Ernestine Barrier

Ernestine Barrier (née Spratt; March 19, 1908 – February 13, 1989) was an American actress whose career spanned stage, film, and television across several decades. Born into a theatrical family, she made her first stage appearance at approximately six months of age, carried onstage by her mother, Ernestine "Nesta" De Becker, herself a working actress and sister of Marie De Becker. That early exposure to the stage shaped a career that would extend well into Barrier's eighties.

During the 1930s, Barrier performed on Broadway under the stage name Ernestine De Becker, a name she adopted from her mother's maiden name. Her Broadway credits from that period include Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, Jean Giraudoux's Amphitryon 38, Robert E. Sherwood's Idiot's Delight, Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and Late One Evening, written by Audrey Carten and Waveney Carten. In 1946, she returned to Broadway performing under her married name, Ernestine Barrier, in On Whitman Avenue.

Her film work includes a notable role as a female president in the science fiction film Project Moonbase (1953). She also appeared in two feature films released in 1956: Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas, and The Bottom of the Bottle, which featured Van Johnson and Joseph Cotten.

Barrier's television career brought her roles on several prominent series, including The Waltons, Charlie's Angels, and CHiPs. She also appeared in the 1978 television film A Family Upside Down, alongside Helen Hayes and Fred Astaire.