Karen Poulsen

Karen Poulsen (10 May 1881 – 15 February 1953) was a Danish stage and early film actress. She performed regularly at the Royal Danish Theatre until 1938 and took part in many silent and sound films from 1911 to 1950. Early life Born in Copenhagen on 10 May 1881, Karen Poulsen was the daughter of the celebrated stage actor Olaf Poulsen (1849–1923) and his wife, the ballet dancer Henriette Emilie née Bryde (1846–1909). After being trained by her father, she became a pupil at the school of the Royal Danish Theatre where she made her debut on 4 February 1900 as Pernille in Ludvig Holberg's Gert Westphaler. She was appreciated for her good humour and clear diction. Career After gaining further experience while performing for a number of seasons at Copenhagen's , she went on to perform in the provinces, including a period at the Aarhus Theatre, where she played the leading role in Hervé's Frøken Nitouche. She then performed at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen from its opening in 1908. With her father's assistance, she was able to return to the Royal Theatre in 1912 where she performed comic roles such as Tante Malle in Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's Geografi og Kærlighed. Maintaining a good place in the company's repertoire, she performed particularly well in her Holberg roles. She remained with the company until 1938, when disappointed with her lack of progress, she left to perform in the more promising private theatres of Copenhagen. At the Frederiksberg Teater, she took the leading role in Gustav Wied's Hendes gamle Naade (1941) and played Julia Gibbs, a mother in Thornton Wilder's Our Town (1942).