Karen Akers (born October 13, 1945) is an American actress and singer, who has appeared on Broadway, and in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Early life

Akers was born Karen Orth-Pallavicini in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 13, 1945. Her immigrant father, Heinnick Christian Orth-Pallavicini, was of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n and Swiss-Italian heritage. He was reportedly a member of the European nobility family

Pallavicini The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family. The Pallavicini of Genoa The first recorded member o ...

who dropped his title when he came to America. Her American-born mother, Mary Louise (née Adams), a chaplain, had

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n, Norwegian, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

forebears on one side of her family and Scotch-Irish ones on the other. Her younger sister, Nicole Orth-Pallavicini, is also an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. Another younger sister, Marie Orth-Pallavicini, is married to David Baker Cadman, a grandson of

John Cadman, 1st Baron Cadman John Cadman, 1st Baron Cadman (7 September 1877 – 31 May 1941), was a British mining engineer, petroleum technologist and public servant. Early life Cadman was educated at Armstrong College, University of Durham, and received a first class Ho ...

. Akers graduated from Manhattanville College.

Career

Akers honed her acting skills as an amateur performer, starting in the Arlington (Virginia) Players production of ''

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway prod ...

''. Akers first appeared on Broadway in the original production of '' Nine'', a musical directed by Tommy Tune and based on the

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

film ''

8½ ' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by Ma ...

'', as Luisa Contini, the wife of promiscuous film director Guido Contini (played by

Raúl Juliá Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...

). The show opened May 9, 1982, and had a successful run of 732 performances, closing February 4, 1984. Akers won a Theatre World Award for her performance. She was one of three actresses in the show nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

, with the award eventually going to fellow cast member Liliane Montevecchi. Beginning in 1985, Akers appeared in such feature films as

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's '' The Purple Rose of Cairo'' (as a celluloid chanteuse), and in ''

Heartburn Heartburn, also known as pyrosis, cardialgia or acid indigestion, is a burning sensation in the central chest or upper central abdomen. Heartburn is usually due to regurgitation of gastric acid (gastric reflux) into the esophagus. It is the ma ...

'' (as the mistress of Jack Nicholson's character). She appeared on Broadway in ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'', a musical adaptation of the novel and film, scored by Robert Wright,

George Forrest George Forrest may refer to: *G. Topham Forrest (George Topham Forrest, 1872–1945), principal architect for the London County Council *George Forrest (author) (1915–1999), American author and musician *George Forrest (botanist) (1873–1932), S ...

, and Maury Yeston. In ''Grand Hotel'' Akers was reunited with ''Nine'' director Tommy Tune and ''Nine'' cast members Liliane Motevecchi and Kathi Moss. The show opened November 12, 1989, for a run of 1,018 performances, through April 19, 1992. Akers covered " Sooner or Later" in her 1991

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Unchained Melodies'', a song written for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

the year before.

Personal life

On September 19, 1993, Akers married Kevin Patrick Power, vice president of the satellite communications company Orion Network Systems, in a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

ceremony at St. Paul's Chapel of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York. It was her second marriage. She has two sons from her first marriage to Jim Akers in 1968, which ended in divorce.

Filmography

Film

Television

DVD Concert Films

* 2005: ''Karen Akers: On Stage at Wolf Trap''

Partial discography

* 1981: ''Presenting Karen Akers'' - Blackwood Records BLWD 001 * 1982: ''Karen Akers'' - Rizzoli/Blackwood Records 1001 * 1987: ''In A Very Unusual Way'' - Rizzoli Records 1004/71004 * reissue 1999 ''In A Very Unusual Way'' - Cabaret 5002 * 1994: ''Just Imagine'' - DRG 5231 * 1996: ''Under Paris Skies'' - Cabaret Records 5019 * 1997: ''Live from Rainbow and Stars'' - DRG 1450 * 2001: ''Feels Like Home'' - DRG 1465 * 2004: ''If We Only Have Love'' - DRG 1383 * 2006: ''Like It Was'' - DRG CD 91498 * 2008: ''Simply Styne'' - DRG 1506

References

External links

Karen Akers website
* * *

on e-music.com

at Playbill {{DEFAULTSORT:Akers, Karen 1945 births Living people American musical theatre actresses Actresses from New York City Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni Manhattanville College alumni 20th-century American actresses Cabaret singers American film actresses Singers from New York City American contraltos American people of Austrian descent American people of Swiss-Italian descent American people of Norwegian descent American people of French descent American people of Russian descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent American television actresses American stage actresses Nightclub performers 21st-century American women