Karen Black
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Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portraying eccentric and offbeat characters, and established herself as a figure of New Hollywood. Her career spanned over 50 years and includes nearly 200 credits in both independent and mainstream films. Black received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Golden Globe Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A native of suburban Chicago, Black studied theater at Northwestern University before dropping out and relocating to New York City. She performed on Broadway in 1965 before making her major film debut in Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now (1966). Black relocated to California and was cast as an acid-tripping prostitute in Dennis Hopper's road film Easy Rider (1969). That led to a lead in the drama Five Easy Pieces (1970), in which she played a hopeless beautician, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Black made her first major commercial picture with the disaster film Airport 1975 (1974), and her subsequent appearance as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby (1974) won her a second Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Black starred as a glamorous country singer in Robert Altman's ensemble musical drama Nashville (1975), also writing and performing two songs for the soundtrack, which won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack. Her portrayal of an aspiring actress in John Schlesinger's drama The Day of the Locust (also 1975) earned her a third Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actress. She subsequently took on four roles in Dan Curtis' anthology horror film Trilogy of Terror (1975), followed by Curtis's supernatural horror feature, Burnt Offerings (1976). The same year, she starred as a con artist in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot. In 1982, Black starred as a trans woman in the Robert Altman-directed Broadway debut of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, a role she also reprised in Altman's subsequent film adaptation. She next starred in the comedy Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983), followed by Tobe Hooper's remake of Invaders from Mars (1986). For much of the late 1980s and 1990s, Black starred in a variety of arthouse, independent, and horror films, as well as writing her own screenplays. She had a leading role as a villainous mother in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses (2003), which cemented her status as a cult horror icon. She continued to star in low-profile films throughout the early 2000s, as well as working as a playwright before her death from ampullary cancer in 2013.
Known for
Credits
The Player (1992)
as Karen Black
Easy Rider (1969)
as Karen
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
as Mother Firefly
Capricorn One (1977)
as Judy Drinkwater
The Great Gatsby (1974)
as Myrtle Wilson
Nashville (1975)
as Connie White
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
The Day of the Locust (1975)
as Faye Greener
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
as Rayette Dipesto
Airport 1975 (1974)
as Nancy Pryor
Family Plot (1976)
as Fran
Invaders from Mars (1986)
as Linda Magnusson
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
as June Rhodes
Night Angel (1990)
as Rita
The Outfit (1973)
as Bett Harrow
Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997)
as Self
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
as Linda Magnusson (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
as Ellen Jarvis
Burnt Offerings (1976)
as Marian Rolf
Killer Fish (1979)
as Kate
The Double 0 Kid (1992)
as Mrs. Elliot
Out of the Dark (1988)
as Ruth Wilson
Quiet Fire (1991)
as Kim Martino
Savage Dawn (1985)
as Rachel
Mascara (1999)
as Aunt Eloise
Some Guy Who Kills People (2011)
as Ruth Boyd
She Loves Me Not (2013)
as Karla
Teknolust (2002)
as Dirty Dick
Ooga Booga (2013)
as Mrs. Allardyce
Judgement (1992)
as Tiffany Powers
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2009)
as Self
The Last Horror Film (1982)
as Karen Black (uncredited)
Dogtown (1997)
as Rose Van Horn
The Underground Comedy Movie (1999)
as Mother
Read You Like a Book (2006)
as Kate
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild (2004)
as Self
Wamego: Ultimatum (2009)
as Self
In Praise of Older Women (1978)
as Maya
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1992)
as Auntie Lee
Evil Spirits (1991)
as Ella Purdy
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)
as Self
Cut and Run (1985)
as Karin
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop (1980)
as Investigator Evelyn Carter
Bound and Gagged: A Love Story (1993)
as Carla
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue! (1994)
Actor
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005)
as Agrippina
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway (1988)
as Martha Gelhorn
Final Judgement (1992)
as Mrs. Sorrel
A Gunfight (1971)
as Jenny Simms
Zapped Again! (1990)
as Homeroom Teacher
Airports (2025)
Actor
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983)
as Zee
Altman on His Own Terms (2000)
as Self
Curse of the Forty-Niner (2002)
as Aunt Nelly
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)
as Whip Lady
Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999)
as Self
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia (2013)
as Self (archive footage)
Eternal Evil (1985)
as Janus
You're a Big Boy Now (1966)
as Amy Partlett
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs (1998)
as Self
Maria My Love (2012)
as Maria
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
as Joanne
Crazy for Love (2005)
as Grace's Mom
Children of the Night (1991)
as Karen Thompson
The Roller Blade Seven (1991)
as Tarot
The Independent (2000)
as Karen Black
Crime and Passion (1976)
as Susan Winters
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven (1993)
as Tarot
Born to Win (1971)
as Parm
Wild in Blue (2014)
as Justine
Red Dirt (2000)
as Aunt Summer
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
as Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia
Mirror Mirror (1990)
as Susan Gordon
Paris (2003)
as Chantelle
Homer and Eddie (1989)
as Belle
Best of Tromadance Film Festival: Volume 1 (2002)
as ("Los Vampirios Moronious" short)
Cisco Pike (1972)
as Sue
The Grass Is Singing (1981)
as Mary Turner
Whitepaddy (2006)
as Mrs. Leider
Suffering Man's Charity (2007)
as Renee
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance (2010)
as Self
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman (2003)
as Mrs. Buttleman
Wanderlust (2006)
as Herself
Rhinoceros (1974)
as Daisy
New York Crossing (1996)
as Mrs. Tender
Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk (2014)
as Self – Joanne (archive footage)
Men (1997)
as Alex
Bad Manners (1984)
as Gladys Fitzpatrick
The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)
as Miriam Oliver / Sandy
Repo Chick (2009)
as Aunt De La Chasse
Karen Black: Actress at Work (1999)
as Self
Return of the Roller Blade Seven (1993)
as Tarot
Where the Ladies Go (1980)
as Helen
Separate Ways (1981)
as Valentine Colby
On the tracks of a filmmaker (1988)
as Karen Black
Hostage (1987)
as Laura Lawrence
The Last Word (1979)
as Paula Herbert
Hard Contract (1969)
as Ellen
Conceiving Ada (1999)
as Lady Byron / Mother Coer
One Long Night (2007)
as Barbara
Chanel Solitaire (1981)
as Emilienne d'Alençon
Dead Girls Don't Tango (1992)
as Insp. Wilson
Bottomless Pit (2015)
as Karen Black
Crimetime (1996)
as Millicent
A Light in the Darkness (2002)
as Mrs. Melnick
Every Minute Is Goodbye (1996)
Actor
George Sluizer - Filming beyond Bounderies (—)
as Self
Flight of the Spruce Goose (1986)
as Gloria
Little Laura and Big John (1973)
as Laura
Law and Disorder (1974)
as Gloria
Haunting Fear (1990)
as Dr. Julia Harcourt
The Children (1990)
as Sybil Lullmer
Light Speed (1998)
as High Priestess
A Single Woman (2008)
as Storyteller
Letters from the Big Man (2011)
as Sean's Colleague
Hollywood Dreams (2007)
as Luna
Because He's My Friend (1978)
as Anne
Tuesday Never Comes (1992)
as Michelle
The Invisible Kid (1988)
as Mom
Drive, He Said (1971)
as Olive
Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts (2018)
as (archive footage)
The Little Mermaid (1987)
as Sea Witch
Mommy's Little Monster (2012)
as Mrs. Melnick
Plan 10 from Outer Space (1995)
as Nehor
The Blue Tooth Virgin (2008)
as Zena
Ralph S. Mouse (1991)
as Miss Kuchenbacker
The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley (1995)
as Evelyn
Twisted Justice (1990)
as Mrs. Granger
Martin's Day (1985)
as Karen
Blood Money (1991)
as Barrett
Caged Fear (1991)
as Blanche
Plotting 'Family Plot' (2001)
as Self
Soulkeeper (2001)
as Martha la Magnifica
Too Bad About Jack (1994)
Actor
First Time Long Time (2009)
as Dr. Shneidel
Fallen Arches (2000)
as Lucy Romano
Gypsy 83 (2001)
as Bambi LeBleau
Firecracker (2005)
as Sandra / Eleanor
The Trust (1993)
as Maria Vandermeer
Miss Right (1982)
as Amy
Henry Jaglom Finds 'A Safe Place' (2010)
as Self
Birth of Industry (2004)
as Sara
Invisible Dad (1998)
as Courtney Whitmer
The Pyx (1973)
as Elizabeth Lucy
The Squeeze (1978)
as Clarisse Saunders
Club Fed (1990)
as Sally Rich
WAMEGO: Making Movies Anywhere (2004)
as Self
Rubin & Ed (1992)
as Rula
Dark Blood (2012)
as Motel Woman
Dixie Lanes (1988)
as Zelma Putnam
Bury the Evidence (1998)
as The Mother
Hawk Warrior of the Wheelzone (2012)
as Tarot
Fatal Encounter (1990)
as Joan Caldwell
Angel Blue (1998)
as Social Worker
Paradise Cove (1999)
as Ma
America Brown (2005)
as Marianne Brown
Dr. Rage (2005)
as Molly
Charades (1998)
as Jude
Dinosaur Valley Girls (1995)
as Ro-Kell
Stuck! (2009)
as The Neighbor Lady
Irene in Time (2009)
as Sheila Shivvers
Double Duty (2009)
as Annabelle
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black: Teather Penumbra (1994)
Actor
The Donor (2001)
as Mrs. Springle
Cries of Silence (1996)
as Rose Walsh
Portnoy's Complaint (1972)
as Mary Jane Reid a.k.a. Monkey
Meet the Eye (2009)
Actor
Nothing Special (2010)
as May
Contamination (2008)
as Mavis
Watercolors (2008)
as Mrs. Martin
Stir (1997)
as Dr. Gabrielle Kessler
Malaika (1998)
as Jessica Martin
OowieWanna (2012)
as The Donna
Starstruck (1995)
as Bertha
Overexposed (1990)
as Mrs. Trowbridge
The Prime Time (1960)
as Betty
Oliver Twisted (2000)
as Mrs. Mary Happ
Vacationland (—)
as Louise