Joan Allen Biography

Joan Allen is an American actress who has won a Tony Award and nominations for three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Famous for her stage and screen work, she began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977 and won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for And a Nightingale Sang and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Burn This. She gained mainstream recognition for portraying Eve Archer in Face/Off in 1997.

Joan Allen Age

Allen was born on August 20, 1956, in Rochelle, Illinois, U.S.A. She is 68 years old as of 2024. Allen celebrates her birthday on August 20th.

Joan Allen Height

Allen stands at an approximate height of 5 feet and 10 inches.

Joan Allen Family

Allen was born to Dorothea Marie Wirth and James Jefferson Allen in Rochelle, Illinois. Dorothea served as a homemaker while James worked as a gas station owner. James passed away in 1995. Allen has an older brother named David and two older sisters, Mary and Lynn.

Joan Allen Husband

Allen is divorced with a daughter named Sadie. She was previously married to actor Peter Friedman, exchanging vows on January 1, 1990. They divorced on March 10, 2002, after being married for more than a decade. Before the divorce, they had Sadie who was born in February 1994. Sadie is 30 years old as of 2024.

Joan Allen Net Worth

Allen has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 Million – $5 Million which she has earned through being an actress.

Joan Allen Nixon

Allen played the role of Former First Lady Pat Nixon Nixon opposite Anthony Hopkins in 1995. Pat is the dedicated wife of Richard Nixon who stood by him during the turbulent occasions of his political life. She won a nomination for the Academy Best Supporting Actress Award and the BAFTA Best Actress in a Supporting Role Award for her role in Nixon.

Joan Allen Face/Off

Allen gained mainstream recognition for portraying Eve Archer in Face/Off in 1997. Eve is the wife of FBI agent Sean Archer(John Travolta). She helps prove the identity of her Sean’s true identity when she tests the blood of the man claiming to be him. For her performance in the film, she won nominations for the Saturn Best Supporting Actress Award.

Joan Allen The Contender

In 2000, Allen starred as Senator Laine Billings Hanson in The Contender. President Jackson Evans(Jeff Bridges) chooses Senator Laine as the vice president of the US after the abrupt death of the former vice president. She meets many challenges after her nomination including a scandalous past and her gender as a woman.

Allen’s performance in The Contender won her nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Award, Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Award.

Joan Allen Education

Allen joined Eastern Illinois University where she performed in several plays with John Malkovich. There, she studied acting under Glendon Gabbard. In 1976, she transferred to Northern Illinois University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater.

Joan Allen Career

Allen kickstarted her performing career on stage and TV before she debuted in film in 1985 in Compromising Positions. She joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1977 through an invite from John Malkovich. There, she worked with the Steppenwolf productions of Three Sisters, Waiting For The Parade, Love Letters, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and The Wheel.

In 1989, Allen received a Tony Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This opposite Malkovich. She starred alongside  Boyd Gaines at the Plymouth Theatre in The Heidi Chronicles. For her performance in the play, she won her second nomination for a Tony Award.

1995 to 2000

Allen played the role of Former First Lady Pat Nixon Nixon opposite Anthony Hopkins in 1995. She won an Academy Best Supporting Actress Award nomination. That same year, she made an appearance in  Mad Love. The next year, she starred as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible opposite Daniel Day-Lewis. Her performance in the film won her a Critics’ Choice Movie Best Supporting Actress Award and a nomination for the Academy Best Supporting Actress Award.

Allen portrayed a discontent woman who finds her husband cheating with a neighbor in The Ice Storm. In the film, she starred alongside Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, and Christina Ricci. She had a supporting role in Face/Off. In 1998, she starred in Pleasantville opposite Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, and Reese Witherspoon. Her performance in the film won her the Critics’ Choice Movie Best Supporting Actress Award.

Allen starred in It’s the Rage in 1999 and When the Sky Falls and The Contender in 2000. Her performance in The Contender won her nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Award, Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Award.

2001 to 2008

In 2001, Allen made an appearance in TNT’s The Mists of Avalon, winning her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Award. She appeared in Off the Map in 2003.

Allen portrayed Ann Hamilton in The Notebook in 2004. The following year, she received numerous positive acclaim for her performance as an alcoholic housewife in The Upside of Anger. Further, she won a nomination for a Critics’ Choice Movie Best Actress Award for her performance in the film. Next, she starred as CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy in The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and The Bourne Legacy. Additionally, she portrayed a prison warden in Death Race.

2009 to present;

Allen starred in the titular role in Lifetime Television’s biopic, Georgia O’Keeffe, in 2009. In March of that year, she portrayed Katherine Keenan in the play Impressionism opposite Jeremy Irons at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. This marked her return to Broadway after being absent for 2 decades.

Allen worked as the voiceover for Delphine in the video game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Additionally, she was the voice of Deborah in The Word of Promise, an audio Bible production featuring influential actors such as Gary Sinise, Christopher McDonald, Marisa Tomei, Jim Caviezel, Lou Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, Jon Voight, and John Schneider.

Allen agreed to play the lead role in ABC’s The Family in 2015. After being away from Broadway for 9 years, she made her return with the role of Ellen Fine in the Kenneth Lonergan play, The Waverly Gallery in 2018 at the John Golden Theatre.

Allen took a 5-year hiatus from acting in movies and TV. She then returned costarring alongside  Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, and Jennifer Jason Leigh in Apple TV’s Lisey’s Story. This marked her second time playing a lead role in Stephen King’s adaptation film, her first being in A Good Marriage. In 2024, she starred opposite  Robert De Niro and Lizzy Caplan in Netflix’s  Zero Day.

Awards

Allen has won numerous awards nominations during her career including a Canadian Screen Award and a Tony Award. She won nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, a British Academy Film Award, three Academy Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Allen’s performance in And a Nightingale Sang earned her the Drama Desk Outstanding Actress in a Play Award. Further, she won a Tony Best Actress in a Play Award for her role in Burn This. Next, she won nominations for Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations in 1989 for her role in The Heidi Chronicles. She won a nomination for the Academy Best Supporting Actress Award and the BAFTA Best Actress in a Supporting Role Award for her role in Nixon.

Allen’s performance in The Crucible won here nominations in supporting actress categories at the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards. She gained mainstream recognition for portraying Eve Archer in Face/Off in 1997. Further, she won nominations for the Saturn Best Supporting Actress Award.

1998 to present;

Allen’s 1998 performance in Pleasantville won her the  Critics’ Choice Movie Best Supporting Actress Award and the Satellite Best Supporting Actress – Comedy or Musical Award. Her performance in The Contender won her nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Award, Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Award.

Allen won a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Award for portraying Morgause in The Mists of Avalon in 2001. Her performance as an alcoholic housewife in  The Upside of Anger won her a nomination for a Critics’ Choice Movie Best Actress Award for her performance in the film.

Allen’s portrayal of Georgia O’Keeffe won her nominations for a Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Her 2015 role in Room won her a Canadian Screen Best Supporting Actress Award.

Joan Allen Movies and TV Shows

Allen has starred in several films and TV shows during her career such as

• Compromising Positions
• Evergreen
• Manhunter
• All My Sons
• The Room Upstairs
• Zeisters
• Peggy Sue Got Married
• Without Warning: The James Brady Story
• Tucker: The Man and His Dream
• In Country
• Ethan Frome
• Searching for Bobby Fischer
• Josh and S.A.M.
• Mad Love
• When the Sky Falls
• Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
• Luck
• The Killing