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
Nashville (1975)
as Connie White
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
as Mother Firefly
Mascara (1999)
as Aunt Eloise
Easy Rider (1969)
as Karen
Paris (2003)
as Chantelle
The Great Gatsby (1974)
as Myrtle Wilson
Judgement (1992)
as Tiffany Powers
Capricorn One (1977)
as Judy Drinkwater
Killer Fish (1979)
as Kate
Dogtown (1997)
as Rose Van Horn
Night Angel (1990)
as Rita
Quiet Fire (1991)
as Kim Martino
Family Plot (1976)
as Fran
Eternal Evil (1985)
as Janus
Airport 1975 (1974)
as Nancy Pryor
Airports (2025)
Actor
Whitepaddy (2006)
as Mrs. Leider
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
as Rayette Dipesto
Teknolust (2002)
as Dirty Dick
Ooga Booga (2013)
as Mrs. Allardyce
Men (1997)
as Alex
Fallen Arches (2000)
as Lucy Romano
Burnt Offerings (1976)
as Marian Rolf
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
as June Rhodes
Crazy for Love (2005)
as Grace's Mom
Invaders from Mars (1986)
as Linda Magnusson
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
as Ellen Jarvis
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
as Linda Magnusson (archive footage) (uncredited)
One Long Night (2007)
as Barbara
The Outfit (1973)
as Bett Harrow
Cut and Run (1985)
as Karin
George Sluizer - Filming beyond Bounderies (—)
as Self
Evil Spirits (1991)
as Ella Purdy
The Day of the Locust (1975)
as Faye Greener
Wamego: Ultimatum (2009)
as Self
Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997)
as Self
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
Zapped Again! (1990)
as Homeroom Teacher
She Loves Me Not (2013)
as Karla
Plotting 'Family Plot' (2001)
as Self
Out of the Dark (1988)
as Ruth Wilson
First Time Long Time (2009)
as Dr. Shneidel
In Praise of Older Women (1978)
as Maya
Karen Black: Actress at Work (1999)
as Self
Martin's Day (1985)
as Karen
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1992)
as Auntie Lee
The Roller Blade Seven (1991)
as Tarot
Dead Girls Don't Tango (1992)
as Insp. Wilson
A Gunfight (1971)
as Jenny Simms
Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999)
as Self
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)
as Self
Ralph S. Mouse (1991)
as Miss Kuchenbacker
Cisco Pike (1972)
as Sue
Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk (2014)
as Self – Joanne (archive footage)
The Independent (2000)
as Karen Black
Born to Win (1971)
as Parm
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
as Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia
The Last Horror Film (1982)
as Karen Black (uncredited)
Savage Dawn (1985)
as Rachel
The Double 0 Kid (1992)
as Mrs. Elliot
Hollywood Dreams (2007)
as Luna
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983)
as Zee
The Underground Comedy Movie (1999)
as Mother
You're a Big Boy Now (1966)
as Amy Partlett
Maria My Love (2012)
as Maria
Light Speed (1998)
as High Priestess
Mirror Mirror (1990)
as Susan Gordon
Bound and Gagged: A Love Story (1993)
as Carla
Hostage (1987)
as Laura Lawrence
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia (2013)
as Self (archive footage)
Tuesday Never Comes (1992)
as Michelle
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)
as Whip Lady
Homer and Eddie (1989)
as Belle
Children of the Night (1991)
as Karen Thompson
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
as Joanne
The Invisible Kid (1988)
as Mom
Watercolors (2008)
as Mrs. Martin
Red Dirt (2000)
as Aunt Summer
Too Bad About Jack (1994)
Actor
Dark Blood (2012)
as Motel Woman
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005)
as Agrippina
Drive, He Said (1971)
as Olive
The Grass Is Singing (1981)
as Mary Turner
Miss Right (1982)
as Amy
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2009)
as Self
Crimetime (1996)
as Millicent
Curse of the Forty-Niner (2002)
as Aunt Nelly
Chanel Solitaire (1981)
as Emilienne d'Alençon
Crime and Passion (1976)
as Susan Winters
The Pyx (1973)
as Elizabeth Lucy
Some Guy Who Kills People (2011)
as Ruth Boyd
Stuck! (2009)
as The Neighbor Lady
Final Judgement (1992)
as Mrs. Sorrel
Bottomless Pit (2015)
as Karen Black
The Last Word (1979)
as Paula Herbert
Rubin & Ed (1992)
as Rula
Altman on His Own Terms (2000)
as Self
Bad Manners (1984)
as Gladys Fitzpatrick
Wild in Blue (2014)
as Justine
Mommy's Little Monster (2012)
as Mrs. Melnick
Soulkeeper (2001)
as Martha la Magnifica
Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts (2018)
as (archive footage)
Because He's My Friend (1978)
as Anne
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs (1998)
as Self
The Children (1990)
as Sybil Lullmer
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman (2003)
as Mrs. Buttleman
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway (1988)
as Martha Gelhorn
Return of the Roller Blade Seven (1993)
as Tarot
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild (2004)
as Self
Wanderlust (2006)
as Herself
Suffering Man's Charity (2007)
as Renee
Portnoy's Complaint (1972)
as Mary Jane Reid a.k.a. Monkey
WAMEGO: Making Movies Anywhere (2004)
as Self
Dixie Lanes (1988)
as Zelma Putnam
Read You Like a Book (2006)
as Kate
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue! (1994)
Actor
Caged Fear (1991)
as Blanche
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance (2010)
as Self
Rhinoceros (1974)
as Daisy
The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley (1995)
as Evelyn
Contamination (2008)
as Mavis
Where the Ladies Go (1980)
as Helen
Conceiving Ada (1999)
as Lady Byron / Mother Coer
Club Fed (1990)
as Sally Rich
Firecracker (2005)
as Sandra / Eleanor
Plan 10 from Outer Space (1995)
as Nehor
The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)
as Miriam Oliver / Sandy
Blood Money (1991)
as Barrett
Charades (1998)
as Jude
On the tracks of a filmmaker (1988)
as Karen Black
Law and Disorder (1974)
as Gloria
Cries of Silence (1996)
as Rose Walsh
Dr. Rage (2005)
as Molly
Gypsy 83 (2001)
as Bambi LeBleau
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven (1993)
as Tarot
Invisible Dad (1998)
as Courtney Whitmer
Separate Ways (1981)
as Valentine Colby
Stir (1997)
as Dr. Gabrielle Kessler
Irene in Time (2009)
as Sheila Shivvers
Letters from the Big Man (2011)
as Sean's Colleague
Best of Tromadance Film Festival: Volume 1 (2002)
as ("Los Vampirios Moronious" short)
Twisted Justice (1990)
as Mrs. Granger
Angel Blue (1998)
as Social Worker
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop (1980)
as Investigator Evelyn Carter
Nothing Special (2010)
as May
Repo Chick (2009)
as Aunt De La Chasse
The Trust (1993)
as Maria Vandermeer
New York Crossing (1996)
as Mrs. Tender
Bury the Evidence (1998)
as The Mother
Birth of Industry (2004)
as Sara
The Prime Time (1960)
as Betty
Little Laura and Big John (1973)
as Laura
Henry Jaglom Finds 'A Safe Place' (2010)
as Self
Every Minute Is Goodbye (1996)
Actor
Flight of the Spruce Goose (1986)
as Gloria
The Squeeze (1978)
as Clarisse Saunders
A Light in the Darkness (2002)
as Mrs. Melnick
A Single Woman (2008)
as Storyteller
The Donor (2001)
as Mrs. Springle
Malaika (1998)
as Jessica Martin
The Blue Tooth Virgin (2008)
as Zena
Haunting Fear (1990)
as Dr. Julia Harcourt
Dinosaur Valley Girls (1995)
as Ro-Kell
America Brown (2005)
as Marianne Brown
The Little Mermaid (1987)
as Sea Witch
Hard Contract (1969)
as Ellen
Hawk Warrior of the Wheelzone (2012)
as Tarot
Meet the Eye (2009)
Actor
Overexposed (1990)
as Mrs. Trowbridge
Paradise Cove (1999)
as Ma
Double Duty (2009)
as Annabelle
OowieWanna (2012)
as The Donna
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black: Teather Penumbra (1994)
Actor
Fatal Encounter (1990)
as Joan Caldwell
Starstruck (1995)
as Bertha
Oliver Twisted (2000)
as Mrs. Mary Happ
Vacationland (—)
as Louise