Karen Blanche Black 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.
Birth Name
Karen Blanche Ziegler
Born
Saturday, 01 July 1939
Died
Thursday, 08 August 2013
Actress Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts | (archive footage) | 2018 |
| Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief | Herself (archive footage) | 2015 |
| Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films | Linda Magnusson | 2014 |
| Wild in Blue | Justine | 2014 |
| Gore Vidal: The United States Of Amnesia | Herself (archive footage) | 2013 |
| She Loves Me Not | Karla | 2013 |
| Ooga Booga | Mrs. Allardyce | 2013 |
| Window Dressing | Beth | 2012 |
| Dark Blood | Motel Woman | 2012 |
| Maria My Love | Maria | 2012 |
Actress Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts | (archive footage) | 2018 |
| Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief | Herself (archive footage) | 2015 |
| Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films | Linda Magnusson | 2014 |
| Wild in Blue | Justine | 2014 |
| Gore Vidal: The United States Of Amnesia | Herself (archive footage) | 2013 |
| She Loves Me Not | Karla | 2013 |
| Ooga Booga | Mrs. Allardyce | 2013 |
| Window Dressing | Beth | 2012 |
| Dark Blood | Motel Woman | 2012 |
| Maria My Love | Maria | 2012 |
| OowieWanna | The Donna | 2012 |
| Mommy's Little Monster | Mrs. Melnick | 2012 |
| Letters from the Big Man | Sean's Colleague | 2011 |
| Some Guy Who Kills People | Ruth Boyd | 2011 |
| Funny or Die Presents... | Debbie Rubbie | 2010 |
| Nothing Special | May | 2010 |
| Double Duty | Annabelle | 2009 |
| Stuck! | Next Door Neighbor Lady | 2009 |
| Repo Chick | Aunt de la Chasse | 2009 |
| Irene In Time | Sheila Shivvers | 2009 |
| A Single Woman | Storyteller | 2009 |
| No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos | Herself | 2009 |
| The Blue Tooth Virgin | Zena | 2008 |
| Watercolors | Mrs. Martin | 2008 |
| Hollywood Dreams | Luna | 2007 |
| One Long Night | Barbara | 2007 |
| Suffering Man's Charity | Renee | 2007 |
| Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Jennifer | 2007 |
| Read You Like a Book | Kate | 2006 |
| Wanderlust | Herself | 2006 |
| America Brown | Marianne Brown | 2005 |
| Firecracker | Sandra / Eleanor | 2005 |
| Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula | Agrippina | 2005 |
| Crazy for Love | Grace's Mom | 2005 |
| The Straun House | Molly | 2005 |
| The Work Of Director Chris Cunningham | Dancer (segment "Windowlicker") | 2003 |
| Summer Solstice | Dr. Sally McDermott | 2003 |
| Paris | Chantelle | 2003 |
| House of 1000 Corpses | Mother Firefly | 2003 |
| Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood | Herself | 2003 |
| Russians in the City of Angels | Patricia Sommers | 2003 |
| Hard Luck | Aunt Judy | 2002 |
| A Light in the Darkness | Mrs. Melnick | 2002 |
| The Best of Tromadance Film Festival, Volume 1 | ("Los Vampirios Moronious" short) | 2002 |
| Teknolust | Dirty Dick | 2002 |
| Curse of the Forty-Niner | Aunt Nelly | 2002 |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Vera Morgan | 2001 |
| Plotting 'Family Plot' | Herself | 2001 |
| Gypsy 83 | Bambi LeBleau | 2001 |
| Soulkeeper | Martha la Magnifica | 2001 |
| The Independent | Herself | 2000 |
| Red Dirt | Griffith's Aunt | 2000 |
| Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage | Herself | 1999 |
| I Woke Up Early The Day I Died | Whip Lady | 1999 |
| Independent Lens | Self | 1999 |
| The Underground Comedy Movie | Mother | 1999 |
| Mascara | Aunt Eloise | 1999 |
| Conceiving Ada | Mother Coer | 1999 |
| Charades | Jude | 1998 |
| Malaika | Jessica Martin | 1998 |
| My Neighbor's Daughter | Social Worker | 1998 |
| Rude Awakening | Crystal Garcia | 1998 |
| Invisible Dad | Courtney Whitmer | 1998 |
| Light Speed | High Priestess | 1998 |
| Fallen Arches | Lucy Romano | 1998 |
| Men | Alex | 1997 |
| The Hunger | Miss Gati | 1997 |
| Who Is Henry Jaglom? | Herself | 1997 |
| Stir | Dr. Gabrielle Kessler | 1997 |
| Children of the Corn: The Gathering | June Rhodes | 1996 |
| Dogtown | Rose Van Horn | 1996 |
| Profiler | Evie Long | 1996 |
| Crimetime | Millicent | 1996 |
| Plan 10 from Outer Space | Nehor | 1995 |
| Dinosaur Valley Girls | Ro-Kell | 1995 |
| Party of Five | Doreen Jablonsky | 1994 |
| Bound and Gagged: A Love Story | Carla | 1993 |
| Tales of the City | Herself | 1993 |
| Moon Over Miami | Lorraine Pitzer | 1993 |
| Legend Of The Roller Blade Seven | Tarot | 1993 |
| Return of the Roller Blade Seven | Tarot | 1993 |
| Auntie Lee's Meat Pies | Auntie Lee | 1992 |
| The Double 0 Kid | Mrs. Elliot | 1992 |
| Hitz | Tiffany Powers | 1992 |
| Tuesday Never Comes | Michelle | 1992 |
| The Player | Karen Black | 1992 |
| Final Judgement | Mrs. Sorrel | 1992 |
| Quiet Fire | Kim Martino | 1991 |
| Children Of The Night | Karen Thompson | 1991 |
| The Killers Edge | Barrett | 1991 |
| Caged Fear | Blanche | 1991 |
| Rubin and Ed | Rula | 1991 |
| Mirror Mirror | Susan Gordon | 1990 |
| Club Fed | Sally Rich | 1990 |
| Haunting Fear | Dr. Julia Harcourt | 1990 |
| Night Angel | Rita | 1990 |
| The Children | Sybil Lullmer | 1990 |
| Zapped Again! | Substitute Teacher | 1990 |
| Twisted Justice | Mrs. Granger | 1990 |
| Overexposed | Mrs. Trowbridge | 1990 |
| Fatal Encounter | Joan Caldwell | 1990 |
| Evil Spirits | Ella Purdy | 1990 |
| Homer And Eddie | Belle | 1989 |
| The Pat Sajak Show | Herself - Guest | 1989 |
| Out Of The Dark | Ruth Wilson | 1988 |
| Dixie Lanes | Zelma Putnam | 1988 |
| In the Heat of the Night | Carla Ray | 1988 |
| The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway | Martha Gelhorn | 1988 |
| The Invisible Kid | Deborah | 1988 |
| Hostage | Laura Lawrence | 1987 |
| It's Alive III: Island Of The Alive | Ellen Jarvis | 1987 |
| Worlds Beyond | Lee Jeffreys | 1986 |
| Invaders From Mars | Linda Magnusson | 1986 |
| Flight of the Spruce Goose | Gloria | 1986 |
| Cut and Run | Karin | 1985 |
| Martin's Day | Karen | 1985 |
| Eternal Evil | Janus | 1985 |
| Savage Dawn | Rachel | 1985 |
| Bad Manners | Gladys Fitzpatrick | 1984 |
| Murder, She Wrote | Dr. Sylvia Dunn | 1984 |
| E/R | Sheila Sheinfeld | 1984 |
| Miami Vice | Helen Jackson | 1984 |
| The Hitchhiker | Kay Mason | 1983 |
| Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? | Zee | 1983 |
| Breakaway | Herself | 1983 |
| Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean | Joanne | 1982 |
| The Last Horror Film | Karen Black | 1982 |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | Guest Interviewee, Sea Witch | 1982 |
| Miss Right | Amy | 1982 |
| Killing Heat | Mary Turner | 1981 |
| Separate Ways | Valentine Colby | 1981 |
| Chanel Solitaire | Emilienne d'Alençon | 1981 |
| Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop | Investigator Evelyn Carter | 1980 |
| Power | Rose Vanda-Buchanan | 1980 |
| Killer Fish | Kate | 1979 |
| Mr. Horn | Ernestina Crawford | 1979 |
| The Last Word | Paula Herbert | 1979 |
| In Praise Of Older Women | Maya | 1978 |
| The Squeeze | Clarisse Saunders | 1978 |
| America 2-Night | Herself | 1978 |
| Capricorn One | Judy Drinkwater | 1977 |
| The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver | Miriam Oliver / Sandy | 1977 |
| ABC Weekend Specials | Miss Kuchenbacker | 1977 |
| Burnt Offerings | Marian Rolf | 1976 |
| Family Plot | Fran | 1976 |
| Crime and Passion | Susan Winters | 1976 |
| Dolly | Herself | 1976 |
| Saturday Night Live | Catherine the Great / Various / Self - Host, Mona Lisa / Various / Self - Host | 1975 |
| The Bobby Vinton Show | Herself | 1975 |
| Nashville | Connie White | 1975 |
| The Day of the Locust | Faye Greener | 1975 |
| Trilogy Of Terror | Amelia | 1975 |
| Airport 1975 | Nancy Pryor | 1974 |
| Law and Disorder | Gloria | 1974 |
| The Great Gatsby | Myrtle Wilson | 1974 |
| Rhinoceros | Daisy | 1974 |
| The Outfit | Bett Harrow | 1973 |
| The Pyx | Elizabeth Lucy | 1973 |
| Little Laura And Big John | Laura | 1973 |
| Portnoy's Complaint | Mary Jane Reid (The Monkey) | 1972 |
| Circle of Fear | Barbara Sanders | 1972 |
| Cisco Pike | Sue | 1972 |
| Born to Win | Parm | 1971 |
| A Gunfight | Jenny Simms | 1971 |
| Drive, He Said | Olive | 1971 |
| Rollin' on the River | Herself | 1971 |
| Five Easy Pieces | Rayette Dipesto | 1970 |
| The David Frost Show | Herself - Guest | 1969 |
| Easy Rider | Karen | 1969 |
| Hard Contract | Ellen | 1969 |
| Adam-12 | Susan Decker | 1968 |
| The Name of the Game | Monica Garrison | 1968 |
| Mannix | Elaine Tate | 1967 |
| The Carol Burnett Show | Herself | 1967 |
| Judd for the Defense | Alethea Staunton | 1967 |
| The Second Hundred Years | Marcia | 1967 |
| The Invaders | Claudia Stone | 1967 |
| Iron Horse | Patricia Dunne | 1966 |
| You're a Big Boy Now | Amy Partlett | 1966 |
| The Dean Martin Show | Herself | 1965 |
| The F.B.I. | Lorraine Chapman | 1965 |
| The Big Valley | Carla Roberts | 1965 |
| Run for Your Life | Jennifer Palmer | 1965 |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Herself - Guest | 1962 |
| The Mike Douglas Show | Herself - Actress | 1961 |
| The Prime Time | Betty - Painted Woman | 1960 |
| This Is Your Life | Herself | 1955 |
Producer Filmography
| Title | Year |
|---|
| Charades | 1998 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1976 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Nominated |
| 1975 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture | Won |
| 1971 | Oscar | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 1971 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture | Won |
