Karen Young (actress)

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Karen Young
Karen Young at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born (1958-09-29) September 29, 1958 (age 65)
Alma materRutgers 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.

Early life and education[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1983 Handgun Kathleen Sullivan
1984 Maria's Lovers Rosie
1984 Almost You Lisa Willoughby
1984 Birdy Hannah Rourke
1985 Night Magic Doubt Voice
1986 9½ Weeks Sue
1986 Heat Holly
1987 Jaws: The Revenge Carla Brody
1988 Criminal Law Ellen Faulkner
1988 Torch Song Trilogy Laurel
1989 Little Sweetheart Dorothea
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
1998 Pants on Fire Dierdre Grogan
1999 Joe the King Theresa Henry
2000 Mercy Mary
2001 Falling Like This Dolly
2005 Factotum Grace
2005 Heading South Brenda
2008 Restless Yolanda
2008 Bonne année Ellen
2009 Handsome Harry Muriel
2010 Two Gates of Sleep Bess
2010 Twelve Thirty Vivien
2010 Conviction Elizabeth Waters
2011 The Green Janette
2011 Warrior Woman Alice
2011 The Orphan Killer Sister Mary
2012 The Sumo Wrestler Kathy

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Equalizer Officer Sandra Stahl Episode: "Lady Cop"
1986 The High Price of Passion Robin Benedict Television film
1988 Wild Things Jane
1991 The Summer My Father Grew Up Chandelle
1991 The 10 Million Dollar Getaway Theresa
1992 Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel Faye Vaughan 2 episodes
1992 L.A. Law Marcia Trafficante Episode: "Silence of the Lambskins"
1996–2010 Law & Order Various 4 episodes
1997 On the Edge of Innocence Mrs. Victoria Tyler Television film
2001 Third Watch Shirley Holsclaw Episode: "Man Enough"
2001 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Denise Talbott Episode: "Jones"
2002–2006 The Sopranos FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino 10 episodes
2004-2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Dr. Meg Whitmere / Christina Nerrit 3 episodes
2011 CSI: Miami Diana Chandler Episode: "F-T-F"

References[edit]

  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. ^ a b Duckett, Richard (November 2, 2006). "Heading to Worcester; Vacationing women seek more than sun in 'South'". Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Massachusetts. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Proquest Global Newsstream.
  4. ^ Chase, Chris (January 20, 1984). "At the Movies". The New York Times. p. C6. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Proquest.
  5. ^ "Karen Young". August 29, 2006.
  6. ^ "New Search for the Truth in 'A Lie'". The New York Times. January 31, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Proquest.
  7. ^ Brantley, Ben (February 19, 2010). "Theater Review: Home Is Where the Soul Aches". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Proquest.
  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.

External links[edit]