1939-07-01 Park Ridge, Illinois, USA
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.
 |
Airports | 2025-09-17 | |
 |
Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts | (archive footage) | 2018-10-01 |
 |
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Self (archive footage) | 2015-01-25 |
 |
Bottomless Pit | Karen Black | 2015-10-21 |
 |
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films | Linda Magnusson (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2014-10-06 |
 |
Wild in Blue | Justine | 2014-05-05 |
 |
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia | Self (archive footage) | 2013-08-04 |
 |
Ooga Booga | Mrs. Allardyce | 2013-03-12 |
 |
She Loves Me Not | Karla | 2013-06-09 |
|
Mommy's Little Monster | Mrs. Melnick | 2012-01-01 |
 |
Hawk Warrior of the Wheelzone | Tarot | 2012-01-01 |
 |
Dark Blood | Motel Woman | 2012-09-27 |
 |
OowieWanna | The Donna | 2012-02-18 |
|
Maria My Love | Maria | 2012-04-17 |
 |
Letters from the Big Man | Sean's Colleague | 2011-11-11 |
 |
Some Guy Who Kills People | Ruth Boyd | 2011-04-14 |
 |
Nothing Special | May | 2010-01-01 |
 |
Henry Jaglom Finds 'A Safe Place' | Self | 2010-11-23 |
 |
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance | Self | 2010-11-23 |
 |
Irene in Time | Sheila Shivvers | 2009-06-19 |
 |
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos | Self | 2009-01-11 |
 |
Wamego: Ultimatum | Self | 2009-02-17 |
 |
Double Duty | Annabelle | 2009-12-08 |
 |
Stuck! | The Neighbor Lady | 2009-11-15 |
 |
Repo Chick | Aunt De La Chasse | 2009-09-09 |
|
Meet the Eye | 2009-06-16 | |
 |
A Single Woman | Storyteller | 2008-09-21 |
 |
Watercolors | Mrs. Martin | 2008-06-07 |
 |
The Blue Tooth Virgin | Zena | 2008-06-18 |
 |
Contamination | Mavis | 2008-05-01 |
 |
Suffering Man's Charity | Renee | 2007-03-09 |
 |
One Long Night | Barbara | 2007-03-25 |
 |
Hollywood Dreams | Luna | 2007-05-25 |
 |
Wanderlust | Herself | 2006-07-12 |
 |
Whitepaddy | Mrs. Leider | 2006-01-01 |
 |
Read You Like a Book | Kate | 2006-10-01 |
 |
Crazy for Love | Grace's Mom | 2005-03-01 |
 |
Firecracker | Sandra / Eleanor | 2005-10-11 |
 |
Dr. Rage | Molly | 2005-01-01 |
 |
America Brown | Marianne Brown | 2005-10-28 |
 |
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula | Agrippina | 2005-06-15 |
 |
WAMEGO: Making Movies Anywhere | Self | 2004-06-18 |
 |
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild | Self | 2004-08-29 |
 |
Paris | Chantelle | 2003-06-06 |
 |
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman | Mrs. Buttleman | 2003-05-08 |
 |
House of 1000 Corpses | Mother Firefly | 2003-04-11 |
 |
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood | Self | 2003-03-09 |
 |
A Light in the Darkness | Mrs. Melnick | 2002-04-03 |
 |
Best of Tromadance Film Festival: Volume 1 | ("Los Vampirios Moronious" short) | 2002-02-19 |
 |
Curse of the Forty-Niner | Aunt Nelly | 2002-10-01 |
 |
Teknolust | Dirty Dick | 2002-01-10 |
 |
Gypsy 83 | Bambi LeBleau | 2001-10-18 |
 |
Soulkeeper | Martha la Magnifica | 2001-10-13 |
 |
Plotting 'Family Plot' | Self | 2001-03-06 |
 |
The Donor | Mrs. Springle | 2001-04-13 |
 |
Altman on His Own Terms | Self | 2000-01-01 |
 |
Oliver Twisted | Mrs. Mary Happ | 2000-01-01 |
 |
The Independent | Karen Black | 2000-11-10 |
 |
Fallen Arches | Lucy Romano | 2000-01-15 |
 |
Red Dirt | Aunt Summer | 2000-03-17 |
 |
The Underground Comedy Movie | Mother | 1999-05-14 |
 |
Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage | Self | 1999-10-07 |
 |
Paradise Cove | Ma | 1999-01-01 |
 |
Mascara | Aunt Eloise | 1999-05-07 |
 |
Conceiving Ada | Lady Byron / Mother Coer | 1999-02-19 |
|
Karen Black: Actress at Work | Self | 1999-01-01 |
 |
Charades | Jude | 1998-12-17 |
 |
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs | Self | 1998-01-01 |
 |
Malaika | Jessica Martin | 1998-01-01 |
 |
Angel Blue | Social Worker | 1998-11-15 |
 |
Bury the Evidence | The Mother | 1998-12-12 |
 |
Invisible Dad | Courtney Whitmer | 1998-03-24 |
 |
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | Whip Lady | 1998-09-13 |
|
Light Speed | High Priestess | 1998-01-01 |
 |
Men | Alex | 1997-10-23 |
 |
Stir | Dr. Gabrielle Kessler | 1997-07-01 |
 |
Who Is Henry Jaglom? | Self | 1997-07-08 |
 |
Dogtown | Rose Van Horn | 1997-04-06 |
 |
Un angelo a New York | Mrs. Tender | 1996-12-12 |
 |
Cries of Silence | Rose Walsh | 1996-05-01 |
 |
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering | June Rhodes | 1996-10-08 |
 |
Crimetime | Millicent | 1996-08-01 |
 |
Starstruck | Bertha | 1995-01-01 |
 |
Plan 10 from Outer Space | Nehor | 1995-02-23 |
 |
Dinosaur Valley Girls | Ro-Kell | 1995-01-01 |
 |
The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley | Evelyn | 1995-03-01 |
|
Too Bad About Jack | 1994-01-01 | |
 |
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black: Teather Penumbra | 1994-10-10 | |
 |
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue! | 1994-01-01 | |
 |
Return of the Roller Blade Seven | Tarot | 1993-04-15 |
 |
The Trust | Maria Vandermeer | 1993-04-23 |
 |
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven | Tarot | 1993-06-25 |
 |
Bound and Gagged: A Love Story | Carla | 1993-10-22 |
 |
Dead Girls Don't Tango | Insp. Wilson | 1992-03-06 |
 |
Rubin & Ed | Rula | 1992-05-15 |
 |
The Double 0 Kid | Mrs. Elliot | 1992-09-07 |
 |
Final Judgement | Mrs. Sorrel | 1992-06-01 |
 |
The Player | Karen Black | 1992-05-08 |
 |
Tuesday Never Comes | Michelle | 1992-05-17 |
 |
Judgement | Tiffany Powers | 1992-08-05 |
 |
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies | Auntie Lee | 1992-10-21 |
 |
Evil Spirits | Ella Purdy | 1991-10-03 |
 |
Children of the Night | Karen Thompson | 1991-09-06 |
 |
Caged Fear | Blanche | 1991-05-17 |
 |
Ralph S. Mouse | Miss Kuchenbacker | 1991-02-16 |
 |
Blood Money | Barrett | 1991-04-12 |
 |
Quiet Fire | Kim Martino | 1991-10-31 |
 |
The Roller Blade Seven | Tarot | 1991-09-06 |
 |
Overexposed | Mrs. Trowbridge | 1990-01-01 |
 |
Mirror Mirror | Susan Gordon | 1990-10-19 |
 |
The Children | Sybil Lullmer | 1990-05-18 |
 |
Fatal Encounter | Joan Caldwell | 1990-01-01 |
 |
Zapped Again! | Homeroom Teacher | 1990-04-14 |
 |
Club Fed | Sally Rich | 1990-08-09 |
 |
Twisted Justice | Mrs. Granger | 1990-03-20 |
 |
Night Angel | Rita | 1990-06-02 |
 |
Haunting Fear | Dr. Julia Harcourt | 1990-08-01 |
 |
Homer and Eddie | Belle | 1989-08-17 |
 |
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway | Martha Gelhorn | 1988-01-01 |
 |
On the tracks of a filmmaker | Karen Black | 1988-01-01 |
 |
Dixie Lanes | Zelma Putnam | 1988-05-03 |
 |
The Invisible Kid | Mom | 1988-03-30 |
 |
Out of the Dark | Ruth Wilson | 1988-06-02 |
 |
The Little Mermaid | Sea Witch | 1987-04-06 |
 |
Hostage | Laura Lawrence | 1987-10-01 |
 |
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive | Ellen Jarvis | 1987-05-27 |
 |
Flight of the Spruce Goose | Gloria | 1986-01-17 |
 |
Invaders from Mars | Linda Magnusson | 1986-06-06 |
 |
Martin's Day | Karen | 1985-02-22 |
 |
Eternal Evil | Janus | 1985-01-04 |
 |
Inferno in diretta | Karin | 1985-08-08 |
 |
Savage Dawn | Rachel | 1985-12-21 |
 |
Bad Manners | Gladys Fitzpatrick | 1984-11-11 |
 |
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? | Zee | 1983-09-10 |
 |
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean | Joanne | 1982-11-12 |
 |
The Last Horror Film | Karen Black (uncredited) | 1982-08-12 |
 |
Miss Right | Amy | 1982-01-01 |
 |
The Grass Is Singing | Mary Turner | 1981-08-30 |
 |
Chanel Solitaire | Emilienne d'Alençon | 1981-10-16 |
 |
Separate Ways | Valentine Colby | 1981-05-01 |
 |
Where the Ladies Go | Helen | 1980-03-14 |
 |
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop | Investigator Evelyn Carter | 1980-04-28 |
 |
Power | Rose Vanda-Buchanan | 1980-01-14 |
 |
The Last Word | Paula Herbert | 1979-10-10 |
 |
Killer Fish | Kate | 1979-12-07 |
 |
Mr. Horn | Ernestina Crawford | 1979-02-01 |
 |
The Squeeze | Clarisse Saunders | 1978-10-25 |
 |
In Praise of Older Women | Maya | 1978-09-22 |
 |
Because He's My Friend | Anne | 1978-06-11 |
 |
Capricorn One | Judy Drinkwater | 1977-12-10 |
 |
The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver | Miriam Oliver / Sandy | 1977-02-28 |
 |
Burnt Offerings | Marian Rolf | 1976-10-18 |
 |
Family Plot | Fran | 1976-04-09 |
 |
Ace Up My Sleeve | Susan Winters | 1976-02-06 |
 |
Nashville | Connie White | 1975-06-11 |
 |
The Day of the Locust | Faye Greener | 1975-05-07 |
 |
Trilogy of Terror | Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia | 1975-03-04 |
 |
Airport 1975 | Nancy Pryor | 1974-10-18 |
 |
Rhinoceros | Daisy | 1974-01-21 |
 |
The Great Gatsby | Myrtle Wilson | 1974-03-27 |
 |
Law and Disorder | Gloria | 1974-10-09 |
 |
Little Laura and Big John | Laura | 1973-05-03 |
 |
The Pyx | Elizabeth Lucy | 1973-09-08 |
 |
The Outfit | Bett Harrow | 1973-10-19 |
 |
Portnoy's Complaint | Mary Jane Reid a.k.a. Monkey | 1972-06-19 |
 |
Born to Win | Parm | 1971-12-01 |
 |
Drive, He Said | Olive | 1971-06-13 |
 |
A Gunfight | Jenny Simms | 1971-08-25 |
 |
Cisco Pike | Sue | 1971-11-02 |
 |
Five Easy Pieces | Rayette Dipesto | 1970-09-12 |
 |
Hard Contract | Ellen | 1969-04-30 |
 |
Easy Rider | Karen | 1969-06-26 |
 |
You're a Big Boy Now | Amy Partlett | 1966-12-09 |
 |
The Prime Time | Betty | 1960-04-01 |
|
Every Minute Is Goodbye |
