Karen Black
Born July 01, 1939 (Age: 86)
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Park Ridge, Illinois, USA
Biography
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.
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.
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Filmography
No Image
Return to the 5 & Dime: An Interview with Ed Graczyk
2014
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as Self – Joanne (archive footage)
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Age: 75
Hawk Warrior of the Wheelzone
2012
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as Tarot
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Age: 72
Henry Jaglom Finds 'A Safe Place'
2010
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as Self
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Age: 71
Double Duty
2009
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as Annabelle
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Age: 70
No Image
Meet the Eye
2009
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as
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Age: 69
Wamego: Ultimatum
2009
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as Self
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Age: 69
Whitepaddy
2006
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as Mrs. Leider
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Age: 66
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula
2005
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as Agrippina
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Age: 65
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
2004
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as Self
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Age: 65
WAMEGO: Making Movies Anywhere
2004
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as Self
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Age: 64
House of 1000 Corpses
2003
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as Mother Firefly
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Age: 63
Curse of the Forty-Niner
2002
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as Aunt Nelly
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Age: 63
A Light in the Darkness
2002
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as Mrs. Melnick
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Age: 62
Teknolust
2002
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as Dirty Dick
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Age: 62
The Independent
2000
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as Karen Black
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Age: 61
Red Dirt
2000
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as Aunt Summer
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Age: 60
Fallen Arches
2000
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as Lucy Romano
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Age: 60
Altman on His Own Terms
2000
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as Self
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Age: 60
Oliver Twisted
2000
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as Mrs. Mary Happ
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Age: 60
No Image
Karen Black: Actress at Work
1999
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as Self
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Age: 59
Charades
1998
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as Jude
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Age: 59
Bury the Evidence
1998
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as The Mother
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Age: 59
Angel Blue
1998
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as Social Worker
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Age: 59
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
1998
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as Whip Lady
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Age: 59
Invisible Dad
1998
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as Courtney Whitmer
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Age: 58
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs
1998
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as Self
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Age: 58
Malaika
1998
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as Jessica Martin
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Age: 58
No Image
Light Speed
1998
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as High Priestess
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Age: 58
Men
1997
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as Alex
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Age: 58
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
1997
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as Self
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Age: 58
Stir
1997
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as Dr. Gabrielle Kessler
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Age: 58
Dogtown
1997
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as Rose Van Horn
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Age: 57
New York Crossing
1996
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as Mrs. Tender
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Age: 57
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
1996
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as June Rhodes
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Age: 57
Crimetime
1996
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as Millicent
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Age: 57
Cries of Silence
1996
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as Rose Walsh
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Age: 56
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black: Teather Penumbra
1994
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as
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Age: 55
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue!
1994
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as
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Age: 54
No Image
Too Bad About Jack
1994
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as
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Age: 54
Bound and Gagged: A Love Story
1993
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as Carla
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Age: 54
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven
1993
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as Tarot
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Age: 53
The Trust
1993
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as Maria Vandermeer
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Age: 53
Return of the Roller Blade Seven
1993
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as Tarot
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Age: 53
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies
1992
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as Auntie Lee
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Age: 53
The Double 0 Kid
1992
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as Mrs. Elliot
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Age: 53
Judgement
1992
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as Tiffany Powers
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Age: 53
Final Judgement
1992
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as Mrs. Sorrel
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Age: 52
Tuesday Never Comes
1992
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as Michelle
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Age: 52
Rubin & Ed
1992
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as Rula
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Age: 52
The Player
1992
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as Karen Black
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Age: 52
Dead Girls Don't Tango
1992
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as Insp. Wilson
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Age: 52
Quiet Fire
1991
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as Kim Martino
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Age: 52
Evil Spirits
1991
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as Ella Purdy
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Age: 52
The Roller Blade Seven
1991
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as Tarot
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Age: 52
Children of the Night
1991
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as Karen Thompson
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Age: 52
Caged Fear
1991
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as Blanche
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Age: 51
Blood Money
1991
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as Barrett
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Age: 51
Ralph S. Mouse
1991
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as Miss Kuchenbacker
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Age: 51
Mirror Mirror
1990
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as Susan Gordon
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Age: 51
Club Fed
1990
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as Sally Rich
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Age: 51
Haunting Fear
1990
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as Dr. Julia Harcourt
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Age: 51
Night Angel
1990
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as Rita
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Age: 50
The Children
1990
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as Sybil Lullmer
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Age: 50
Zapped Again!
1990
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as Homeroom Teacher
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Age: 50
Twisted Justice
1990
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as Mrs. Granger
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Age: 50
Fatal Encounter
1990
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as Joan Caldwell
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Age: 50
Overexposed
1990
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as Mrs. Trowbridge
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Age: 50
Homer and Eddie
1989
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as Belle
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Age: 50
Out of the Dark
1988
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as Ruth Wilson
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Age: 48
Dixie Lanes
1988
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as Zelma Putnam
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Age: 48
The Invisible Kid
1988
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as Mom
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Age: 48
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway
1988
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as Martha Gelhorn
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Age: 48
On the tracks of a filmmaker
1988
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as Karen Black
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Age: 48
Hostage
1987
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as Laura Lawrence
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Age: 48
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
1987
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as Ellen Jarvis
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Age: 47
The Little Mermaid
1987
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as Sea Witch
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Age: 47
Invaders from Mars
1986
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as Linda Magnusson
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Age: 46
Savage Dawn
1985
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as Rachel
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Age: 46
Cut and Run
1985
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as Karin
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Age: 46
Martin's Day
1985
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as Karen
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Age: 45
Eternal Evil
1985
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as Janus
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Age: 45
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
1982
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as Joanne
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Age: 43
Chanel Solitaire
1981
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as Emilienne d'Alençon
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Age: 42
The Grass Is Singing
1981
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as Mary Turner
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Age: 42
Separate Ways
1981
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as Valentine Colby
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Age: 41
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop
1980
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as Investigator Evelyn Carter
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Age: 40
Where the Ladies Go
1980
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as Helen
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Age: 40
The Squeeze
1978
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as Clarisse Saunders
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Age: 39
In Praise of Older Women
1978
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as Maya
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Age: 39
Because He's My Friend
1978
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as Anne
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Age: 38
Capricorn One
1977
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as Judy Drinkwater
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Age: 38
Family Plot
1976
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as Fran
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Age: 36
Nashville
1975
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as Connie White
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Age: 35
Airport 1975
1974
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as Nancy Pryor
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Age: 35
Law and Disorder
1974
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as Gloria
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Age: 35
The Great Gatsby
1974
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as Myrtle Wilson
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Age: 34
Rhinoceros
1974
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as Daisy
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Age: 34
The Outfit
1973
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as Bett Harrow
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Age: 34
The Pyx
1973
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as Elizabeth Lucy
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Age: 34
Little Laura and Big John
1973
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as Laura
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Age: 33
Portnoy's Complaint
1972
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as Mary Jane Reid a.k.a. Monkey
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Age: 32
Five Easy Pieces
1970
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as Rayette Dipesto
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Age: 31
Easy Rider
1969
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as Karen
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Age: 29
Hard Contract
1969
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as Ellen
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Age: 29
The Prime Time
1960
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as Betty
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Age: 20