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Joan Allen

File:JoanAllen2000TIFF.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Joan Allen

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American actress (born 1956)

OverviewAI-generated

Joan Allen is an American television, film, stage, and voice actor who began her professional career in 1977. Born on August 20, 1956, in Rochelle, Illinois, she is a citizen of the United States and speaks English. Allen received her education at Eastern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University. She is married to Peter Friedman.

Her acting work has been recognized with several awards, including the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. She has also received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
15

Top works

  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (A Golden Shape Book) 1968
  • The Happy Golden ABC
  • Papers for the people
  • Crystaline and the Unicorn
  • Glittering prospects

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Rochelle, Illinois, USA

Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989. She has received three Academy Award nominations; she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Nixon (1995) and The…

Known for

  • Zero Day — Sheila Mullen2025
  • Lisey's Story — Amanda Debusher2021
  • Stars in the House — Self2020
  • Who Will Write Our History? — Rachela Auerbach (voice)2018
  • Arthur Miller: Writer — Self (archive footage)2017
  • Making “Room” — Self / Nancy2016
  • The Family — Claire Warren2016
  • Room — Nancy2015
  • A Good Marriage — Darcy Anderson2014
  • Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power — Narrator (voice)2014

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Country
GB
Active from
1985-05-02

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
3
Total plays
27

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Joan+Allen">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Joan Allen

Quotes

  • Acting gave me the opportunity to do outrageous things. It allowed me to be sad, happy, angry and lustful, even if it was just vicariously.
  • It's such a great feeling to make people laugh. I know I've made people cry or want to slit their wrists, but to make people laugh is a very intoxicating, wonderful thing.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

~9 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, in addition to 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).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Joan Allen” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)