Tara Mallen is an American actress, director, and producer based in Chicago. She is a founding member and Producing Artistic Director of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and has appeared extensively in Chicago theater as well as in film and television.Mike Davis, "Rivendell Theatre opens its 30th season with a new play about the invisibility of older women", WBEZ Chicago, April 2, 2025, https://www.wbez.org/theater-stages/2025/04/02/rivendell-theatre-chicago-tara-mallen-no-such-thing-play, retrieved December 11, 2025
Career
Theater Mallen is a founding member and Producing Artistic Director of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, a Chicago-based theater company focused on new work and women driven storytelling. She has both produced and performed in numerous Rivendell productions, including Wrens, My Simple City, Holy Days, The Clink, and Faulkner's Bicycle.
She has also appeared in productions associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, including the Jeff nominated world premiere productions of The Walls and Self Defense, or, The Death of Some Salesmen, which were presented as part of Steppenwolf's Visiting Theater Initiative.
Mallen received a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Wrens and was later nominated for Best Actress in a Principal Role for My Simple City.
In film and television, Mallen has appeared in Steven Soderbergh's film Contagion (2011), the Starz series Boss, and the NBC series Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D..
In 2024, she starred in the independent feature Ghostlight (2024) along with her real life husband and daughter,Mike Davis, "Chicago theater family teams up on screen in 'Ghostlight'", Chicago Sun-Times, June 11, 2024, https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2024/06/11/ghostlight-chicago-theater-keith-kupferer-tara-mallen-katherine, retrieved December 11, 2025 which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 Contagion Minnesota Health #4 2016 Fools Vera 2020 The Last Shift Angry Customer 2024 Ghostlight Sharon Mueller 2026 Mouse Barbara Dunn Via Negativa Secretary Completed TBA Winter Hymns Bonnie Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes 2011 Boss Hospital Administrator 1 episode 2014 Chicago P.D. Renee Evans 1 episode 2015 Sense8 Day Nurse 1 episode 2018 Empire Dr. Stein 1 episode 2024 Dark Matter Alesia Cheney 1 episode The Emperor of Ocean Park Yvonne 1 episode
Education Mallen graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Brooklyn College.
Personal life Mallen is married to actor Keith Kupferer. The couple has one child, Katherine Mallen Kupferer.
References
External links
Tara Mallen at steppenwolf.org