Karen Maruyama

Acting

Karen Maruyama

Born 1958-05-29 · U.S.A

Karen Maruyama is an American actress and comedienne. She has appeared on television in supporting roles in a number of sitcoms, including recurring characters on The Jamie Foxx Show, Strip Mall, Suddenly Susan, and Arrested Development. Maruyama is well known as an improv performer and instructor, and was a featured guest on both the American and British versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, as well as a member of The Groundlings. She also appeared as a parking lot attendant in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. She also played a nurse in The Bucket List (2007) and a housekeeper in the 2012 film The Campaign. She is part of the cast of The Jim Henson Company's live stage show "Puppet Up! - Uncensored" which has toured to Aspen, Las Vegas, Edinburgh, Sydney and Melbourne and is currently appearing monthly at Avalon Hollywood. In 2013, on the serie 2 Broke Girls (third season, seventh episode), she appears how Han's mother, under the name Su-Min. Karen was also featured as a fashion victim in an episode of the makeover show How Do I Look?. She also appeared as a non-celebrity contestant on the 1984 CBS game show, Body Language, under the name Karen Upshaw, saying she was from Perris, California. She was paired with celebrity players Ted Lange and Constance Towers. She was also on The New $25,000 Pyramid in 1983 with Audrey Landers and Michael McKean.

Acting credits

Pulp Fiction poster
8.5

A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.

Pulp Fiction

1994

Kung Fu Panda 4 poster
7.0

Po is gearing up to become the spiritual leader of his Valley of Peace, but also needs someone to take his place as Dragon Warrior. As such, he will train a new kung fu practitioner for the spot and will encounter a villain called the Chameleon who conjures villains from the past.

Kung Fu Panda 4

2024

The Bucket List poster
7.2

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do and an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are. Together they embark on the road trip of a lifetime, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest, with insight and humor.

The Bucket List

2007

Ultraman: Rising poster
8.0

A star athlete reluctantly returns home to take over his father's duties as Ultraman, shielding Tokyo from giant monsters as he becomes a legendary hero.

Ultraman: Rising

2024

Self Reliance poster
5.9

When a man is offered a million dollars to play a game in which hunters try to kill him, he thinks he has found the perfect loophole: they can only attack when he’s alone. His only problem is that none of his friends or family believe the game is real. Forced to seek companionship in unexpected places, he navigates the bizarre challenge with humor, paranoia, and a surprising search for connection.

Self Reliance

2024

The American President poster
6.5

Widowed U.S. president Andrew Shepherd, one of the world's most powerful men, can have anything he wants -- and what he covets most is Sydney Ellen Wade, a Washington lobbyist. But Shepherd's attempts at courting her spark wild rumors and decimate his approval ratings.

The American President

1995

Life of the Party poster
6.1

When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna turns regret into re-set by going back to college... landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who's not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna – now Dee Rock – embraces freedom, fun, and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected.

Life of the Party

2018

The Campaign poster
5.8

Two rival politicians compete to win an election to represent their small North Carolina congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.

The Campaign

2012

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar poster
6.0

The story of best friends Barb and Star, who leave their small midwestern town for the first time to go on vacation in Vista Del Mar, Florida, where they soon find themselves tangled up in adventure, love, and a villain’s evil plot to kill everyone in town.

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

2021

The Thirteenth Year poster
6.6

A teen learns that his birth mother is a mermaid after he begins to grow fins and slimy scales on his thirteenth birthday.

The Thirteenth Year

1999

It's a Wonderful Binge poster
4.9

Like the original film, the sequel is set in a near future where all drinking and drugs are banned except for on one glorious day known as The Binge. This year, that day happens to miraculously land on Christmas.

It's a Wonderful Binge

2022

Pee-wee's Big Holiday poster
6.1

A fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-wee Herman to take his first-ever holiday.

Pee-wee's Big Holiday

2016

Dunston Checks In poster
5.4

Hotel manager Robert Grant is forced by his boss to postpone his family vacation when a hotel critic checks in. Trouble is, the critic is really a villainous jewel thief with an orangutan assistant named Dunston. When Dunston gets loose and tries to escape a life of crime -- aided by Robert's sons -- havoc, hijinks and lots of laughs abound!

Dunston Checks In

1996

I'm Totally Fine poster
6.3

Vanessa embarks on a solo trip after the death of her best friend, Jennifer. However, her self-care plans change when she finds Jennifer standing in her kitchen, claiming to be an extraterrestrial.

I'm Totally Fine

2022

The Oracle poster
NR

When an atheist psychiatrist hypnotizes his con artist patient, a message from his long-dead twin emerges. Is it the perfect con, or proof that reality is far stranger than he would like to admit?

The Oracle

2026

Shake It Up: Made in Japan poster
8.5

After facing off against crews from across the country in an epic dance battle, Rocky and CeCe win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan to star in a new interactive dance video game. While there, Rocky plans to explore Japan and soak in the culture, but CeCe is convinced that they need to seize the chance to live their dreams and take their shot at becoming real global superstars.

Shake It Up: Made in Japan

2012

Sawbones poster
5.0

A former medical intern turned sadistic killer is on the loose... and only one woman knows his true identity. Can she stop him in time before she becomes his next "patient"?

Sawbones

1995

Miss Valentine poster
10.0

Samantha carries the baggage of having had an onstage meltdown after winning her hometown’s Miss Valentine pageant as a teen. Years later, she returns home following a painful breakup and finds that things are much different this time around.

Miss Valentine

2025

The Enigma with a Stigma poster
5.0

The original intent of this documentary was to tell the story of a couple preparing for their wedding day. During the filming, things took a dramatic and unexpected turn when a mysterious worldwide phenomenon was uncovered. International outcry from governmental agencies, civic groups and private organizations has threatened to thwart this film's release. After careful consideration, the filmmakers remain steadfast in their commitment and moral obligation to expose the truth. The following story is real.

The Enigma with a Stigma

2006

Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous poster
NR

With the Power of science and magic, Labman battles super villains who try to vanquish him with a giant cinder block, a giant hourglass, a tank of piranhas, Earthquakes, and even King Kong.

Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous

1996

No artwork available
NR

A newlywed couple, who are now caregivers for the husband's dementia riddled mom, seek guidance in a caregiver support group only to find the advice they receive to be the unexpected.

I Don't Care

A Little Italian Vacation poster
7.0

A group of high school Seniors juggle between old loves and new flings on the shores of a beautiful Italian town.

A Little Italian Vacation

2021

Logan Lee & the Rise of the Purple Dawn poster
5.3

It's the night of the Hungry Ghost Festival, and Chinese-American scratch DJ Logan Lee is poised to make his live debut at his best friend Beatrice Pan's house party. The problem is, he's a nervous wreck.

Logan Lee & the Rise of the Purple Dawn

2020

RE-OPENING: A Lockdown Mockumentary poster
7.0

A fully-improvised lockdown mockumentary following the cast and crew of a struggling theater (All Voice IS Theater) in Pigeon Valley, Tennessee. They attempt to prepare the theater to reopen to the public after months of lockdown, encountering setbacks along the way.

RE-OPENING: A Lockdown Mockumentary

2023