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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0000947
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q232333
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Filmography (Movies)
Airports
Character:
Release Date:17/09/2025
Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:01/10/2018
Bottomless Pit
Character:Karen Black
Release Date:21/10/2015
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:25/01/2015
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Character:Linda Magnusson (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:06/10/2014
Wild in Blue
Character:Justine
Release Date:05/05/2014
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:04/08/2013
She Loves Me Not
Character:Karla
Release Date:09/06/2013
Ooga Booga
Character:Mrs. Allardyce
Release Date:12/03/2013
Dark Blood
Character:Motel Woman
Release Date:27/09/2012
Maria My Love
Character:Maria
Release Date:17/04/2012
OowieWanna
Character:The Donna
Release Date:18/02/2012
Mommy's Little Monster
Character:Mrs. Melnick
Release Date:01/01/2012
Hawk Warrior of the Wheelzone
Character:Tarot
Release Date:01/01/2012
Letters from the Big Man
Character:Sean's Colleague
Release Date:11/11/2011
Some Guy Who Kills People
Character:Ruth Boyd
Release Date:14/04/2011
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
Character:Self
Release Date:23/11/2010
Henry Jaglom Finds 'A Safe Place'
Character:Self
Release Date:23/11/2010
Nothing Special
Character:May
Release Date:01/01/2010
Double Duty
Character:Annabelle
Release Date:08/12/2009
Stuck!
Character:The Neighbor Lady
Release Date:15/11/2009
Repo Chick
Character:Aunt De La Chasse
Release Date:09/09/2009
Irene in Time
Character:Sheila Shivvers
Release Date:19/06/2009
Meet the Eye
Character:
Release Date:16/06/2009
Wamego: Ultimatum
Character:Self
Release Date:17/02/2009
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
Character:Self
Release Date:11/01/2009
A Single Woman
Character:Storyteller
Release Date:21/09/2008
The Blue Tooth Virgin
Character:Zena
Release Date:18/06/2008
Watercolors
Character:Mrs. Martin
Release Date:07/06/2008
Contamination
Character:Mavis
Release Date:01/05/2008
Hollywood Dreams
Character:Luna
Release Date:25/05/2007
One Long Night
Character:Barbara
Release Date:25/03/2007
Suffering Man's Charity
Character:Renee
Release Date:09/03/2007
Read You Like a Book
Character:Kate
Release Date:01/10/2006
Wanderlust
Character:Herself
Release Date:12/07/2006
Whitepaddy
Character:Mrs. Leider
Release Date:01/01/2006
America Brown
Character:Marianne Brown
Release Date:28/10/2005
Firecracker
Character:Sandra / Eleanor
Release Date:11/10/2005
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula
Character:Agrippina
Release Date:15/06/2005
Crazy for Love
Character:Grace's Mom
Release Date:01/03/2005
Dr. Rage
Character:Molly
Release Date:01/01/2005
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
Character:Self
Release Date:29/08/2004
WAMEGO: Making Movies Anywhere
Character:Self
Release Date:18/06/2004
Paris
Character:Chantelle
Release Date:06/06/2003
Harold Buttleman: Daredevil Stuntman
Character:Mrs. Buttleman
Release Date:08/05/2003
House of 1000 Corpses
Character:Mother Firefly
Release Date:11/04/2003
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Character:Self
Release Date:09/03/2003
Curse of the Forty-Niner
Character:Aunt Nelly
Release Date:01/10/2002
A Light in the Darkness
Character:Mrs. Melnick
Release Date:03/04/2002
Best of Tromadance Film Festival: Volume 1
Character:("Los Vampirios Moronious" short)
Release Date:19/02/2002
Teknolust
Character:Dirty Dick
Release Date:10/01/2002
Gypsy 83
Character:Bambi LeBleau
Release Date:18/10/2001
Soulkeeper
Character:Martha la Magnifica
Release Date:13/10/2001
The Donor
Character:Mrs. Springle
Release Date:13/04/2001
Plotting 'Family Plot'
Character:Self
Release Date:06/03/2001
The Independent
Character:Karen Black
Release Date:10/11/2000
Red Dirt
Character:Aunt Summer
Release Date:17/03/2000
Fallen Arches
Character:Lucy Romano
Release Date:15/01/2000
Oliver Twisted
Character:Mrs. Mary Happ
Release Date:01/01/2000
Altman on His Own Terms
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2000
Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage
Character:Self
Release Date:07/10/1999
The Underground Comedy Movie
Character:Mother
Release Date:14/05/1999
Mascara
Character:Aunt Eloise
Release Date:07/05/1999
Conceiving Ada
Character:Lady Byron / Mother Coer
Release Date:19/02/1999
Paradise Cove
Character:Ma
Release Date:01/01/1999
Karen Black: Actress at Work
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1999
Charades
Character:Jude
Release Date:17/12/1998
Bury the Evidence
Character:The Mother
Release Date:12/12/1998
Angel Blue
Character:Social Worker
Release Date:15/11/1998
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
Character:Whip Lady
Release Date:13/09/1998
Invisible Dad
Character:Courtney Whitmer
Release Date:24/03/1998
Malaika
Character:Jessica Martin
Release Date:01/01/1998
Light Speed
Character:High Priestess
Release Date:01/01/1998
Mythos Hollywood - Das Geheimnis des Erfolgs
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1998
Men
Character:Alex
Release Date:23/10/1997
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Character:Self
Release Date:08/07/1997
Stir
Character:Dr. Gabrielle Kessler
Release Date:01/07/1997
Dogtown
Character:Rose Van Horn
Release Date:06/04/1997
New York Crossing
Character:Mrs. Tender
Release Date:12/12/1996
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
Character:June Rhodes
Release Date:08/10/1996
Crimetime
Character:Millicent
Release Date:01/08/1996
Cries of Silence
Character:Rose Walsh
Release Date:01/05/1996
The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley
Character:Evelyn
Release Date:01/03/1995
Plan 10 from Outer Space
Character:Nehor
Release Date:23/02/1995
Dinosaur Valley Girls
Character:Ro-Kell
Release Date:01/01/1995
Starstruck
Character:Bertha
Release Date:01/01/1995
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black: Teather Penumbra
Character:
Release Date:10/10/1994
Too Bad About Jack
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1994
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue!
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1994
Bound and Gagged: A Love Story
Character:Carla
Release Date:22/10/1993
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven
Character:Tarot
Release Date:25/06/1993
The Trust
Character:Maria Vandermeer
Release Date:23/04/1993
Return of the Roller Blade Seven
Character:Tarot
Release Date:15/04/1993
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies
Character:Auntie Lee
Release Date:21/10/1992
The Double 0 Kid
Character:Mrs. Elliot
Release Date:07/09/1992
Judgement
Character:Tiffany Powers
Release Date:05/08/1992
Final Judgement
Character:Mrs. Sorrel
Release Date:01/06/1992
Tuesday Never Comes
Character:Michelle
Release Date:17/05/1992
Rubin & Ed
Character:Rula
Release Date:15/05/1992
The Player
Character:Karen Black
Release Date:08/05/1992
Dead Girls Don't Tango
Character:Insp. Wilson
Release Date:06/03/1992
Quiet Fire
Character:Kim Martino
Release Date:31/10/1991
Evil Spirits
Character:Ella Purdy
Release Date:03/10/1991
Children of the Night
Character:Karen Thompson
Release Date:06/09/1991
The Roller Blade Seven
Character:Tarot
Release Date:06/09/1991
Caged Fear
Character:Blanche
Release Date:17/05/1991
Blood Money
Character:Barrett
Release Date:12/04/1991
Ralph S. Mouse
Character:Miss Kuchenbacker
Release Date:16/02/1991
Mirror Mirror
Character:Susan Gordon
Release Date:19/10/1990
Club Fed
Character:Sally Rich
Release Date:09/08/1990
Haunting Fear
Character:Dr. Julia Harcourt
Release Date:01/08/1990
Night Angel
Character:Rita
Release Date:02/06/1990
The Children
Character:Sybil Lullmer
Release Date:18/05/1990
Zapped Again!
Character:Homeroom Teacher
Release Date:14/04/1990
Twisted Justice
Character:Mrs. Granger
Release Date:20/03/1990
Overexposed
Character:Mrs. Trowbridge
Release Date:01/01/1990
Fatal Encounter
Character:Joan Caldwell
Release Date:01/01/1990
Homer and Eddie
Character:Belle
Release Date:17/08/1989
Out of the Dark
Character:Ruth Wilson
Release Date:02/06/1988
Dixie Lanes
Character:Zelma Putnam
Release Date:03/05/1988
The Invisible Kid
Character:Mom
Release Date:30/03/1988
The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway
Character:Martha Gelhorn
Release Date:01/01/1988
On the tracks of a filmmaker
Character:Karen Black
Release Date:01/01/1988
Hostage
Character:Laura Lawrence
Release Date:01/10/1987
It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
Character:Ellen Jarvis
Release Date:27/05/1987
The Little Mermaid
Character:Sea Witch
Release Date:06/04/1987
Invaders from Mars
Character:Linda Magnusson
Release Date:06/06/1986
Flight of the Spruce Goose
Character:Gloria
Release Date:17/01/1986
Savage Dawn
Character:Rachel
Release Date:21/12/1985
Cut and Run
Character:Karin
Release Date:08/08/1985
Martin's Day
Character:Karen
Release Date:22/02/1985
Eternal Evil
Character:Janus
Release Date:04/01/1985
Bad Manners
Character:Gladys Fitzpatrick
Release Date:11/11/1984
Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?
Character:Zee
Release Date:10/09/1983
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Character:Joanne
Release Date:12/11/1982
The Last Horror Film
Character:Karen Black (uncredited)
Release Date:12/08/1982
Miss Right
Character:Amy
Release Date:01/01/1982
Chanel Solitaire
Character:Emilienne d'Alençon
Release Date:16/10/1981
The Grass Is Singing
Character:Mary Turner
Release Date:30/08/1981
Separate Ways
Character:Valentine Colby
Release Date:01/05/1981
Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop
Character:Investigator Evelyn Carter
Release Date:28/04/1980
Where the Ladies Go
Character:Helen
Release Date:14/03/1980
Power
Character:Rose Vanda-Buchanan
Release Date:14/01/1980
Killer Fish
Character:Kate
Release Date:07/12/1979
The Last Word
Character:Paula Herbert
Release Date:10/10/1979
Mr. Horn
Character:Ernestina Crawford
Release Date:01/02/1979
The Squeeze
Character:Clarisse Saunders
Release Date:25/10/1978
In Praise of Older Women
Character:Maya
Release Date:22/09/1978
Because He's My Friend
Character:Anne
Release Date:11/06/1978
Capricorn One
Character:Judy Drinkwater
Release Date:10/12/1977
The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver
Character:Miriam Oliver / Sandy
Release Date:28/02/1977
Burnt Offerings
Character:Marian Rolf
Release Date:18/10/1976
Family Plot
Character:Fran
Release Date:09/04/1976
Crime and Passion
Character:Susan Winters
Release Date:06/02/1976
Nashville
Character:Connie White
Release Date:11/06/1975
The Day of the Locust
Character:Faye Greener
Release Date:07/05/1975
Trilogy of Terror
Character:Julie / Millicent Larimore / Therese Larimore / Amelia
Release Date:04/03/1975
Airport 1975
Character:Nancy Pryor
Release Date:18/10/1974
Law and Disorder
Character:Gloria
Release Date:09/10/1974
The Great Gatsby
Character:Myrtle Wilson
Release Date:27/03/1974
Rhinoceros
Character:Daisy
Release Date:21/01/1974
The Outfit
Character:Bett Harrow
Release Date:19/10/1973
The Pyx
Character:Elizabeth Lucy
Release Date:08/09/1973
Little Laura and Big John
Character:Laura
Release Date:03/05/1973
Portnoy's Complaint
Character:Mary Jane Reid a.k.a. Monkey
Release Date:19/06/1972
Born to Win
Character:Parm
Release Date:01/12/1971
Cisco Pike
Character:Sue
Release Date:02/11/1971
A Gunfight
Character:Jenny Simms
Release Date:25/08/1971
Drive, He Said
Character:Olive
Release Date:13/06/1971
Five Easy Pieces
Character:Rayette Dipesto
Release Date:12/09/1970
Easy Rider
Character:Karen
Release Date:26/06/1969
Hard Contract
Character:Ellen
Release Date:30/04/1969
You're a Big Boy Now
Character:Amy Partlett
Release Date:09/12/1966
The Prime Time
Character:Betty
Release Date:01/04/1960
Television Appearances
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Character:Jennifer
Russians in the City of Angels
Character:Patricia Sommers
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Character:Vera Morgan
The Hunger
Character:Miss Gati / Landlady
Profiler
Character:Evie Long
E! True Hollywood Story
Character:
Party of Five
Character:Doreen Jablonsky
Tales of the City
Character:Self
Moon Over Miami
Character:
Murder, She Wrote
Character:Dr. Sylvia Dunn
Miami Vice
Character:Helen Jackson
E/R
Character:
The Hitchhiker
Character:Kay Mason
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Guest Interviewee
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Sea Witch
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Host
People's Choice Awards
Character:Self
Police Story
Character:Office Evelyn Carter
Ghost Story
Character:Barbara Sanders
Adam-12
Character:Susan Decker
The Name of the Game
Character:Monica Garrison
Mannix
Character:
The Carol Burnett Show
Character:Self - Guest / Various Characters
Judd for the Defense
Character:
The Second Hundred Years
Character:Marcia
The Invaders
Character:Claudia Stone
The F.B.I.
Character:Lorraine Chapman
The Big Valley
Character:Carla
Run for Your Life
Character:Jennifer Palmer
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character:Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Character:Self
Images
