Allen began her performing career as a stage actress and on television before making her film debut in the movie, Compromising Positions. She became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1977 when John Malkovich asked her to join. She's been a member ever since. In 1984, she won a Clarence Derwent Award for her portrayal of Hellen Stott in And a Nightingale Sang. Allen's work with Steppenwolf has included productions of Three Sisters, Waiting For The Parade, Love Letters, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and The Wheel. In 1989, Allen won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This opposite Malkovich. She also starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles, with Boyd Gaines at the Plymouth Theatre. The show was met with critical praise, receiving six Tony Award nominations and winning Best Play. Allen received her second Tony Award nomination for her performance. She received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles as Pat Nixon in Nixon and as Elizabeth Proctor, a woman accused of witchcraft, in The Crucible. She was also nominated for Best Actress for her role in The Contender, in which she played a politician who becomes the object of scandal. She had starring roles in the drama The Ice Storm, directed by Ang Lee, and the action thrillerFace/Off, directed by John Woo, both released in 1997, as well as in the comedy Pleasantville. In 2001, Allen starred in the mini-series The Mists of Avalon on TNT and earned an Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the role. In 2005, she received many positive notices for her leading role in the comedy/drama The Upside of Anger, in which she played an alcoholic housewife. She played CIA Department Director Pamela Landy in The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Bourne Legacy. Allen appeared in Death Race, playing a prison warden. In 2009, Allen starred as Georgia O'Keeffe in Lifetime Television's 2009 biopic chronicling the artist's life. Allen returned to Broadway after a twenty year absence in March 2009, when she played the role of Katherine Keenan in Michael Jacobs' play Impressionism opposite Jeremy Irons at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The play was met with mixed reviews from critics. The New Yorker wrote the play "is as awkward as it is sublime", noting its "brazen sweetness" and "openhearted humor". Allen voiced the character Delphine in Bethesda Softworks' 2011 video game . She also lent her voice talents in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production known as The Word of Promise. In this dramatized audio, Allen played the character of Deborah. The project also featured a large ensemble of well known Hollywood actors including Jim Caviezel, Lou Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, Jon Voight, Gary Sinise, Christopher McDonald, Marisa Tomei and John Schneider. In 2015, Allen signed for the leading role in the ABC drama seriesThe Family, playing the role of villainous and manipulative mayor and matriarch of her family. After a nine year absence from Broadway, Allen played Ellen Fine in the critically acclaimed Broadway premiere production of the Kenneth Lonergan play The Waverly Gallery in 2018, alongside Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, and Michael Cera at the John Golden Theatre.
Personal life
In 1990, Allen married actor Peter Friedman. They divorced in 2002 but live close to each other to share time with their daughter, Sadie, born in February 1994.
