Joan Allen
{{Short description|American actress (born 1956)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = JoanAllen2000TIFF.jpg
| name = Joan Allen
| caption = Allen in 2000
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|8|20}}
| birth_place = Rochelle, Illinois, U.S.
| education = Eastern Illinois University
| years_active = 1977–present
| occupation = Actress
| spouse = {{marriage|Peter Friedman|1990|2002|end=divorced}}
| children = 1
}}
Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, she has received a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.
She began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977, won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for And a Nightingale Sang, and won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Burn This. In the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, Allen received international recognition for a string of critically acclaimed performances. She is also a three-time Academy Award nominee, receiving Best Supporting Actress nominations for Nixon (1995) and The Crucible (1996), and a Best Actress nomination for The Contender (2000).
Allen's other film roles include Manhunter (1986), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The Ice Storm (1997), Face/Off (1997), Pleasantville (1998), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Upside of Anger (2005), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Death Race (2008), and The Bourne Legacy (2012). She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 2015 film Room. She has also starred in the Broadway plays The Heidi Chronicles (1988), Impressionism (2009), and The Waverly Gallery (2018).
Early life
Allen was born on August 20, 1956 in Rochelle, Illinois.{{cite web|url=https://goldenglobes.com/person/joan-allen/|title=Joan Allen|publisher=Golden Globes|accessdate=February 27, 2025}}{{cite news |first=Ellen |last=Warren |title=Inc.-inspired milking team creams the competition |work=Chicago Tribune |page=2 |date=August 20, 2001 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/08/20/inc-inspired-milking-team-creams-the-competition/|title=Inc.-inspired milking team creams the competition|publisher=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=February 27, 2025|date=August 20, 2001}} Allen is the daughter of Dorothea Marie (née Wirth), a homemaker, and James Jefferson Allen, a gas station owner.{{cite news |last=Kolson |first=Ann |title=Two Bright Lights On Broadway Pauline Collins And Joan Allen Took Roundabout Routes To The N.Y. Stage. Their Reviews Have Made The Journeys Worthwhile |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=19 March 1989|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB95F1C7612BC46&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|access-date=10 December 2007}}{{cite news |last=Weinraub |first=Bernard |title=Finding Warmth In a Shy First Lady |work=The New York Times |date=27 December 1995 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E7DF1239F934A15751C1A963958260|access-date=10 December 2007}} She has an older brother, David, and two older sisters, Mary and Lynn.{{cite news |title=Joan Allen |work=Yahoo! Movies |year=2007 |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800015438/bio |access-date=10 August 2007}} While in high school, she tried out for and won a part in a school play.{{cite news |first=Jane |last=Ciabatarri |title=And Now... Meet The Contender: To burst into the Hollywood spotlight in one's 40s is rare--but that could be happening to JOAN ALLEN |work=Chicago Tribune |page=SMA14 |date=September 3, 2000 }} After graduation, she attended Eastern Illinois University, where she met the actor John Malkovich.{{cite news |first=Jane |last=Ciabatarri |title=And Now... Meet The Contender: To burst into the Hollywood spotlight in one's 40s is rare--but that could be happening to JOAN ALLEN |work=Chicago Tribune |page=SMA14 |date=September 3, 2000 }}
Career
= 1977–1994: early work and Broadway roles =
Allen began her performing career as a stage actress and on television before making her film debut in the movie Compromising Positions (1985). She became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1977 when John Malkovich asked her to join.{{cite news|url=http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_06-19-2005/in_step_with_0|title=In Step With: Joan Allen|date=June 19, 2005|publisher=Parade Magazine}} Allen's work with Steppenwolf has included productions of Three Sisters, Waiting For The Parade, Love Letters, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and The Wheel. In 1989, Allen won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This opposite Malkovich.{{ cite web |url=http://www.steppenwolf.org/ensemble/members/details.aspx?id=11 |title=Member Profiles: Joan Allen |publisher=Steppenwolf Ensemble |access-date=2008-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182803/http://www.steppenwolf.org/ensemble/members/details.aspx?id=11 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Joan Allen Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joan-Allen |publisher=Broadway World}} She also starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles, with Boyd Gaines at the Plymouth Theatre.{{cite web |url=http://www2.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsyear.cfm?year=1989 |title=1989 Tony Awards |publisher=Broadway World |access-date=2012-08-04 |archive-date=2017-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702060456/http://www.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsyear.cfm?year=1989 |url-status=dead }} The show was met with critical praise, receiving six Tony Award nominations and winning Best Play. Allen received her second Tony Award nomination for her performance.
=== 1995–2003: established actress ===
In 1995 she portrayed Former First Lady Pat Nixon acting opposite Anthony Hopkins playing the title role in the Oliver Stone biographical drama Nixon (1995). Critic Roger Ebert praised Allen's performance writing, "The key supporting performance in the movie is by Joan Allen as Pat Nixon. She emerges as strong-willed and clear-eyed, a truth-teller who sees through Nixon's masks and evasions."{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/nixon-1995|title= Nixon|website= Rogerebert.com|accessdate= September 18, 2023}} She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year Allen acted in the teen romantic drama Mad Love (1995).
The following year Allen played Elizabeth Proctor, a woman accused of witchcraft, in The Crucible (1996). Allen acted opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in the Nicholas Hytner directed film based on the Arthur Miller 1953 play of the same name. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly hailed Allen's performance writing, "It's Joan Allen who carries the weight of the film's sorrow, eyes glistening with woe as she delivers the heartbreaking confession to her husband".{{cite magazine|url= https://ew.com/article/1996/11/29/movie-review-crucible/|title= Movie Review: 'The Crucible'|magazine= Entertainment Weekly|accessdate= September 18, 2023}} She received the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she starred in the drama The Ice Storm directed by Ang Lee, playing an unsatisfied woman who discovers her husband is having an affair with a neighbor. Allen acted opposite Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood, Christina Ricci, and Tobey Maguire. The Hollywood Reporter named it her best film performance writing, "Allen is exquisitely contained, embodying the awkward grace and indefinable ache."{{cite web|url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/joan-allens-top-5-performances-871885/manhunter/|title= Critic's Picks: 'The Family' Star Joan Allen's Top 5 Performances|website= September 18, 2023|date= 3 March 2016}} She also had a supporting role in the science fiction action film Face/Off (1997).
In 1998 Allen starred in the Gary Ross-directed fantasy comedy-drama Pleasantville (1998). Allen acted alongside Jeff Daniels, Reese Witherspoon, and Tobey Maguire. For her performance she won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was compared favorably to The Truman Show also released in 1998. Joe Leydon of Variety wrote, "Allen is equally effective in her subtle transformation from docile Stepford Wife to yearning free spirit".{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/pleasantville-1200455143/|title= Pleasantville review|website= Variety|date= 17 September 1998|accessdate= September 18, 2023}} The following year she acted in It's the Rage (1999) based on the Keith Reddin play of the same name and When the Sky Falls (2000). Both film received negative reviews with some praise for Allen's performance.
She was also nominated for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her role in the political drama The Contender (2000). In the film she portrayed a politician who becomes the object of scandal. She starred opposite Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman. In 2001, Allen starred in the mini-series The Mists of Avalon on TNT and earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nomination for the role.[http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/joan-allen Joan Allen Emmy Nominated] In 2003 she starred in Off the Map which premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.
=== Since 2004: return to Broadway ===
She also starred as Rachel McAdams mother in the 2004 movie The Notebook. In 2005, she received many positive notices for her leading role in the comedy/drama The Upside of Anger, in which she played an alcoholic housewife. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter writing, "Allen turns the character into a tour de force that unleashes an unexpected comedy about compassion and self-loathing."{{cite news |last1=Honeycutt |first1=Kirk |title=The Upside of Anger |access-date=10 September 2022 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000769583 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050408013943/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000769583 |archive-date=2005-04-08}} She received a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance. She played CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy in The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Legacy. Allen appeared in Death Race, playing a prison warden.{{cite news|last=Rickey |first=Joe |title=Joan Allen in 'Death Race' |work=World of KJ |date=10 August 2007 |url=http://worldofkj.com/news/news.php?tid=30674 |access-date=10 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927040745/http://worldofkj.com/news/news.php?tid=30674 |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}
In 2009, Allen starred as Georgia O'Keeffe in Lifetime Television's 2009 biopic chronicling the artist's life. Allen returned to Broadway after a twenty-year absence in March 2009, when she played the role of Katherine Keenan in Michael Jacobs' play Impressionism opposite Jeremy Irons at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.{{cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/theater/08sont.html| title=Enter the Anti-Diva, Stage Right| access-date=14 March 2009| last=Sontag| first=Deborah| date=4 March 2009| work=The New York Times}} The play was met with mixed reviews from critics. The New Yorker wrote the play "is as awkward as it is sublime", noting its "brazen sweetness" and "openhearted humor". Allen voiced the character Delphine in Bethesda Softworks' 2011 video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She also voiced Deborah in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production known as The Word of Promise. The project also featured a large ensemble of well known Hollywood actors including Jim Caviezel, Lou Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, Jon Voight, Gary Sinise, Christopher McDonald, Marisa Tomei and John Schneider.{{cite news|url=http://wordofpromise.thomasnelson.com/cast.php |title=The Word of Promise: Cast |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029002922/http://wordofpromise.thomasnelson.com/cast.php |archive-date=October 29, 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-16-me-beliefs16-story.html |title=BELIEFS : Stars lined up for elaborate audio Bible : Michael York, Jason Alexander and many others gave voice to a 79-CD reading of Old and New Testaments |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Martha |last=Groves |date=November 16, 2009}} In 2015, Allen signed for the leading role in the ABC drama series The Family, playing the role of villainous and manipulative mayor and matriarch of her family.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/oscar-nominee-joan-allen-star-778062|title=Oscar Nominee Joan Allen to Star in ABC's Jenna Bans Drama – The Hollywood Reporter|author=Lesley Goldberg|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=26 February 2015 |access-date=1 March 2015}}
After a nine-year absence from Broadway, Allen played Ellen Fine in the critically acclaimed Broadway premiere production of the Kenneth Lonergan play The Waverly Gallery in 2018, alongside Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, and Michael Cera at the John Golden Theatre. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised Allen's performance writing, "Allen in a standout performance of tremendous raw feeling and sorrow".{{cite web|url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/waverly-gallery-theater-1155139/|title= 'The Waverly Gallery': Theater Review|website= The Hollywood Reporter|date= 25 October 2018|accessdate= September 19, 2023}} After a five-year break from acting in movies and television, she co-starred with Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, and Jennifer Jason Leigh in Lisey's Story, the 2021 Apple TV miniseries adapted by Stephen King from his own novel.{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=2019-11-20|title=Joan Allen Joins Julianne Moore & Clive Owen In Apple Limited Series 'Lisey's Story'|url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/joan-allen-star-opposite-julianne-moore-clive-owen-apple-limited-series-liseys-story-1202790991/|access-date=2021-09-04|website=Deadline}} It was Allen's second King adaptation after playing the lead role in the 2014 movie, A Good Marriage.{{Cite web|author=|date=2014-10-02|title='Stephen King's A Good Marriage': Film Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/stephen-kings-a-good-marriage-737612/|access-date=2021-09-04|website=The Hollywood Reporter}} She will next appear alongside Robert De Niro and Lizzy Caplan in Netflix's conspiracy thriller limited series Zero Day.{{Cite web |author=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2023-04-24 |title=Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Joan Allen & Connie Britton Join Robert De Niro In 'Zero Day' Netflix Series |url=https://deadline.com/2023/04/lizzy-caplan-jesse-plemons-joan-allen-connie-britton-cast-robert-de-niro-zero-day-netflix-1235334968/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Deadline |language=}}
Personal life
In 1990, Allen married actor Peter Friedman. They had one daughter, Sadie, born in February 1994,{{cite news |last=Hegberg |first=Carol |title=With three new movies Rochelle native Joan Allen is making her mark |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=11 April 2005 |url=http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/04/13/neighbors/lifestyles/lifestyles01.txt |access-date=10 August 2007 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} before divorcing in 2002.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! width="190px" | Title ! width="175px" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1985
| Mary Alice Mahoney | |
| rowspan="3" | 1986
| Reba McClane | |
| Zeisters
| Lala | |
| Peggy Sue Got Married
| Maddy Nagle | |
| 1988
| Tucker: The Man and His Dream | Vera Tucker | |
| 1989
| Irene | |
| rowspan="3" | 1993
| Zeena Frome | |
| Searching for Bobby Fischer
| Bonnie Waitzkin | |
| Josh and S.A.M.
| Caroline Whitney | |
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Mad Love | Margaret Roberts | |
| Nixon
| |
| 1996
| {{sortname|The|Crucible|The Crucible (1996 film)}} | |
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| {{sortname|The|Ice Storm|The Ice Storm (film)}} | Elena Hood | |
| Face/Off
| Dr. Eve Archer | |
| 1998
| Betty Parker | |
| 1999
| Helen | |
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Sinead Hamilton | |
| {{sortname|The|Contender|The Contender (2000 film)}}
| Senator Laine Billings Hanson | |
| 2003
| Arlene Groden | |
| rowspan="3" | 2004
| Ann Hamilton | |
| {{sortname|The|Bourne Supremacy|The Bourne Supremacy (film)}}
| CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy | |
| Yes
| She | |
| 2005
| {{sortname|The|Upside of Anger}} | Terry Ann Wolfmeyer | |
| 2006
| Carol | |
| 2007
| {{sortname|The|Bourne Ultimatum|The Bourne Ultimatum (film)}} | CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy | |
| 2008
| Claire Hennessey | |
| 2009
| Kate Wilson | |
| 2012
| CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy | Cameo |
| 2014
| Darcy Anderson | |
| 2015
| Room | Nancy Newsome | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! width="190px" | Title ! width="175px" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1983
| Say Goodnight, Gracie | Ginny |
| 1985
| Iris Friedman | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1987
| Ann Deever | rowspan="2" | Television movie |
| {{sortname|The|Room Upstairs}}
| Ellie |
| The Twilight Zone
| Sally Dobbs | Episode: "Joy Ride/Shelter Skelter/Private Channel" |
| 1991
| Without Warning: The James Brady Story | Television movie |
| 1996
| Frasier | Lydia (voice) | Episode: "High Crane Drifter" |
| 1998
| Herself (host) | Episode: "Joan Allen/Jewel" |
| 2001
| {{sortname|The|Mists of Avalon|The Mists of Avalon (miniseries)}} | Morgause | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2009
| Television movie |
| 2012
| Luck | Claire Lachay | 6 episodes |
| 2014
| Colonel Margaret Rayne | 6 episodes; credited as special guest star |
| 2016
| Claire Warren | 12 episodes |
| 2021
| Amanda Debusher | Miniseries; 8 episodes |
| 2025
| Zero Day | Sheila Mullen | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
= Theatre =
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Playwright ! class="unsortable" | Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Burn This | Anna Mann | Lanford Wilson | rowspan=2|Plymouth Theatre, Broadway |
| 1989 | The Heidi Chronicles | Heidi Holland | Wendy Wasserstein | |
| 2009 | Impressionism | Katharine Keenan | Michael Jacobs | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway |
| 2018 | The Waverly Gallery | Ellen Fine | Kenneth Lonergan | John Golden Theatre, Broadway |
= Audio=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2008
| | Audio book; By Alice Sebold |
| 2009
| The Word of Promise Audio Bible | Deborah (voice) | Audio play |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! width="190px" | Title ! width="175px" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2011
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimhttp://www.gamefront.com/the-spectacular-skyrim-voice-cast-includes-joan-allen/{{failed verification|date=August 2016}} | Delphine (voice) | |
Accolades
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Joan Allen}}
References
{{reflist
| colwidth = 30em
| refs =
}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{iMDb name|260}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182803/http://www.steppenwolf.org/ensemble/members/details.aspx?id=11 Joan Allen] at [http://www.steppenwolf.org Steppenwolf Theatre Company]
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|11300}}
- {{NYTtopic|people/a/joan_allen}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Joan Allen
|list =
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{ACCT Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress}}
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{DramaDesk PlayOutstandingActress 1975-2000}}
{{Empire Award for Best Actress}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress}}
{{Satellite Award Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{TonyAward PlayLeadActress 1976-2000}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Joan}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Illinois
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Best Supporting Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Category:Clarence Derwent Award winners
Category:Drama Desk Award winners
Category:Eastern Illinois University alumni
Category:Northern Illinois University alumni
Category:People from Rochelle, Illinois
Category:Steppenwolf Theatre Company players