Uta Hagen (1919–2004,) fully Uta Thyra Hagen, was a German-born American actress and theatre practitioner. She was a notable Method actor and a mentor on improvisation.
Born in Göttingen, Germany, Hagen was the daughter of an art historian. She immigrated to America with her family in 1924 and grew up in Wisconsin. After brief studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, she made her Broadway début in 1938 as Nina in The Seagull. It was the first of a series of notable performances, others being her Desdemona opposite artist and political activist Paul Robeson in Othello in 1943 (Hollywood blacklisted her during the McCarthy era because of her friendship with Robeson) and the title role in Saint Joan in 1951. Her film opportunities waned, and she redirected her career in New York theatre.
Hagen also introduced the role of Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962.) A dedicated acting coach, she devoted much time from 1947 to the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York, a drama school founded with Herbert Berghof (1909–90,) her second husband. There, she began developing and teaching acting methods that continue to inspire generations of artists. Her Respect for Acting (1973) remains a standard text in many acting schools.
Hagen returned to the stage in Mrs. Klein (1995) at an off-Broadway theatre. She twice won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2002.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Uta Hagen
We must overcome the notion that we must be regular…it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.
—Uta Hagen
Topics: Being True to Yourself
Talent is an amalgam of high sensitivity; easy vulnerability; high sensory equipment (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting—intensely); a vivid imagination as well as a grip on reality; the desire to communicate one’s own experience and sensations, to make one’s self heard and seen.
—Uta Hagen
Topics: Talent
More than in any other performing arts the lack of respect for acting seems to spring from the fact that every layman considers himself a valid critic.
—Uta Hagen
Topics: Actors, Acting
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Cicely Tyson American Actress
Mia Farrow American Actress, Activist
Jane Fonda American Actress
Carrie Fisher American Actress
Julianne Moore American Actor
Gloria Stuart American Actress
Lena Horne American Singer, Actress
Dolly Parton American Musician, Actress
Lily Tomlin American Comedy Actress
Patricia Neal American Actress