Uta Hagen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Uta Hagen
Hagen with Paul Robeson in the 1943 Theatre Guild production of Othello
Born	Uta Thyra Hagen (1919-06-12)12 June 1919 Göttingen, Germany
Died	14 January 2004(2004-01-14) (aged 84) New York City, U.S.
Education	University of Wisconsin–Madison, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress, Author
Years active	1937–2001
Spouse(s)	José Ferrer ​ ​ (m. 1938; div. 1948)​ Herbert Berghof ​ ​ (m. 1957; died 1990)​
Children	1

Uta Thyra Hagen (born June 12, 1919 – died January 14, 2004) was a famous German-American actress and theater expert. She was the first to play the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway show Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The play's writer, Edward Albee, called her "a profoundly truthful actress."

For a time, Uta Hagen was on the Hollywood blacklist. This meant she had fewer chances to act in movies. So, she focused her career on live theater in New York. She became a very important acting teacher at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York. She also wrote popular books about acting, like Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor.

Uta Hagen was chosen for the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play two times. In 1999, she received a special Tony Award for her amazing work over her lifetime.

Life and Career Highlights

Early Life and First Roles

Uta Hagen was born in Göttingen, Germany. Her mother, Thyra A. Leisner, was an opera singer. Her father, Oskar Hagen, was an art historian and musician. In 1924, when Uta was five, her family moved to the United States. She grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, where her father taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Uta started acting in high school plays and summer theater. In 1936, she briefly studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She then spent one semester at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1937, she moved to New York City. Her first professional acting job was in 1936. She played Ophelia in Hamlet in Dennis, Massachusetts.

Becoming a Star Actress

Uta Hagen quickly got important roles. At age 18, she played Nina in The Seagull on Broadway. She acted alongside famous actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. She later said they taught her a lot about loving theater and working hard. A critic from The New York Times praised her acting.

She played George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan on Broadway in 1951. She also played Desdemona in Othello with Paul Robeson. Her husband at the time, José Ferrer, played Iago in that show. Later, she took over the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. She acted with different actors playing Stanley Kowalski, including Marlon Brando.

Uta Hagen was best known for her stage roles. She won her first Tony Award in 1951 for her role in The Country Girl. She won again in 1963 for playing Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In 1981, she joined the American Theater Hall of Fame. She received a special Tony Award for her lifetime achievements in 1999.

Teaching and Writing

After 1972, Uta Hagen appeared in some movies. However, the Hollywood blacklist limited her film and TV work. This was a time when some actors were not allowed to work in movies or TV. This was often because of their beliefs or who they knew. Hagen later said this actually helped her focus on pure acting.

She taught acting at HB Studio in New York City. She started teaching there in 1947. In 1957, she married the school's co-founder, Herbert Berghof. Uta Hagen was a very important acting teacher. Many famous actors learned from her. These include Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Lemmon, and Al Pacino. She even coached Judy Garland on a German accent for a movie role.

Later in her life, Hagen returned to the stage. She earned praise for her roles in plays like Mrs. Warren's Profession and Collected Stories. After her husband Herbert Berghof passed away in 1990, she became the head of the HB Studio.

She also wrote two important books about acting: Respect for Acting (1973) and A Challenge for the Actor (1991). These books teach actors to be realistic. They encourage actors to use their own feelings and experiences to understand their characters. In Respect for Acting, she talked about how director Harold Clurman changed her view on acting. He helped her stop using "tricks" and instead be herself in the role.

Uta Hagen also wrote a cookbook called Love for Cooking in 1976. In 2002, President George W. Bush gave her the National Medal of Arts. This is a high honor for artists in the United States.

Students of Uta Hagen

Personal Life

Uta Hagen was married to José Ferrer from 1938 to 1948. They had one daughter named Leticia, born in 1940. They divorced. Uta Hagen then married Herbert Berghof on January 25, 1957. Their marriage lasted 33 years until his death in 1990. Uta Hagen passed away in Greenwich Village in 2004. She had a stroke in 2001.

Work

Awards and Honors

• 1951 Tony Award, Best Actress—Play, for The Country Girl
• 1963 Tony Award, Best Actress—Play, for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Special 1999 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 1999 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2002 National Medal of Arts

Famous Quotes

• "Once in a while, there's stuff that makes me say, 'That's what theatre's about'. It has to be a human event on the stage, and that doesn't happen very often."
• "Awards don't really mean much."