Ilene Kristen was born Ilene Schatz in Brooklyn, New York, the elder child of Arthur Schatz of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Myrna Levin of Borough Park, Brooklyn. Her father was a hairdresser who owned a series of beauty parlors across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Palm Beach, Florida. Ilene has a younger sister, Karen Schatz.
She lived in Brooklyn until the age of 13 when her family moved to Forest Hills, Queens, living there for two years. In 1968, the family moved to Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She attended PS 217 in Brooklyn, Russell Sage Junior High School in Queens, and Professional Children's School in Manhattan. She then went to Finch College where she majored in Drama and minored in Art History.
She studied dance under Sara Felcher, Alwin Nikolais, and Matt Mattox. Her early inspirations were Bambi Linn and Sondra Lee. She decided to become a professional actor after seeing the Off-Broadway musical, The Fantasticks. She later studied acting with Jack Waltzer.

Return to Ilene Kristen Autograph Profile