I’m so glad you found me.

My name is Jamie Karen, and I’m an actor, singer, dancer, and songwriter. I was born in Miami and raised by two loving, encouraging Brooklyn-born parents. I was very lucky to grow up in Miami, surrounded by a wonderfully rich and vibrant cultural and artistic landscape, a place that shaped me in ways I’m still discovering. I now call New York home with my husband, actor Mark Deklin, and our two children. I guess you could say New York was always in my blood.

At seven years old, I saw my first Broadway show, Annie, and fell completely in love with theatre. I never looked back. I studied at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Southwood Center For the Arts, Jacobs Pillow and The Dance Center and completed the Royal Academy of Dancing ballet syllabus. I went on to graduate from the prestigious New World School of the Arts and earned my B.A. from Hofstra University in Dance and Psychology.

My career has taken me to some pretty extraordinary places. I performed in the Broadway production of Man of La Mancha with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and at the Hollywood Bowl in Monty Python’s Spamalot with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Christian Slater. I played Mary Delgado on the first national tour and Vegas productions of Jersey Boys and understudied and performed the role of the “Lady of the Lake” on the first national tour of Spamalot. I even performed West Side Story in Taiwan during a devastating earthquake—one of those experiences that reminds you just how unpredictable and extraordinary a life in the theatre can be.

Some favorite regional stages I’ve had the honor of performing on include Broadway at Music Circus, North Shore Music Theatre, Gateway Playhouse, Kansas City Starlight Theatre, and The Muny. More recently, I played “Miss Hannigan” at Zach Theater in Austin, TX and ‘Velma Kelly” in Chicago at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. 

On screen, recent credits include “Annabella Zenghi” opposite Kevin Bacon on City on a Hill and a co-star role on NBC’s The Hunting Party. I’ve also had the joy of creating work of my own. Over the past few years, I’ve written and performed two sold-out one-woman shows at The Green Room 42, If You’re Coming, Don’t Tell Me and Ego, and have performed at 54 Below and Birdland Jazz Club. While living in Los Angeles, I wrote and sold original music to CBS and joined BMI.

But enough about the past. These days you can find me at my kids sports games, cooking meals for my family, practicing guitar, reading, studying Pilates, and in various classes. I love training. I love setting new goals and discovering how far I can stretch. The process thrills me. There’s something amazing about getting older and realizing that, in so many ways, we’re becoming more and more of who we were always meant to be.

I love telling stories; the ones I know intimately, and the ones I have yet to live. I’m grateful to still be learning, still be growing, still be chasing the thing that made that seven-year-old girl fall in love with theatre in the first place.

Thanks for coming along with me.

Please feel free to follow me on Instagram: @jamiekaren111