Karen Young (born September 29, 1958) is an American film, television, and stage actress.

Early life and education

Young was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey on September 29, 1958. She graduated from

Douglass Residential College Douglass Residential College, is an undergraduate, non degree granting higher education program of Rutgers University-New Brunswick for women. It succeeded the liberal arts degree-granting Douglass College after it was merged with the other und ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

as an English major.

Career

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 blond hair." Young responded to the ad and ended up starring in

Tony Garnett Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life and ...

's 1983 vigilante thriller '' Handgun'', for which she cut off her hair and in which she agreed to appear nude. She also appeared in films such as ''

9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wal ...

'', ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

'' (1986), '' Jaws: The Revenge'', ''

Night Game A night game, also called a nighter, is a sporting event that takes place, completely or partially, after the local sunset. Depending on the sport, this can be done either with floodlights or with the usual low-light conditions. The term "night ...

'', '' The Wife'', '' Daylight'' and ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

''. Young has also portrayed Sister Mary in ''

The Orphan Killer ''The Orphan Killer'' is a 2011 independent horror film written and directed by Matt Farnsworth. It was produced by Farnsworth and Full Fathom 5. Farnsworth has stated that he has plans for sequels and a web series. Plot The film follows the life ...

'' (2011), and starred in many U.S. independent and foreign films including ''

Heading South ''Heading South'' (french: Vers le sud) is a 2005 French-Canadian-Belgian drama film directed by Laurent Cantet and based on three short stories by Dany Laferrière. It depicts the experiences of three middle-aged white women in the late 1970s, tr ...

'', ''

Two Gates of Sleep ''Two Gates of Sleep'' is a 2010 American drama film written and directed by Alistair Banks Griffin and starring Brady Corbet, David Call and Karen Young. ''Two Gates of Sleep'' was produced by Josh Mond and Andrew Renzi through the production ...

'' and ''

Conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is cons ...

''. For television, Young portrayed

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Agent Robyn Sanseverino on ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' and has portrayed various characters for the ''Law & Order'' franchise, as well as in '' The Equalizer''. Her stage credits include roles in both New York productions of Sam Shephard's ''

A Lie of the Mind ''A Lie of the Mind'' is a play written by Sam Shepard, first staged at the off-Broadway Promenade Theater on 5 December 1985. The play was directed by Shepard himself with stars Harvey Keitel as Jake, Amanda Plummer as Beth, Aidan Quinn as Franki ...

'', playing daughter Sally in 1985 and mother Lorraine in

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

's 2010 production. Young and the rest of the cast were recognized as some of the "best performers of 2010" by Hilton Als in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''.

Personal life

Young married actor

Tom Noonan Tom Noonan (born April 12, 1951) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Francis Dolarhyde in '' Manhunter'' (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in ''The Monster Squad'' (1987), Cain in '' RoboCop 2'' (1990), T ...

in 1992, and they had two children together before their 1999 divorce. She married Ken Eisen in 2012.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Karen 1958 births Actresses from New Jersey American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people People from Pequannock Township, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses