Barbara Hershey
Known for
An American actress with a long career spanning free-spirited youth roles to formidable maternal figures. She rose to prominence in the 1970s and delivered acclaimed dramatic work in 'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986), 'A World Apart' (1988) and Martin Scorsese's 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (1988). A later generation knows her as the fearsome ballet mother in 'Black Swan' (2010) and the medium Elise in the 'Insidious' films. Twice honored at Cannes, she has moved gracefully between arthouse drama and horror. She is an American actress of quiet intensity and remarkable durability.
Barbara Hershey
63 Movies
22 Series
An American actress with a long career spanning free-spirited youth roles to formidable maternal figures. She rose to prominence in the 1970s and delivered acclaimed dramatic work in 'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986), 'A World Apart' (1988) and Martin Scorsese's 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (1988). A later generation knows her as the fearsome ballet mother in 'Black Swan' (2010) and the medium Elise in the 'Insidious' films. Twice honored at Cannes, she has moved gracefully between arthouse drama and horror. She is an American actress of quiet intensity and remarkable durability.
Movies
Plays Erica Sayers / The Queen
Black Swan
2010
Plays Lorraine Lambert
Insidious
2011
Plays Beth
Falling Down
1993
Plays Lorraine Lambert
Insidious: Chapter 2
2013
Plays Lorraine Lambert
Insidious: The Last Key
2018
Plays Genevieve
Strange Darling
2024
Plays Carla Moran
The Entity
1982
Plays Mary Magdalene
The Last Temptation of Christ
1988
Plays Harriet Bird
The Natural
1984
Plays Glennis Yeager
The Right Stuff
1983
Plays Lee
Hannah and Her Sisters
1986
Plays Norma
11:14
2004
Plays Myra Fleener
Hoosiers
1986
Plays Hillary Whitney Essex
Beaches
1988
Plays Madame Serena Merle
The Portrait of a Lady
1996
Plays Lacey
9 Bullets
2022
Plays Nora Tilley
Tin Men
1987
Plays Judith
The Manor
2021
Plays Frau Müller
Swing Kids
1993
Plays Boxcar Bertha
Boxcar Bertha
1972
Plays Violet Drax
The 9th Life of Louis Drax
2016
Plays Connie
Sister
2014
Plays Ruth
Shy People
1987
Plays Sandy
Last Summer
1969
Plays Susan Burgade
The Last Hard Men
1976
Plays Nina Franklin
The Stunt Man
1980
Plays Celia Hoover
Breakfast of Champions
1999
Plays Jean Parker
Riding the Bullet
2004
Plays Frances
A Dangerous Woman
1993
Plays Duchess Lucinda
Splitting Heirs
1993
Plays Prof. Lillian Diane Sloan
Last of the Dogmen
1995
Plays Kay Levitz
The Public Eye
1992
Plays Stacy Iverson
With Six You Get Eggroll
1968
Plays Ruth Abernathy
The Pallbearer
1996
Plays Nella Mundine
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
1970
Plays Valerie Somers
Lantana
2001
Plays Diana Roth
A World Apart
1988
Plays Marcella Willis
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
1998
Plays Jane Margaret ("J.M.") Halstead
Take This Job and Shove It
1981
Plays Leloopa
Heaven with a Gun
1969
Plays Thelma 'T.K.' Knudsen Katwuller
Defenseless
1991
Plays Zanni (as Barbara Seagull)
The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder
1974
Plays Angela
Angela – Love Comes Quietly
1973
Plays Jane Kauffman
The Pursuit of Happiness
1971
Plays Aunt Julia
Tune in Tomorrow...
1990
Plays Hilda
Uncross the Stars
2008
Plays Susan
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
1972
Plays Eva Santana
Frogs for Snakes
1998
Plays Jess's Daughter
Americana
1981
Plays Helene Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
2009
TV Shows
Plays Kathy Monroe
The Monroes
1966
Plays Cora / Queen of Hearts
Once Upon a Time
2011
Plays Gennie Carver
The Mountain
2004
Plays Ann Rutledge
Damien
2016
Plays Byrd Forsythe
Paradise Lost
2020
Plays Clara Allen
Return to Lonesome Dove
1993
Plays Erika Price
The X-Files
1993
Plays Madelaine
A Man Called Intrepid
1979
Plays Nan Chi
Kung Fu
1972
Plays Sophie
Beacon 23
2023
Plays Sarah
Abraham
1994
Plays Jessie Dean
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1985
Plays The Maid
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
Plays Saro-Jane
Run for Your Life
1965
Plays Dinah Hubbard
Daniel Boone
1964
Plays Moonfire
The High Chaparral
1967
Plays Cora Mills
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
2013
Plays Beth Ferguson
The Invaders
1967
Plays Caroline Hubbard
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
Plays Contessa Maria Alcharisi
Daniel Deronda
2002
Plays Call Girl
American Playhouse
1982
Plays Older Anne Shirley
Anne of Green Gables
1985
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Strange Darling
Full Filmography
Krung Thep
The Woman
2026
Film
Woodstockers
Rebecca
2026
Film
Strange Darling
Genevieve
2024
Film
Beacon 23
Sophie · 2 episodes
2023
TV
9 Bullets
Lacey
2022
Film
The Manor
Judith
2021
Film
Paradise Lost
Byrd Forsythe · 10 episodes
2020–
TV
Insidious: The Last Key
Lorraine Lambert
2018
Film
Damien
Ann Rutledge · 10 episodes
2016
TV
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Barbara Hershey and where are they from?
Barbara Hershey is 78 years old, born on February 5, 1948 in Hollywood, California, USA.
What are the most famous roles of Barbara Hershey?
Barbara Hershey is best known for roles in Black Swan, Insidious, Insidious: Chapter 2.
How many movies has Barbara Hershey been in?
Over a 58-year career (since 1968), Barbara Hershey has appeared in 63 movies and 22 TV shows.
What was Barbara Hershey's first movie?
The career of Barbara Hershey began with With Six You Get Eggroll (1968).
What is Barbara Hershey's most recent movie or series?
Barbara Hershey's most recent release is Krung Thep, which premiered on March 30, 2026.
What TV shows has Barbara Hershey appeared in?
On television, Barbara Hershey has appeared in The X-Files, Once Upon a Time, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Kung Fu.
Barbara Hershey
1948-02-05 · Hollywood, California, USA
Barbara Hershey (born Barbara Lynn Herzstein; February 5, 1948) is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including westerns and comedies. She began acting at age 17 in 1965 but did not achieve much critical acclaim until the latter half of the 1980s. By that time, the Chicago Tribune referred to her as "one of America's finest actresses".
Hershey won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries/TV Film for her role in A Killing in a Small Town (1990). She received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary Magdalene in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and for her role in The Portrait of a Lady (1996). For the latter film, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has won two Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival for her roles in Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988). She was featured in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), for which she was nominated for the British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and Garry Marshall's melodrama Beaches (1988), and she earned a second British Academy Film Award nomination for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010).Barbara Hershey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.