Uta Hagen

Born June 12, 1919, in Göttingen, Germany, Uta Thyra Hagen was the daughter of Thyra A. and Oskar Frank Leonard Hagen. After brief studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the University of Wisconsin, she made her professional debut at 18, playing Ophelia in Le Gallienne's Hamlet. A performance with José Ferrer in The Latitude of Love in Ridgefield, Connecticut led to their marriage; together they appeared in several plays and had a daughter, Leticia. Her second marriage was to Herbert Berghof, a fellow acting teacher at HB Studio. She was a member of the Phoenix Theater. Her published works include "Respect for Acting" (1973) and "A Challenge for the Actor" (1991).

Film credits include "The Boys from Brazil," "Reversal of Fortune," "The Other," "Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There," and "Mary Anthony: A Life in Modern Dance." On television she appeared in "Oz," "King of the Hill," "One Life to Live," "ABC Afterschool Specials," "The Twilight Zone," "Lou Grant," and "American Masters."

Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981, she received a National Medal of Arts in 2002.

Her name derives from a 13th-century statue her father encountered in a Nuremburg cathedral. She also wrote a cookbook, "Love for Cooking."