Early life and education

Allen, the youngest of four children, was born in Rochelle, Illinois, the daughter of Dorothea Marie (née Wirth), a homemaker, and James Jefferson Allen, a gas station owner. She has an older brother, David, and two older sisters, Mary and Lynn. Allen attended Rochelle Township High School, and was voted most likely to succeed. She first attended Eastern Illinois University, performing in a few plays with John Malkovich, who was also a student, and then Northern Illinois University, where she graduated with a BFA in Theater.

Allen began her performing career as a stage actress and on television before making her film debut in the movie, Compromising Positions (1985). 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.

Career

In 1989, Allen won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This. She also starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles.

She received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles as Pat Nixon in Nixon (1995) and as Elizabeth Proctor, a woman accused of witchcraft, in The Crucible (1996). She was also nominated for Best Actress for her role in The Contender (2000), 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 thriller Face/Off, directed by John Woo, both released in 1997, as well as in the comedy Pleasantville (1998).

In 2001, Allen starred in the mini-series The Mists of Avalon on TNT and earned an Emmy 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 in March 2009, when she played the role of Katherine Keenan in Michael Jacobs' play Impressionism opposite Jeremy Irons at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

Allen voiced the character Delphine in Bethesda Softworks' 2011 video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She also lent her voice talents in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production known as The Word of Promise. In this dramatized audio, Alexander 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, Marissa Tomei and John Schneider.

In 2015, Allen signed for the leading role in the ABC drama series, The Family, playing the role of villainous and manipulative mayor and matriarch of her family.

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 1994. She is also left handed.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Say Goodnight, Gracie		Television movie
1985	Compromising Positions	Mary Alice Mahoney
1985	Evergreen	Iris Friedman	Television movie
1986	Manhunter	Reba McClane
1986	Zeisters	Lala
1986	Peggy Sue Got Married	Maddy Nagle
1987	All My Sons	Ann Deever	Television movie
1987	Room Upstairs, TheThe Room Upstairs	Ellie	Television movie
1988	Tucker: The Man and His Dream	Vera Tucker
1989	In Country	Irene
1991	Without Warning: The James Brady Story	Sarah Brady	Television movie
1993	Ethan Frome	Zeena Frome
1993	Searching for Bobby Fischer	Bonnie Waitzkin
1993	Josh and S.A.M.	Caroline Whitney
1995	Mad Love	Margaret Roberts
1995	Nixon	Pat Nixon	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1996	Crucible, TheThe Crucible	Elizabeth Proctor	Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress Empire Award for Best Actress Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1997	Ice Storm, TheThe Ice Storm	Elena Hood	Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1997	Face/Off	Dr. Eve Archer	Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Action/Adventure Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1998	Pleasantville	Betty Parker	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Funniest Scene
1999	All The Rage	Helen
2000	When the Sky Falls	Sinead Hamilton
2000	Contender, TheThe Contender	Senator Laine Billings Hanson	Critic's Choice Alan J. Pakula Award (shared) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Drama Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2001	Mists of Avalon, TheThe Mists of Avalon	Morgause	TV Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
2003	Off the Map	Arlene
2004	Notebook, TheThe Notebook	Ann Hamilton
2004	Bourne Supremacy, TheThe Bourne Supremacy	CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy
2004	Yes	She	Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
2005	Upside of Anger, TheThe Upside of Anger	Terry Ann Wolfmeyer	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Iowa Film Critics Award for Best Actress San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated—Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
2006	Bonneville	Carol
2007	Bourne Ultimatum, TheThe Bourne Ultimatum	CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy
2008	Death Race	Prison Warden Claire Hennessey	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2009	Hachi: A Dog's Tale	Kate Wilson
2009	Georgia O'Keeffe	Georgia O'Keeffe	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie Nominated—Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2009	The Word of Promise Audio Bible	Deborah (voice)	Audio play voice-over
2011	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	Delphine (voice)	Video game voice-over
2012	Luck	Claire Lachay	TV series
2012	The Bourne Legacy	CIA Dep. Dir. Pamela Landy	Cameo
2014	A Good Marriage	Darcy Anderson
2014	The Killing	Colonel Margaret Rayne	Fourth and final season (appeared in all 6 episodes); credited as special guest star.
2015	Room	Nancy Newsome	Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated — Indiana Film Journalists Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2016	The Family	Claire Warren

Theatre

Steppenwolf Theatre Company

• Burn This
• The Heidi Chronicles
• Three Sisters
• Waiting For The Parade
• Love Letters
• The Marriage of Bette and Boo
• (And a Nightingale Sang...)
• The Wheel

[ Source: Wikipedia ]