Karen
Lynn Gorney was born on January 28, in Beverly Hills, the daughter
of Jay Gorney, a Detroit attorney turned songwriter after his move
out west. He would later pen the immortal "Brother, can you spare a
dime?". Her mother, an actress, and a writer and a dancer from
Chicago, now lives in New York. Her brother, Daniel, makes his home
in Athens, Greece.
Karen, not interested in a career
as a "...blonde with silicon bosoms" chose to move to
New York where she enrolled at the High School of Performing Arts.
Later, she would attend Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh where she
would earn a BFA in Acting/Speech, on a full scholarship, and move
on to a Master's degree in Acting, as a Fellowship Student, at
Brandeis University.
Her dramatic training included
studies with Jane Hoffman, Chris Ceraso-Ensemble Studio Theatre,
Ed Kovens, and last but certainly not least, the Stratford
Shakespeare festival, again, on a full scholarship.
After working in regional
theatres in the Boston area, "All My Children" called,
in 1970, and Karen would become, for the first time, Tara Martin,
a role she created.
As Tara, Karen captivated the
audience; she was the very image of the modern young woman,
struggling with life and love.
Then, along came "Saturday
Night Fever."
Karen Lynn Gorney was chosen as
John Travolta's romantic lead in the 1978 John Badham hit film,
"Saturday Night Fever." Little did she know that the
movie would become the most recognizable symbol of an era,
effectively turning her into a cultural icon. As
"Stephanie," she made us laugh, again captured our
hearts, and made us want to cheer her on through her struggles to
make a life for herself, out of Bay Ridge and into the real world.
She continues to grace the large and small screen with movies
like Men in Black; Ripe, Law and Order; and the stage with both Shakespearian and Modern Plays (see current News and Resume.)
Karen was married, in July 1995,
to Mark Toback, a New York City musician who had been a buddy
since 1987. Karen loves cats and has two of them, enough to keep
her hands full! They are The Space Cadet and The Buddha, a 3-year
old, energetic brother/sister team. Karen describes them as being
"Part Abyssinian, part Siamese, part nuts..."
She describes her hobbies as
being gardening, cooking, painting and ballet, and she admits a
particular fondness for decoration. Karen just finished THE
DUCHESS AND THE DUKE, playing the "Duchess of Windsor," first
presented at the Greenwich Street Theatre, NYC this spring. The
production will continue this fall Off B'way, after Karen returns
from the NorthEastern Shakespeare Ensemble in New Hampshire where
she will play "Olivia" in 12 TH NIGHT."
For more information about
Karen's body of work,
click
here and you will be taken to Karen's theatrical resume
page.
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