Frances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s. Sternhagen, who is of German descent, was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Gertrude and John M. Sternhagen, a U.S. Tax Court judge. He was also a part time singer on the side. Sternhagen was educated at the Madeira and Potomac schools in McLean, Virginia. At Vassar College she was elected head of the Drama Club "after silencing a giggling college crowd at a campus dining hall with her interpretation of a scene from Richard II, playing none other than... Richard himself". She also studied at the Perry Mansfield School of the Theatre, and New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. She met her husband, actor and drama teacher Thomas Carlin , at Catholic University of America. They had six children—Paul , Amanda, Tony, Sarah, Peter, and John—several of whom are also professional actors and musicians.
more