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Barbara Hershey

Barbara Hershey has showcased her talent in some of Hollywood's most memorable films, television movies, miniseries and series. Hershey, winner of an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for A Killing in a Small Town also garnered unprecedented back-to-back Best Actress Awards at the Cannes Film Festival for her performances in Shy People and A World Apart, as well as an Academy Award Nomination for The Portrait of a Lady.

The 1980's catapulted Hershey's film career to star status. She starred in The Stunt Man with Peter O'Toole; The Right Stuff with Ed Harris, Sam Shepard and Scott Glenn; The Natural with Robert Redford and Robert Duvall; Hannah and Her Sisters with Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine; Hoosiers with Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper; Tin Men with Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito; The Last Temptation of Christ with Willem Dafoe and Harvey Keitel; Beaches with Bette Midler and John Heard and A World Apart with Tim Roth.

She was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance in The Portrait of a Lady with Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich and also starred in Merchant-Ivory's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries and the award-winning Lantana from acclaimed Australian director Ray Lawrence. In 2007 Hershey starred in both The Bird Can't Fly directed by Threes Anna, and Love Comes Lately directed by Jan Schutte, both premiered to critical acclaim at the San Sebastian and Toronto Film Festivals, respectively. Next, Hershey co-starred opposite Jeroen Krabbé as ‘Helene' in Schweitzer, Gavin Millar's biopic of Nobel Peace-Prize winning physician, philosopher and theologian Albert Schweitzer.

In December 2009, Hershey co-starred as the iconic ‘Mrs. Hubbard' in the new film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, part of the new Poirot film series, for ITV with David Suchet. Hershey then co-starred opposite Natalie Portman Darren Aronofsky's much anticipated Black Swan for Fox Searchlight. The film was chosen as the opening night film at this year's Venice Film Festival and will also have its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The film opens on December 1st.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2011.
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Barbara Hershey Facts

Birth NameBarbara Herzstein
OccupationActress
BirthdayFebruary 5, 1948 (76)
SignAquarius
BirthplaceHollywood, California, USA
Height5' 6" (1m68)  How tall is Barbara Hershey compared to you?
Awards1991 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a TV Film (for A Killing in a Small Town)

Selected Filmography

Hoosiers
Sister
Insidious
Last of the Dogmen
The Natural: The Best There Ever Was
Black Swan
Insidious: Chapter 2
The Right Stuff
The Last Temptation of Christ
Beaches
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