine (TV movie)
Aunt Anita
 
2005 Dr. Rage
Molly
 
2004 Birth of Industry (short)
Sara
 
2004 America Brown
Marianne Brown
 
2003 Summer Solstice
Dr. Sally McDermott
 
2003 Paris
Chantelle
 
2003 House of 1000 Corpses
Mother Firefly
 
2003 Russians in the City of Angels (TV series)
Patricia Sommers
– Priklyuchenie (2003) … Patricia Sommers
 
2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV series)
Vera Morgan
– Con-Text (2003) … Vera Morgan
 
2003 Buttleman
Mrs. Buttleman
 
2002 Curse of the Forty-Niner
Aunt Nelly
 
2002 A Light in the Darkness
Mrs. Melnick
 
2002 Teknolust
Dirty Dick
 
2001 Soulkeeper
Magnificent Martha
 
2001 Hard Luck
Aunt Judy
 
2001 Gypsy 83
Bambi LeBleau
 
2001 The Donor
Mrs. Springle
 
2000 Red Dirt
Aunt Summer
 
2000 Oliver Twisted
Mrs. Mary Happ
 
2000 Inviati speciali
 
1999 Rude Awakening (TV series)
Crystal Garcia
– One Birthday at a Time (1999) … Crystal Garcia
– The Grateful Living (1999) … Crystal Garcia
 
1999 Paradise Cove
Ma
 
1999 The Underground Comedy Movie
Mother
 
1999 Mascara
Aunt Eloise
 
1998 Charades
Jude
 
1998 Party of Five (TV series)
Doreen Jablonsky
– One Christmas, to Go (1998) … Doreen Jablonsky
 
1998 Malaika
Jessica Martin
 
1998 Bury the Evidence
The Mother
 
1998 My Neighbor's Daughter (TV movie)
Social Worker
 
1998 Sugar: The Fall of the West
 
1998 Profiler (TV series)
Evie Long
– Cycle of Violence (1998) … Evie Long
 
1998 Invisible Dad (video)
Courtney Whitmer
 
1998 Stripping for Jesus (short)
 
1998 Fallen Arches
Lucy Romano
 
1998 Light Speed
 
1998 Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin (short)
Dental Assistant
 
1998 I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
Whip Lady
 
1997 Modern Rhapsody
 
1997 Conceiving Ada
Lady Byron/Mother Coer
 
1997 Stir
Dr. Gabrielle Kessler
 
1997 The Hunger (TV series)
Miss Gati
– Menage a Trois (1997) … Miss Gati
 
1997 Men
Alex
 
1996 New York Crossing (TV movie)
Mrs. Tender
 
1996 Dogtown
Rose Van Horn
 
1996 Crimetime
Millicent
 
1996 Sister Island
Rose Walsh
 
1996 Children of the Corn: The Gathering (video)
June Rhodes
 
1996 Dinosaur Valley Girls
Ro-Kell
 
1996 Every Minute Is Goodbye
Schubert
 
1996 Movies Money Murder
Bettie
 
1995 The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley
Evelyn
 
1995 Plan 10 from Outer Space
Nehor
 
1995 Starstruck
Bertha
 
1994 Too Bad About Jack
 
1993 Bound and Gagged: A Love Story
Carla
 
1993 In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Carla Ray
– A Dish Best Served Cold (1993) … Carla Ray
 
1993 Dark Blood
Motel Woman
 
1993 The Trust
Maria Vandermeer
 
1993 Tuesday Never Comes
Michelle
 
1993 Moon Over Miami (TV series)
Lorraine Pitzer
– Watching the Detectives (1993) … Lorraine Pitzer
 
1992 Auntie Lee's Meat Pies
Auntie Lee
 
1992 Final Judgement (video)
Mrs. Sorrel
 
1992 Judgement
Tiffany Powers
 
1992 Caged Fear
Blanche
 
1992 Dead Girls Don't Tango
Insp. Wilson
 
1992 Legend of the Roller Blade Seven
Tarot
 
1992 Return of the Roller Blade Seven
Tarot
 
1992 The Double 0 Kid (video)
Mrs. Elliot
 
1991 Quietfire (video)
Kim Martino
 
1991 Children of the Night
Karen Thompson
 
1991 Rubin and Ed
Rula
 
1991 The Killers Edge (video)
Barrett
 
1991 Haunting Fear
Dr. Julia Harcourt
 
1991 ABC Weekend Specials (TV series)
Miss Kuchenbacker
– Ralph S. Mouse (1991) … Miss Kuchenbacker
 
1991 The Roller Blade Seven
Tarot
 
1990 Club Fed
Sally Rich
 
1990 The Children
Sybil Lullmer
 
1990 Mirror Mirror
Susan Gordon
 
1990 Night Angel
Rita
 
1990 Zapped Again! (video)
Substitute Teacher
 
1990 Twisted Justice
Mrs. Granger
 
1990 Overexposed
Mrs. Trowbridge
 
1990 Fatal Encounter
 
1990 Evil Spirits
Ella Purdy
 
1989 Homer and Eddie
Belle
 
1989 Miami Vice (TV series)
Helen Jackson
– Victims of Circumstance (1989) … Helen Jackson
 
1989 Out of the Dark
Ruth Wilson
 
1988 Dixie Lanes
Zelma Putnam
 
1988 The Invisible Kid
Mom/Deborah
 
1988 The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway
Martha Gelhorn
 
1988 Platinum Blonde (short)
 
1987 Hostage
Laura Lawrence
 
1987 It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
Ellen
 
1985-1987 Faerie Tale Theatre (TV series)
Guest Interviewee / The Seawitch
– The Little Mermaid (1987) … The Seawitch
– Grimm Party (1985) … Guest Interviewee
 
1987 Worlds Beyond (TV series)
– Suffer Little Children (1987)
 
1986 Invaders from Mars
Linda Magnusson
 
1986 Murder, She Wrote (TV series)
Dr. Sylvia Dunn
– One Good Bid Deserves a Murder (1986) … Dr. Sylvia Dunn
 
1986 Flight of the Spruce Goose
Gloria
 
1985 Savage Dawn
Rachel
 
1985 Cut and Run
Karin
 
1985 The Hitchhiker (TV series)
Kay Mason
– Hired Help (1985) … Kay Mason
 
1985 Martin's Day
Karen
 
1984-1985 E/R (TV series)
Sheila Sheinfeld
– Merry Wives of Sheinfeld: Part 2 (1985) … Sheila Sheinfeld
– Merry Wives of Sheinfeld: Part 1 (1985) … Sheila Sheinfeld
– Enter Romance (1984) … Sheila Sheinfeld
 
1985 The Blue Man
Janus
 
1984 Growing Pains
Gladys Fitzpatrick
 
1984 A Stroke of Genius
 
1983 Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?
Zee
 
1982 Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Joanne
 
1982 The Last Horror Film
Karen Black (uncredited)
 
1982 Miss Right
Amy
 
1981 Chanel Solitaire
Emilienne d'Alençon
 
1981 Killing Heat
Mary Turner
 
1981 Separate Ways
Valentine Colby
 
1980 Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop (TV movie)
Investigator Evelyn Carter
 
1980 Where the Ladies Go (TV movie)
Helen
 
1980 Power (TV movie)
Rose Vanda-Buchanan
 
1979 Killer Fish
Kate Neville
 
1979 The Last Word
Paula Herbert
 
1979 Mr. Horn (TV movie)
Ernestina Crawford
 
1978 Because He's My Friend (TV movie)
Anne
 
1978 The Squeeze
Clarisse Saunders
 
1978 In Praise of Older Women
Maya
 
1977 Capricorn One
Judy Drinkwater
 
1977 The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (TV movie)
Miriam Oliver/Sandy
 
1976 Burnt Offerings
Marian Rolf
 
1976 Family Plot
Fran
 
1976 Crime and Passion
Susan Winters
 
1975 Nashville
Connie White
 
1975 The Day of the Locust
Faye Greener
 
1975 Trilogy of Terror (TV movie)
Julie/Millicent Larimore/Therese Larimore/Amelia
 
1974 Airport 1975
Nancy Pryor
 
1974 Law and Disorder
Gloria
 
1974 The Great Gatsby
Myrtle Wilson
 
1974 Rhinoceros
Daisy
 
1973 The Outfit
Bett Harrow
 
1973 The Pyx
Elizabeth Lucy
 
1973 Little Laura and Big John
Laura
 
1972 Circle of Fear (TV series)
Barbara Sanders
– Bad Connection (1972) … Barbara Sanders
 
1972 Portnoy's Complaint
Mary Jane Reid (The Monkey)
 
1972 Cisco Pike
Sue
 
1971 Born to Win
Parm
 
1971 A Gunfight
Jenny Simms
 
1971 Drive, He Said
Olive
 
1970 Five Easy Pieces
Rayette Dipesto
 
1970 Hastings Corner (TV movie)
Jenny Honker
 
1970/II Freedom (short)
 
1969 The Name of the Game (TV series)
Monica
– Give Till It Hurts (1969) … Monica
 
1969 Easy Rider
Karen
 
1969 Hard Contract
Ellen
 
1968 Adam-12 (TV series)
Susan Decker
– Log 132: Producer (1968) … Susan Decker
 
1968 Judd for the Defense (TV series)
Alethea Staunton
– The Devil's Surrogate (1968) … Alethea Staunton
 
1968 Mannix (TV series)
Elaine Tate
– License to Kill - Limit Three People (1968) … Elaine Tate
 
1967 Iron Horse (TV series)
Patricia Dunne
– The Prisoner (1967) … Patricia Dunne
 
1967 The Invaders (TV series)
Claudia Stone
– The Ransom (1967) … Claudia Stone
 
1967 The Second Hundred Years (TV series)
Marcia
– On Bended Knee (1967) … Marcia
 
1967 The Big Valley (TV series)
Carla Roberts
– Days of Grace (1967) … Carla Roberts
 
1967 Run for Your Life (TV series)
Jennifer Palmer
– Tell It to the Dead (1967) … Jennifer Palmer
 
1967 The F.B.I. (TV series)
Lorraine Chapman
– The Satellite (1967) … Lorraine Chapman
 
1966 You're a Big Boy Now
Amy Partlett
 
1959 The Prime Time
Betty - Painted Woman
 
Show ShowWriter (7 titles)
2000 The Invention of Dr. Morel (short)
 
1999 Edna McCoy's Festival (writer)
 
1998 Charades (writer)
 
1998 Malaika (additional story)
 
1997 Men
 
1996 Going Home (short)
 
1996 Movies Money Murder
 
Show ShowSoundtrack (5 titles)
2001 Gypsy 83 (performer: "When Sunny Gets Blue", "I Want a Lip", "Walking in the Jungle")
 
1986 The Road to Freedom: L. Ron Hubbard and Friends (video documentary short) ("The ARC Song")
 
1976 Saturday Night Live (TV series)
– Karen Black/John Prine (1976) (performer: "Ten Cents A Dance")
 
1975 Nashville (writer: "Memphis", "Rolling Stone" / music: "I Don't Know If I Found It in You" / lyrics: "I Don't Know If I Found It in You" / performer: "Memphis", "Rolling Stone", "I Don't Know If I Found It in You")
 
1971 Born to Win ("Ballad in C")
 
Show ShowComposer (2 titles)
Show ShowEditorial Department (1 title)
2005 Firecracker (editorial consultant)
 
Show ShowProducer (1 title)
1998 Charades (producer)
 
Show ShowThanks (1 title)
1999 Reputations (TV series documentary) (thanks - 1 episode)
– Alfred Hitchcock (1999) (thanks)
 
Show ShowSelf (44 titles)
2009 Wamego: Ultimatum (video documentary)
Herself
 
2008 No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (documentary)
Herself
 
2007 The John Kerwin Show (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 12 December 2007 (2007) … Herself
 
2007 Wamego Strikes Back (documentary)
Herself
 
2006 George Sluizer - Filmen over grenzen (documentary)
Herself
 
2006 Wanderlust (TV documentary)
Herself (also archive footage)
 
2006 Trilogy of Terror: Three Colors Black (video documentary short)
Herself
 
2005 On Screen! (TV series documentary)
Herself
– In Praise of Older Women (2005) … Herself
 
2004 Biography (TV series documentary)
Herself
– Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild (2004) … Herself
 
2004 Film Trix 2004 (documentary short)
Herself
 
2004 Wamego: Making Movies Anywhere (video documentary)
Herself
 
2003 Switched! (TV series)
Herself
– Celine and Brandon (2003) … Herself
 
2003 Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (documentary)
Herself
 
2002 Fans and Freaks: The Culture of Comics and Conventions (documentary)
Herself
 
2001 The Big Show (TV movie)
Herself
 
2001 Plotting 'Family Plot' (video documentary)
Herself
 
2000 The Independent
Herself
 
1999 Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (video documentary)
Herself
 
1999 Decoupage 2000: Return of the Goddess (short)
Herself
 
1999 Karen Black: Actress at Work (documentary)
Herself
 
1997 Who Is Henry Jaglom? (documentary)
Herself
 
1994 Jonas in the Desert (documentary)
Herself
 
1993 Tales of the City (TV mini-series)
Herself
 
1992 The Player
Herself
 
1990 The Pat Sajak Show (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 24 January 1990 (1990) … Herself
 
1989 Circus of the Stars #14 (TV special documentary)
Herself - Elephant Act
 
1986 The Road to Freedom: L. Ron Hubbard and Friends (video documentary short)
Herself
 
1985 The 42nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV movie)
Herself - Presenter
 
1984 The Don Harron Show (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 24 February 1984 (1984) … Herself
 
1984 Breakaway (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 7 February 1984 (1984) … Herself
 
1976-1981 Saturday Night Live (TV series)
Herself - Host / Various / Catherine the Great
– Karen Black/Cheap Trick/Stanley Clarke Trio (1981) … Herself - Host/Various
– Karen Black/John Prine (1976) … Herself - Host / Catherine the Great / Various
 
1978 America 2-Night (TV series)
Herself
– Karen Black (1978) … Herself
 
1978 Science Fiction Film Awards (TV documentary)
Herself - Host
 
1977 Circus of the Stars (TV special documentary)
Herself - Performer
 
1971-1976 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 21 July 1976 (1976) … Herself
– Episode dated 29 July 1975 (1975) … Herself
– Episode dated 8 January 1975 (1975) … Herself
– Episode dated 19 January 1973 (1973) … Herself
– Episode dated 21 June 1972 (1972) … Herself
See all 6 episodes »
 
1976 Dolly (TV series)
Herself
– Episode #1.9 … Herself
 
1976 The 2nd Annual People's Choice Awards (TV movie)
Herself
 
1974 The 28th Annual Tony Awards (TV movie)
Herself - Presenter
 
1972 The Dean Martin Comedy Hour (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 5 October 1972 (1972) … Herself
 
1972 The 44th Annual Academy Awards (TV special)
Herself - Co-Presenter: Best Visual Effects
 
1972 The Carol Burnett Show (TV series)
Herself
– Episode #5.23 (1972) … Herself
 
1972 Rollin' on the River (TV series)
Herself
– Episode dated 8 January 1972 (1972) … Herself
 
1971 The David Frost Show (TV series)
Herself
– Episode #4.29 (1971) … Herself
– Episode #3.69 (1971) … Herself
 
1971 The 43rd Annual Academy Awards (TV special)
Herself - Nominee: Best Actress in Supporting Role
 
Show ShowArchive Footage (3 titles)
2000 A Conversation with Robert Altman (video documentary short)
Connie White (uncredited)
 
1987 Give Me Your Answer True (documentary)
 
1976 America at the Movies (documentary)
Rayette Dipesto (uncredited)
 

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Personal Details

Other Works:

Stage: Played Hilda Brady in "Keep It in the Family" on Broadway, 11/27/67-11/30/67. See more »

Publicity Listings:

3 Interviews  | 2 Articles  | 4 Magazine Cover Photos  | See more »

Official Sites:

Blog | Facebook | See more »

Alternate Names:

Karen Ziegler

Height:

5' 7" (1.70 m)
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Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

Every time you do a part you try to find out what it would really be like to be that person, no matter who she is. See more »

Trivia:

Considers Kris Kristofferson to be the most attractive male star she has ever worked with. She especially liked his voice. See more »

Star Sign:

Cancer