Karen Young (actress)

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

Karen Young
Karen Young at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	(1958-09-29) September 29, 1958 (age 66) Pequannock Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater	Rutgers University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1983–2012
Spouses	Tom Noonan ​ ​ (m. 1992; div. 1999)​ Ken Eisen ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2

Early life and education

Young was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey on September 29, 1958.^[1] She graduated from Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University as an English major.^[2][3]

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 blonde hair." Young responded to the ad and ended up starring in Tony Garnett's 1983 vigilante thriller Handgun, for which she had her hair cut off and in which she agreed to appear topless.^[4]

She also appeared in films such as 9½ Weeks, Heat (1986), Jaws: The Revenge, Torch Song Trilogy, Night Game, The Wife, Daylight and Mercy. Young portrayed Sister Mary in The Orphan Killer (2011), and starred in many U.S. independent and foreign films including Heading South,^[3] Two Gates of Sleep and Conviction.

On television, Young portrayed FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino on The Sopranos^[5] as well as various characters in the Law & Order franchise.

Her stage credits include roles in both New York productions of Sam Shephard's A Lie of the Mind, playing daughter Sally in 1985 and mother Lorraine in Ethan Hawke's 2010 production.^[6][7] Young and the rest of the cast were recognized as some of the "best performers of 2010" by Hilton Als in The New Yorker.^[8]

Personal life

Young married actor Tom Noonan^[9] in 1992, and they had two children together before their 1999 divorce. She married Ken Eisen in 2012.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Handgun	Kathleen Sullivan
1984	Maria's Lovers	Rosie
1984	Almost You	Lisa Willoughby
1984	Birdy	Hannah Rourke
1985	Night Magic	Doubt	Voice
1986	9½ Weeks	Sue
1986	Heat	Holly
1987	Jaws: The Revenge	Carla Brody
1988	Criminal Law	Ellen Faulkner
1988	Torch Song Trilogy	Laurel
1989	Little Sweetheart	Dorothea
1989	Night Game	Roxy
1991	The Boy Who Cried Bitch	Candice Love
1992	Hoffa	Young Woman At RTA
1995	The Wife	Arlie
1996	Daylight	Sarah Crighton
1998	Pants on Fire	Dierdre Grogan
1999	Joe the King	Theresa Henry
2000	Mercy	Mary
2001	Falling Like This	Dolly
2005	Factotum	Grace
2005	Heading South	Brenda
2008	Restless	Yolanda
2008	Bonne année	Ellen
2009	Handsome Harry	Muriel
2010	Two Gates of Sleep	Bess
2010	Twelve Thirty	Vivien
2010	Conviction	Elizabeth Waters
2011	The Green	Janette
2011	Warrior Woman	Alice
2011	The Orphan Killer	Sister Mary
2012	The Sumo Wrestler	Kathy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Equalizer	Officer Sandra Stahl	Episode: "Lady Cop"
1986	The High Price of Passion	Robin Benedict	Television film
1988	Wild Things	Jane
1991	The Summer My Father Grew Up	Chandelle
1991	The 10 Million Dollar Getaway	Theresa
1992	Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel	Faye Vaughan	2 episodes
1992	L.A. Law	Marcia Trafficante	Episode: "Silence of the Lambskins"
1996–2010	Law & Order	Various	4 episodes
1997	On the Edge of Innocence	Mrs. Victoria Tyler	Television film
2001	Third Watch	Shirley Holsclaw	Episode: "Man Enough"
2001	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Denise Talbott	Episode: "Jones"
2002–2006	The Sopranos	FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino	10 episodes
2004-2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Meg Whitmere / Christina Nerrit	3 episodes
2011	CSI: Miami	Diana Chandler	Episode: "F-T-F"

References

1. "Karen Young". Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television (Collection). Gale In Context: Biography. Vol. 74. Gale. 2007. ISSN 0749-064X. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
2. Dicker, Ron. "Young's Star Rises in Midlife", San Francisco Chronicle, August 27, 2006. Accessed July 21, 2007. "A Pequannock, N.J., native and graduate of Douglass College, the women's school at Rutgers University, Young got her start on a film called Deep in the Heart (1983)."
3. Duckett, Richard (November 2, 2006). "Heading to Worcester; Vacationing women seek more than sun in 'South'". Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Massachusetts. Retrieved January 4, 2020 – via Proquest Global Newsstream.
4. Chase, Chris (January 20, 1984). "At the Movies". The New York Times. p. C6. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Proquest.
5. "Karen Young". August 29, 2006.
6. "New Search for the Truth in 'A Lie'". The New York Times. January 31, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Proquest.
7. Brantley, Ben (February 19, 2010). "Theater Review: Home Is Where the Soul Aches". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Proquest.
8. Als, Hilton (December 14, 2010). "The Best Performers of 2010". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
9. "Tom Noonan Still Reflecting on "What Happened"". IFC.
10. "MIFF brings husband and wife together". WCSH.

External links

• Karen Young at IMDb
• Karen Young at the Internet Off-Broadway Database