Karen Black

The daughter of award-winning children's author Elsie Reif, Karen Black was born Karen Blanche Ziegler in Park Ridge, Ill., on July 1, 1942. She made her onstage acting debut in "The Playroom" (1965) and earned a Drama Circle Critic Award nod for her efforts, landing her first big film role the following year in Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now.

She topped her star-making turn in Easy Rider (1969) with an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win playing opposite Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces (1970), collecting another Golden Globe trophy for The Great Gatsby (1974) and yet another nomination for The Day of the Locust (1975). Black was even nominated for a Grammy Award for her singing efforts in Robert Altman's Nashville (1975).

Among the actress's more notable work in the new millennium was her dual performance in the critically acclaimed Firecracker (2005).

Filmography