Waschmaschine
17.10.2008, 06:13
Nancy Anne Allen (born June 24, 1950) is an American actress. Her best-known films are Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out and the RoboCop trilogy.
Early life[B]
She was born in New York City, New York, the youngest of three children of Eugene and Florence Allen. Her brothers are James M. Allen (1944-1994) and William Allen. Her father was a police lieutenant in Yonkers,[1] where she was raised.
Allen was terribly shy as a child, so her mother enrolled her in dance classes at age 4. She attended the High School of Performing Arts, where she trained for a dancing career, and then attended Jose Quintano's School for Young Professionals.
Her film debut was at age 12, playing the role as Melissa Dillon in Money in My Pocket (1962), a comedy/drama starring country singer Bill Anderson. From the time she was 15, Allen appeared in a large number of television commercials. She also worked as a model.
Film career
Allen's second film role was very small, playing Nancy, Jack Nicholson's nervous date, in The Last Detail (1973). This inspired her to move to Los Angeles, and try for larger roles.[2] In director Brian De Palma's classic horror film Carrie (1976) opposite Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving and John Travolta, Allen stood out for her portrayal of the antagonistic, cruel popular girl, Chris Hargensen.
She was cast for Carrie on an open call, and was the first choice to play the telekinetic Carrie White. A last minute switch by De Palma, however, gave Allen the role as Hargensen, which was originally Spacek's role, and the title role went to Spacek.
Allen next appeared in the role as Pam Mitchell in Spielberg's I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), which was director Robert Zemeckis' first feature film and was a failure. She then played Donna Stratton in another Spielberg flop, the comedy 1941 (1979) opposite John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and John Candy.
She and Brian De Palma were married on January 12, 1979, and for the next couple of years Allen gained fame appearing in his films. She starred as Kristina in Home Movies (1980) with Kirk Douglas, as Liz Blake in Dressed to Kill (1980) with Michael Caine and Angie Dickinson, and as Sally in Blow Out (1981) opposite John Travolta.
Although she received a Razzie nomination for her performance as Liz Blake, a prosperous call girl who dabbles in the stock market, in the murder/horror film Dressed to Kill, Allen was also nominated for a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Female.
Known for taking risky roles in the 1970s and 1980s, she played prostitutes several times, participating in racy sex scenes or appearing completely nude for the camera.
She and De Palma divorced in 1984. That same year, two of Allen's films were released, The Buddy System opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon and The Philadelphia Experiment opposite Michael Paré. For her role as Allison Hayes in the latter, Allen was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. She also performed as hostess in the documentary Terror in the Aisles (1984), which presents clips from various horror features, including Dressed to Kill.
Early life[B]
She was born in New York City, New York, the youngest of three children of Eugene and Florence Allen. Her brothers are James M. Allen (1944-1994) and William Allen. Her father was a police lieutenant in Yonkers,[1] where she was raised.
Allen was terribly shy as a child, so her mother enrolled her in dance classes at age 4. She attended the High School of Performing Arts, where she trained for a dancing career, and then attended Jose Quintano's School for Young Professionals.
Her film debut was at age 12, playing the role as Melissa Dillon in Money in My Pocket (1962), a comedy/drama starring country singer Bill Anderson. From the time she was 15, Allen appeared in a large number of television commercials. She also worked as a model.
Film career
Allen's second film role was very small, playing Nancy, Jack Nicholson's nervous date, in The Last Detail (1973). This inspired her to move to Los Angeles, and try for larger roles.[2] In director Brian De Palma's classic horror film Carrie (1976) opposite Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving and John Travolta, Allen stood out for her portrayal of the antagonistic, cruel popular girl, Chris Hargensen.
She was cast for Carrie on an open call, and was the first choice to play the telekinetic Carrie White. A last minute switch by De Palma, however, gave Allen the role as Hargensen, which was originally Spacek's role, and the title role went to Spacek.
Allen next appeared in the role as Pam Mitchell in Spielberg's I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), which was director Robert Zemeckis' first feature film and was a failure. She then played Donna Stratton in another Spielberg flop, the comedy 1941 (1979) opposite John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and John Candy.
She and Brian De Palma were married on January 12, 1979, and for the next couple of years Allen gained fame appearing in his films. She starred as Kristina in Home Movies (1980) with Kirk Douglas, as Liz Blake in Dressed to Kill (1980) with Michael Caine and Angie Dickinson, and as Sally in Blow Out (1981) opposite John Travolta.
Although she received a Razzie nomination for her performance as Liz Blake, a prosperous call girl who dabbles in the stock market, in the murder/horror film Dressed to Kill, Allen was also nominated for a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Female.
Known for taking risky roles in the 1970s and 1980s, she played prostitutes several times, participating in racy sex scenes or appearing completely nude for the camera.
She and De Palma divorced in 1984. That same year, two of Allen's films were released, The Buddy System opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon and The Philadelphia Experiment opposite Michael Paré. For her role as Allison Hayes in the latter, Allen was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. She also performed as hostess in the documentary Terror in the Aisles (1984), which presents clips from various horror features, including Dressed to Kill.