Valentine was born in Sebastopol, California, on May 25, 1947. She is of Portuguese heritage, and her grandfather changed the family name to Valentin before her birth.[2] She attended Birmingham High School[3] and Analy High School, graduating with the class of 1965.[4][5][6] Valentine was crowned 1964 Miss Sonoma County.[4]
Career
Karen Valentine performed "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" on The Ed Sullivan Show, November 10, 1963. This lip sync performance to Eydie Gormé's hit song "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" was a reprise of her talent performance from the Miss Teenage America pageant.[7]
In 1969, Valentine played Gidget in the 1969 film Gidget Grows Up. In 1969, Valentine won her breakthrough role as a student teacher and then a new teacher on the ABC television series Room 222 with Lloyd Haynes, Denise Nicholas, and Michael Constantine.[8][9][10] She was discovered by Gene Reynolds, the director of Room 222, who saw her fumbling[11] in her audition and realized she was funny.[12] She was nominated twice for an Emmy and once for a Golden Globe, winning an Emmy in 1970 for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role.[13]
Valentine has continued to work in television and on stage. She co-starred with John Larroquette in a 2004 Hallmark Channel TV movie, Wedding Daze. She has starred on stage in many productions, including Romantic Comedy on Broadway and National Tour, Breaking Legs Off-Broadway and National Tour, and the Los Angeles production of Steel Magnolias.
Episode: (segment "Love and the Coed Dorm") Episode: (segment "Love and the Elopement") Episode: (segment "Love and the Four-Sided Triangle") Episode: (segment "Love and the Scroungers")
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