Joan Allen Biography

Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956 in Rochelle, Illinois, USA) is an American actress. Allen began her acting career as as a stage actress and on television before making her film debut in Compromising Positions (1985). In 1989 Allen returned to the stage and won a Tony Award in her Broadway debut performance in Burn This.

She received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Pat Nixon in Nixon (1995) and for her role as a woman whose husband is accused of witchcraft in The Crucible (1996). She was also nominated for Best Actress in The Contender as a politician who becomes the object of scandal. Allen is respected by her peers both for her professionalism and the intense preparation she brings to each of her roles. For example, to play a blind woman in the cult classic Manhunter (1986), she went to a school for the blind and wore a blindfold for several days. Brian Cox, her co-star in Manhunter and The Bourne Supremecy, called Allen the finest actress he had ever worked with and one of the best in the business.

She has also starred in the mini series The Mists of Avalon (2001) (on TNT).

She is married to the actor Peter Friedman.

JOAN ALLEN PICTURES

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JOAN ALLEN BIOGRAPHY