Karen Young (actress)

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Karen Young
Karen Young at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.jpg
Karen Young at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born (1958-09-29) September 29, 1958 (age 66)
Alma mater Rutgers University
OccupationActress
Years active1983–present
Spouses
  • (m. 1992;div. 1999)
  • Ken Eisen
    (m. 2012)
Children2

Karen Young (born September 29, 1958) is an American film, television, and stage actress.

Contents

Early life and education

Young was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey on September 29, 1958. [1] She graduated from Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University as an English major. [2] [3]

Career

After graduation, Young moved to New York City and became an actress. She was working as a waitress when she saw an advertisement in Backstage that read: "Wanted: 24-year-old Irish Catholic girl with long blonde hair." Young responded to the ad and ended up starring in Tony Garnett's 1983 vigilante thriller Handgun , for which she had her hair cut off and in which she agreed to appear topless. [4]

She also appeared in films such as 9½ Weeks , Heat (1986), Jaws: The Revenge , Torch Song Trilogy, Night Game , The Wife , Daylight and Mercy . Young portrayed Sister Mary in The Orphan Killer (2011), and starred in many U.S. independent and foreign films including Heading South , [3] Two Gates of Sleep and Conviction .

On television, Young portrayed FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino on The Sopranos [5] as well as various characters in the Law & Order franchise.

Her stage credits include roles in both New York productions of Sam Shephard's A Lie of the Mind , playing daughter Sally in 1985 and mother Lorraine in Ethan Hawke's 2010 production. [6] [7] Young and the rest of the cast were recognized as some of the "best performers of 2010" by Hilton Als in The New Yorker . [8]

Personal life

Young married actor Tom Noonan [9] in 1992, and they had two children together before their 1999 divorce. She married Ken Eisen in 2012. [10]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983 Handgun Kathleen Sullivan
1984 Maria's Lovers Rosie
1984 Almost You Lisa Willoughby
1984 Birdy Hannah Rourke
1985 Night Magic DoubtVoice
1986 9½ Weeks Sue
1986 Heat Holly
1987 Jaws: The Revenge Carla Brody
1988 Criminal Law Ellen Faulkner
1988 Torch Song Trilogy Laurel
1989Little SweetheartDorothea
1989 Night Game Roxy
1991 The Boy Who Cried Bitch Candice Love
1992 Hoffa Young Woman At RTA
1995 The Wife Arlie
1996 Daylight Sarah Crighton
1998Pants on FireDierdre Grogan
1999 Joe the King Theresa Henry
2000 Mercy Mary
2001Falling Like ThisDolly
2005 Factotum Grace
2005 Heading South Brenda
2008RestlessYolanda
2008Bonne annéeEllen
2009 Handsome Harry Muriel
2010 Two Gates of Sleep Bess
2010 Twelve Thirty Vivien
2010 Conviction Elizabeth Waters
2011 The Green Janette
2011Warrior WomanAlice
2011 The Orphan Killer Sister Mary
2012The Sumo WrestlerKathy

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 The Equalizer Officer Sandra StahlEpisode: "Lady Cop"
1986The High Price of PassionRobin BenedictTelevision film
1988Wild ThingsJaneTelevision film
1991The Summer My Father Grew UpChandelleTelevision film
1991The 10 Million Dollar GetawayTheresaTelevision film
1992Drug Wars: The Cocaine CartelFaye Vaughan2 episodes
1992 L.A. Law Marcia TrafficanteEpisode: "Silence of the Lambskins"
1996–2010 Law & Order Various4 episodes
1997 On the Edge of Innocence Mrs. Victoria TylerTelevision film
2001 Third Watch Shirley HolsclawEpisode: "Man Enough"
2001 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Denise TalbottEpisode: "Jones"
2002–2006 The Sopranos FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino 10 episodes
2004-2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Dr. Meg Whitmere / Christina Nerrit3 episodes
2011 CSI: Miami Diana ChandlerEpisode: "F-T-F"

References

  1. "Karen Young". Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television (Collection). Gale In Context: Biography. Vol. 74. Gale. 2007. ISSN   0749-064X . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  2. Dicker, Ron. "Young's Star Rises in Midlife", San Francisco Chronicle , August 27, 2006. Accessed July 21, 2007. "A Pequannock, N.J., native and graduate of Douglass College, the women's school at Rutgers University, Young got her start on a film called Deep in the Heart (1983)."
  3. 1 2 Duckett, Richard (November 2, 2006). "Heading to Worcester; Vacationing women seek more than sun in 'South'". Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Massachusetts.
  4. Chase, Chris (January 20, 1984). "At the Movies". The New York Times . p. C6.
  5. "Karen Young". August 29, 2006. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  6. "New Search for the Truth in 'A Lie'". The New York Times. January 31, 2010.
  7. Brantley, Ben (February 19, 2010). "Theater Review: Home Is Where the Soul Aches". The New York Times.
  8. Als, Hilton (December 14, 2010). "The Best Performers of 2010". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  9. "Tom Noonan Still Reflecting on "What Happened"". IFC.
  10. "MIFF brings husband and wife together". WCSH.