Barbara Hershey
- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- February 5, 1948 in Hollywood, California, USA
- Active Years
- 1953–2026 (74 Years)
- Total Credits
- 129 credits in database
Biography
Barbara Hershey is an American actress born Barbara Lynn Herzstein on February 5, 1948, in Hollywood, California. Her acting career spans more than 50 years, during which she has played a variety of roles in cinema and on television across several genres, including westerns and comedies. She began her acting career at age 17 in 1965. She has known credits in 128 projects for acting. Later in her career, she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in the television film A Killing in a Small Town, which was released in 1990. She also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene.
Career overview
Barbara Hershey, born Barbara Lynn Herzstein on February 5, 1948, in Hollywood, California, is an American actress whose career spans more than fifty years. Active in the television and film industries, she has performed across several genres, including westerns and comedies. Beginning her acting career at the age of seventeen in 1965, she did not achieve widespread critical acclaim until the latter half of the 1980s. By that period, the Chicago Tribune referred to her as one of America's finest actresses.
Hershey won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in A Killing in a Small Town in 1990. Additionally, she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene. Her extensive body of work includes 128 known acting credits across movies and television shows on The Movie Database platform.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full Filmography
129 titles- Woodstockers (2026) as Rebecca
- Krung Thep (2026) as The Woman
- Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies (2025) as Self - (archive footage)
- Strange Darling (2024) as Genevieve
- Beacon 23 (2023) as Sophie
- 9 Bullets (2022) as Lacey
- The Manor (2021) as Judith
- Paradise Lost (2020) as Byrd Forsythe
- The Happy Days of Garry Marshall (2020) as Self
- Insidious: The Last Key (2018) as Lorraine Lambert
- Once Upon a Time: And They Lived Happily Ever After (2018) as Self
- Damien (2016) as Ann Rutledge
- The 9th Life of Louis Drax (2016) as Violet Drax
- The Natural: The Best There Ever Was (2016) as Self
- Damien: Behind the Scenes (2016) as Self
- Childless (2015) as Natalie
- Sister (2014) as Connie
- Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) as Lorraine Lambert
- Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013) as Cora Mills
- Left to Die (2012) as Sandra Chase
- Once Upon a Time (2011) as Cora / Queen of Hearts
- Insidious (2011) as Lorraine Lambert
- Answers to Nothing (2011) as Marilyn
- Black Swan (2010) as Erica Sayers / The Queen
- Albert Schweitzer - Anatomie eines Heiligen (2010) as Helene Schweitzer
- Albert Schweitzer (2009) as Helene Schweitzer
- Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008) as Older Anne Shirley
- Uncross the Stars (2008) as Hilda
- The Bird Can't Fly (2008) as Melody
- Love Comes Lately (2007) as Rosalie
- The Entity Files (2005) as Self
- 11:14 (2004) as Norma
- Paradise (2004) as Elizabeth Paradise
- The Mountain (2004) as Gennie Carver
- Riding the Bullet (2004) as Jean Parker
- The Stranger Beside Me (2003) as Ann Rule
- Experiments in Terror (2003)
- Hunger Point (2003) as Marsha Hunter
- Realizing The Right Stuff (2003) as Self
- V Graham Norton (2002) as Self
- Daniel Deronda (2002) as Contessa Maria Alcharisi
- The Nature of Lantana (2002) as Self
- Lantana (2001) as Valerie Somers
- The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man (2000)
- Outer Space (1999) as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Breakfast of Champions (1999) as Celia Hoover
- Drowning on Dry Land (1999) as Kate
- Passion (1999) as Rose Grainger
- Frogs for Snakes (1998) as Eva Santana
- A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998) as Marcella Willis
- The Staircase (1998) as Mother Madalyn
- Portrait: Jane Campion and The Portrait of a Lady (1997) as Self
- The Portrait of a Lady (1996) as Madame Serena Merle
- The Pallbearer (1996) as Ruth Abernathy
- Last of the Dogmen (1995) as Prof. Lillian Diane Sloan
- Chicago Hope (1994) as Francesca Alberghetti
- Abraham (1994) as Sarah
- The X-Files (1993) as Erika Price
- Falling Down (1993) as Beth
- A Dangerous Woman (1993) as Frances
- Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) as Clara Allen
- Swing Kids (1993) as Frau Müller
- Abraham (1993) as Sara
- Splitting Heirs (1993) as Duchess Lucinda
- Stay the Night (1992) as Jimmie Sue Finger
- The Public Eye (1992) as Kay Levitz
- Defenseless (1991) as Thelma 'T.K.' Knudsen Katwuller
- Paris Trout (1991) as Hanna Trout
- Martin Scorsese Directs (1990) as Self
- A Killing in a Small Town (1990) as Candy Morrison
- Tune in Tomorrow... (1990) as Aunt Julia
- Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) as Caroline Hubbard
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) as Mary Magdalene
- Beaches (1988) as Hillary Whitney Essex
- Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988) as Self
- A World Apart (1988) as Diana Roth
- Passion Flower (1987) as Julia Gaitland
- Shy People (1987) as Ruth
- Tin Men (1987) as Nora Tilley
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) as Lee
- Hoosiers (1986) as Myra Fleener
- The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) as Jessie Dean
- Anne of Green Gables (1985) as Older Anne Shirley
- My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985) as Lili Damita
- The Natural (1984) as Harriet Bird
- The Right Stuff (1983) as Glennis Yeager
- The Nightingale (1983) as The Maid
- American Playhouse (1982) as Call Girl
- American Playhouse (1982) as Lenore
- Faerie Tale Theatre (1982) as The Maid
- The Entity (1982) as Carla Moran
- Twilight Theater II (1982) as Self- Guest
- Working (1982) as Call Girl
- Americana (1981) as Jess's Daughter
- Take This Job and Shove It (1981) as Jane Margaret ("J.M.") Halstead
- From Here to Eternity (1980) as Karen Holmes
- The Stunt Man (1980) as Nina Franklin
- Angel on My Shoulder (1980) as Julie
- A Man Called Intrepid (1979) as Madelaine
- Sunshine Christmas (1977) as Cody Blanks
- Flood! (1977) as Mary Cutler
- In the Glitter Palace (1977) as Ellen Lange
- Just a Little Inconvenience (1977) as Nikki Klausing
- The Last Hard Men (1976) as Susan Burgade
- Trial by Combat (1976) as Marion Evans
- Diamonds (1975) as Sally
- You and Me (1975) as Waitress
- The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974) as Zanni (as Barbara Seagull)
- Angela – Love Comes Quietly (1973) as Angela
- Boxcar Bertha (1972) as Boxcar Bertha
- Kung Fu (1972) as Nan Chi
- Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972) as Susan
- The Pursuit of Happiness (1971) as Jane Kauffman
- The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970) as Nella Mundine
- The Baby Maker (1970) as Tish Gray
- Last Summer (1969) as Sandy
- Heaven with a Gun (1969) as Leloopa
- The Dick Cavett Show (1968) as Self - Guest
- With Six You Get Eggroll (1968) as Stacy Iverson
- The Invaders (1967) as Beth Ferguson
- The High Chaparral (1967) as Moonfire
- CBS Playhouse (1966) as Claire Gray
- The Monroes (1966) as Kathy Monroe
- Run for Your Life (1965) as Saro-Jane
- Gidget (1965)
- Daniel Boone (1964) as Dinah Hubbard
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) as Self
- The Oscars (1953) as Self
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Barbara Hershey best known for?
Barbara Hershey is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including Strange Darling (2024), The Manor (2021), The Happy Days of Garry Marshall (2020), Insidious: The Last Key (2018).
When and where was Barbara Hershey born?
Barbara Hershey was born on February 5, 1948 in Hollywood, California, USA.
How many credits does Barbara Hershey have?
Barbara Hershey has accumulated over 129 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1953 to 2026.
What is Barbara Hershey's background in cinema and television?
Barbara Hershey is an American actress born Barbara Lynn Herzstein on February 5, 1948, in Hollywood, California. Her acting career spans more than 50 years, during which she has played a variety of roles in cinema and on television across several genres, including westerns and comedies. She began her acting career at ...
Barbara Hershey by the numbers
Age in their best-rated roles
- Anne of Green Gables (1985) as Older Anne Shirley — aged about 37
- The X-Files (1993) as Erika Price — aged about 45
- Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989) as Caroline Hubbard — aged about 41
- Faerie Tale Theatre (1982) as The Maid — aged about 34
- The Happy Days of Garry Marshall (2020) as Self — aged about 72
- Trial by Combat (1976) as Marion Evans — aged about 28
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