Joan Allen | |
|---|---|
 Allen in 2000 | |
| Born | (1956-08-20)August 20, 1956 (age 69) Rochelle, Illinois, U.S. |
| Education | Eastern Illinois University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, she has receivedvarious accolades, including aTony Award, in addition to nominations for threeAcademy Awards, aBAFTA Award, threePrimetime Emmy Awards, and threeGolden Globe Awards.
She began her career with theSteppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977, won the 1984Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play forAnd a Nightingale Sang, and won the 1988Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for herBroadway debut inBurn This. In the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, Allen received international recognition for a string of critically acclaimed performances. She is also a three-timeAcademy Award nominee, receivingBest Supporting Actress nominations forNixon (1995) andThe Crucible (1996), and aBest Actress nomination forThe Contender (2000).
Allen's other film roles includeManhunter (1986),Peggy Sue Got Married (1986),Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988),Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993),The Ice Storm (1997),Face/Off (1997),Pleasantville (1998),The Bourne Supremacy (2004),The Upside of Anger (2005),The Bourne Ultimatum (2007),Death Race (2008), andThe Bourne Legacy (2012). She won theCanadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 2015 filmRoom. She has also starred in the Broadway playsThe Heidi Chronicles (1988),Impressionism (2009), andThe Waverly Gallery (2018).
Allen was born on August 20, 1956 inRochelle, Illinois.[1][2][3] Allen is the daughter of Dorothea Marie (née Wirth), a homemaker, and James Jefferson Allen, agas station owner.[4][5] She has an older brother, David, and two older sisters, Mary and Lynn.[6] While in high school, she tried out for and won a part in a school play.[7] After graduation, she attendedEastern Illinois University, where she met the actorJohn Malkovich.[8]
Allen began her performing career as astage actress and on television before making her film debut in the movieCompromising Positions (1985). She became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1977 whenJohn Malkovich asked her to join.[9] Allen's work with Steppenwolf has included productions ofThree Sisters,Waiting For The Parade,Love Letters,The Marriage of Bette and Boo, andThe Wheel. In 1989, Allen won aTony Award for herBroadway debut performance inBurn This opposite Malkovich.[10][11] She also starred in thePulitzer Prize-winning playThe Heidi Chronicles, withBoyd Gaines at thePlymouth Theatre.[12] The show was met with critical praise, receiving sixTony Award nominations and winningBest Play. Allen received her second Tony Award nomination for her performance.[11]
In 1995 she portrayed First LadyPat Nixon acting oppositeAnthony Hopkins playing thetitle role in theOliver Stone biographical dramaNixon (1995). CriticRoger Ebert praised Allen's performance writing, "The key supporting performance in the movie is by Joan Allen as Pat Nixon. She emerges as strong-willed and clear-eyed, a truth-teller who sees through Nixon's masks and evasions."[13] She received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year Allen acted in the teen romantic dramaMad Love (1995).
The following year Allen playedElizabeth Proctor, a woman accused of witchcraft, inThe Crucible (1996). Allen acted oppositeDaniel Day-Lewis in theNicholas Hytner directed film based on theArthur Miller1953 play of the same name. Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly hailed Allen's performance writing, "It's Joan Allen who carries the weight of the film's sorrow, eyes glistening with woe as she delivers the heartbreaking confession to her husband".[14] She received theCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she starred in the dramaThe Ice Storm directed byAng Lee, playing an unsatisfied woman who discovers her husband is having an affair with a neighbor. Allen acted oppositeKevin Kline,Sigourney Weaver,Elijah Wood,Christina Ricci, andTobey Maguire.The Hollywood Reporter named it her best film performance writing, "Allen is exquisitely contained, embodying the awkward grace and indefinable ache."[15] She also had a supporting role in the science fiction action filmFace/Off (1997).
In 1998 Allen starred in theGary Ross-directed fantasy comedy-dramaPleasantville (1998). Allen acted alongsideJeff Daniels,Reese Witherspoon, and Tobey Maguire. For her performance she won theCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was compared favorably toThe Truman Show also released in 1998. Joe Leydon ofVariety wrote, "Allen is equally effective in her subtle transformation from docile Stepford Wife to yearning free spirit".[16] The following year she acted inIt's the Rage (1999) based on theKeith Reddin play of the same name andWhen the Sky Falls (2000). Both film received negative reviews with some praise for Allen's performance.
She was also nominated forBest Actress, theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her role in the political dramaThe Contender (2000). In the film she portrayed a politician who becomes the object of scandal. She starred oppositeJeff Bridges andGary Oldman. In 2001, Allen starred in the mini-seriesThe Mists of Avalon onTNT and earned aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nomination for the role.[17] In 2003 she starred inOff the Map which premiered at the2003 Sundance Film Festival.
She also starred as Rachel McAdams mother in the 2004 movieThe Notebook. In 2005, she received many positive notices for her leading role in the comedy/dramaThe Upside of Anger, in which she played an alcoholic housewife. Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter writing, "Allen turns the character into a tour de force that unleashes an unexpected comedy about compassion and self-loathing."[18] She received aCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance. She played CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy inThe Bourne Supremacy,The Bourne Ultimatum andThe Bourne Legacy. Allen appeared inDeath Race, playing aprison warden.[19]
In 2009, Allen starred asGeorgia O'Keeffe inLifetime Television's 2009biopic chronicling the artist's life. Allen returned to Broadway after a twenty-year absence in March 2009, when she played the role of Katherine Keenan inMichael Jacobs' playImpressionism oppositeJeremy Irons at theGerald Schoenfeld Theatre.[20][11] The play was met with mixed reviews from critics.The New Yorker wrote the play "is as awkward as it is sublime", noting its "brazen sweetness" and "openhearted humor". Allen voiced the character Delphine inBethesda Softworks' 2011 video gameThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She also voicedDeborah in theThomas Nelson audio Bible production known asThe Word of Promise. The project also featured a large ensemble of well known Hollywood actors includingJim Caviezel,Lou Gossett Jr.,John Rhys-Davies,Jon Voight,Gary Sinise,Christopher McDonald,Marisa Tomei andJohn Schneider.[21][22] In 2015, Allen signed for the leading role in the ABC drama seriesThe Family, playing the role of villainous and manipulative mayor and matriarch of her family.[23]
After a nine-year absence from Broadway, Allen played Ellen Fine in the critically acclaimed Broadway premiere production of theKenneth Lonergan playThe Waverly Gallery in 2018, alongsideElaine May,Lucas Hedges, andMichael Cera at theJohn Golden Theatre.[11] David Rooney ofThe Hollywood Reporter praised Allen's performance writing, "Allen in a standout performance of tremendous raw feeling and sorrow".[24] After a five-year break from acting in movies and television, she co-starred withJulianne Moore,Clive Owen, andJennifer Jason Leigh inLisey's Story, the 2021Apple TV miniseries adapted byStephen King from his own novel.[25] It was Allen's second King adaptation after playing the lead role in the 2014 movie,A Good Marriage.[26] She then appeared alongsideRobert De Niro andLizzy Caplan in Netflix's conspiracy thriller limited seriesZero Day.[27]
In 1990, Allen married actorPeter Friedman. They had one daughter, Sadie, born in February 1994,[28] before divorcing in 2002.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Compromising Positions | Mary Alice Mahoney | |
| 1986 | Manhunter | Reba McClane | |
| Zeisters | Lala | ||
| Peggy Sue Got Married | Maddy Nagle | ||
| 1988 | Tucker: The Man and His Dream | Vera Tucker | |
| 1989 | In Country | Irene | |
| 1993 | Ethan Frome | Zeena Frome | |
| Searching for Bobby Fischer | Bonnie Waitzkin | ||
| Josh and S.A.M. | Caroline Whitney | ||
| 1995 | Mad Love | Margaret Roberts | |
| Nixon | Pat Nixon | ||
| 1996 | The Crucible | Elizabeth Proctor | |
| 1997 | The Ice Storm | Elena Hood | |
| Face/Off | Dr. Eve Archer | ||
| 1998 | Pleasantville | Betty Parker | |
| 1999 | All The Rage | Helen | |
| 2000 | When the Sky Falls | Sinead Hamilton | |
| The Contender | Senator Laine Billings Hanson | ||
| 2003 | Off the Map | Arlene Groden | |
| 2004 | The Notebook | Ann Hamilton | |
| The Bourne Supremacy | CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy | ||
| Yes | She | ||
| 2005 | The Upside of Anger | Terry Ann Wolfmeyer | |
| 2006 | Bonneville | Carol | |
| 2007 | The Bourne Ultimatum | CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy | |
| 2008 | Death Race | Claire Hennessey | |
| 2009 | Hachi: A Dog's Tale | Kate Wilson | |
| 2012 | The Bourne Legacy | CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy | Cameo |
| 2014 | A Good Marriage | Darcy Anderson | |
| 2015 | Room | Nancy Newsome |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Say Goodnight, Gracie | Ginny | Television movie |
| 1985 | Evergreen | Iris Friedman | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 1987 | All My Sons | Ann Deever | Television movie |
| The Room Upstairs | Ellie | ||
| The Twilight Zone | Sally Dobbs | Episode: "Joy Ride/Shelter Skelter/Private Channel" | |
| 1991 | Without Warning: The James Brady Story | Sarah Brady | Television movie |
| 1996 | Frasier | Lydia (voice) | Episode: "High Crane Drifter" |
| 1998 | Saturday Night Live | Herself (host) | Episode: "Joan Allen/Jewel" |
| 2001 | The Mists of Avalon | Morgause | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Georgia O'Keeffe | Georgia O'Keeffe | Television movie |
| 2012 | Luck | Claire Lachay | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | The Killing | Colonel Margaret Rayne | 6 episodes; credited as special guest star |
| 2016 | The Family | Claire Warren | 12 episodes |
| 2021 | Lisey's Story | Amanda Debusher | Miniseries; 8 episodes |
| 2025 | Zero Day | Sheila Mullen | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Burn This | Anna Mann | Lanford Wilson | Plymouth Theatre,Broadway |
| 1989 | The Heidi Chronicles | Heidi Holland | Wendy Wasserstein | |
| 2009 | Impressionism | Katharine Keenan | Michael Jacobs | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway |
| 2018 | The Waverly Gallery | Ellen Fine | Kenneth Lonergan | John Golden Theatre, Broadway |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Almost Moon | Audio book; ByAlice Sebold | |
| 2009 | The Word of Promise Audio Bible | Deborah (voice) | Audio play |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[29] | Delphine (voice) |
