Karen Jane Allen was born in Carrollton, rural southern Illinois, to Patricia (Howell), a teacher, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI agent.She spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her parents and two sisters. She was always "the new girl in school." Acting did not really cross Allen's mind until she was in her early 20s, when she saw aJerzy Grotowski theater production that impressed her so much, she instantly decided to give it a shot. She trained as a classical actress and enrolled at the Actors Studio and withLee Strasberg in New York City. During this period, she made several student films and directed and acted in several plays. In 1976, she made her first film appearance in the award-winning small film The Whidjitmaker (1976).

Her first major film role came as Katy in 1978's National Lampoon'sAnimal House (1978), which became one of the biggest hits of the year, obtained "classic" status, and launched a whole host of young "hot" stars. However, shortly afterAnimal House (1978) opened, Allen was struck by a rare and dangerous eyesight condition called keratoconjunctivitis. Luckily, the condition subsided and Allen could continue her dramatic rise to the top. Lead roles in cult favorites likeThe Wanderers (1979) and the controversial thrillerCruising (1980) followed, as did smaller parts as inWoody Allen'sManhattan (1979). However, it was her performance inRob Cohen'sA Small Circle of Friends (1980), as well as her previously mentioned turn inAnimal House (1978), that caught the eye of a certainSteven Spielberg. He then cast her as the feisty heroine and co-star ofHarrison Ford in his big-budget blockbusterReidâsu/Ushinawareta âku (1981), which became a huge hit in 1981-82 and is regarded by many film buffs as the greatest action-adventure film ever made.

Following the huge success ofReidâsu/Ushinawareta âku (1981), Allen chose to spend more than two years out of the limelight, concentrating on smaller, more personal projects. She won a major award for her performances on Broadway, won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Abra in the hugely successful ABC production ofEast of Eden (1981), and had parts in two smaller films:Alan Parker'sShoot the Moon (1982) andSplit Image (1982), co-starringJames Woods andPeter Fonda. She returned to the mainstream in 1984 withUntil September (1984) andStarman (1984), co-starringJeff Bridges and directed byJohn Carpenter (ofHalloween (1978) fame), but once again decided to leave the limelight for a couple of years to do more stage work and some troubled indie films. While Allen has worked almost constantly since then, giving notable performances inPaul Newman's screen adaptation ofThe Glass Menagerie (1987), the Christmas hit3 nin no gôsuto (1988), andSteven Soderbergh's underratedKing of the Hill (1993), she has not been able to scale the same dizzy heights as the early 1980s hits. Most of her lead roles in feature films sinceStarman (1984) have not been that well-received (Animal Behavior (1989),Ghost in the Machine (1993), andThe Turning (1992) among them). However, she has been seen to good effect on TV in such films asChallenger (1990), in which she portrayed tragic schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, andAll the Winters That Have Been (1997), co-starringRichard Chamberlain.

She has also made special guest star appearances on such shows asLaw & Order (1990),Knots Landing (1979), andヒッチコック劇場 (1985), and in several TV movies, includingHostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story (1996) andSecret Weapon (1990). She also played the lead in the CBS seriesThe Road Home (1994). Karen Allen was married to soap starKale Browne (with whom she co-starred in'Til There Was You (1997)) in 1988 and they have a son, Nicholas. Apart from acting, Allen is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and musician. She played in a band withKathleen Turner, and recorded a duet withJeff Bridges for theStarman (1984) soundtrack album.

She also writes plays, screenplays, and poetry; owns her own Ashtanga yoga enterprise; and spends time at her Berkshire Mountains farm orUpper West Side Manhattan townhouse. The classically trained actress also has a screenplay called "The Second Coming," which is about to bemade into a movie. Most recently she has starred oppositePeter Coyote inThe Basket (1999), and appeared in the blockbusterPerfect Storm (2000), in which she co-starred withGeorge Clooney,Mark Wahlberg, andDiane Lane. In addition to these, she is working onShaka Zulu: The Citadel (2001) and recently made an independent film,In the Bedroom (2001). Karen Allen is undoubtedly one of the most talented, ambitious, and versatile actresses of the last 20 years. In many ways, her own choices to "go back to theater and smaller projects" are the only things that have really stopped her being a major, major star. Allen was voted one of the most beautiful women in the world in 1983, and is a naturally attractive lady - who often plays characters significantly younger than herself. She also often plays unglamorous types - and there is no one better at portraying real, human, and wholly believable people.