Actress, born August 20, 1956, in Rochelle, Illinois. Allen attended Rochelle Township High School, where she studied drama,failed cheerleading, and was voted most likely to succeed. Along with GarySinise, Laurie Metcalf and John Malkovich, Allen is one of the foundingmembers of Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where she began herprofessional career. She studied theater at Eastern Illinois University.
On Broadway, Allen received a Tony Award for her performance opposite JohnMalkovich in Lanford Wilson’s Burn This (1987), and was nominated inthe same category for The Heidi Chronicles (1989). Off-Broadway, shewon an Obie for her starring role in The Marriage of Bette & Boo. She reprised her Steppenwolf Theatre role in And A Nightingale Sang,receiving the Clarence Derwent, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle andTheatre World Awards.
