Despite her still noticeable British accent on talk show appearances, d'Abo has mastered a variety of American accents for her many TV and film roles. She first acted for the cameras when she was 13, in a TV commercial, and two years later was celebrating her 15th birthday on the set of "Conan the Destroyer" (1984), in which she had a solid co-starring role as the virginal princess. D'Abo is best known to TV audiences as Karen Arnold, the hippie older sister on "The Wonder Years" (ABC, 1988-92) who personified the restless youth of the late 1960s, wearing headbands and bell bottoms, and cutting school for "love-ins". She has since often been cast as free spirits and sexpots, but has managed to move between comedy and drama, including her send-up as a sex kitten nursemaid lusting for Kirk Douglas' bank account in "Greedy" (1994) and the poignant "The Last Good Time" (1995), in which d'Abo played the younger half of a May-December romance with Armin Mueller-Stahl. Her film career became quite active in the mid-90s when d'Abo starred opposite Dana Carvey in "Clean Slate" (1994), Steve Guttenberg in "The Big Green" and Dana Delaney and Kim Cattrall in "Live Nude Girls" (both 1995). After filming an unsuccessful sitcom pilot for ABC, she joined the cast of the NBC sitcom "The Single Guy" (1996-97) as a voice actor who has moved into the title character's apartment building.
Family
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Brother: Benjamin d Abo. older
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Cousin: Maryam d Abo. appeared in The Living Daylights
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Father: Michael d Abo. born 1944 in Bethworth England; performed with 1960s rock group Manfred Mann
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Mother: Maggie London.
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Son: Oliver William d Abo. born on November 11, 1995
Significant Others
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Companion: Thomas Jane. engaged as of spring 2000
Education
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London Royal Ballet Theatre, London, England
Milestones
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1976 Moved with family to Taos, New Mexico at age eight
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1984 Made feature film debut in Conan the Destroyer as the virginal Princess Jehnna
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1988 TV series debut as Karen Arnold in The Wonder Years premiered in March
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1992 Departed The Wonder Years during the show s sixth season to pursue feature film career
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1996 Joined cast of NBC sitcom The Single Guy playing the role of a voice actor
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1996 Filmed unsold pilot for an ABC series
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1999 Co-starred with Vincent D Onfrio and Thomas Jane in The Velocity of Gary (Not His Real Name)
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1999 Made guest appearances on Party of Five as a lesbian college professor
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2000 Was one of the titular Seven Girlfriends
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2001 Played lead in The Enemy , a spy thriller aired on HBO in lieu of a theatrical release
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2001 Provided the voice of Jane in Disney s The Legend of Tarzan and its subsequent feature-length film
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2003 Guest starred as the villainous Nicole Wallace on NBC s Law & Order: Criminal Intent
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2003 Voiced the character of Rox in The Animatrix: Matriculated
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At age 13, moved to Los Angeles; won first professional acting job in TV commercial