Biography: Uta Thyra Hagen was born on June 12, 1919 in Göttingen, Germany to Thyra A. and Oskar Frank Leonard Hagen. She studied for a short time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and at the University of Wisconsin. She made her professional debut as Ophelia in Le Gallienne's Hamlet at the age of 18. She married José Ferrer after performing with him in The Latitude of Love in Ridgefield, Connecticut. They subsequently appeared in several plays together, and had a daughter named Leticia. She then married Herbert Berghof, who taught actors as she did at HB Studio. She was a member of the Phoenix Theater. She wrote "Respect for Acting" in 1973 and "A Challenge for the Actor" in 1991.

Film/TV Credits: Film credits include: "The Boys from Brazil," "Reversal of Fortune," "The Other," "Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There," and "Mary Anthony: A Life in Modern Dance." Television credits include: "Oz," "King of the Hill," "One Life to Live," "ABC Afterschool Specials," "The Twilight Zone," "Lou Grant," and "American Masters."

Other Awards: Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981. Received a National Medal of Arts in 2002.

Trivia:
She is named after a 13th-century statue that her father saw in a Nuremburg cathedral.
She wrote a cook book entitled "Love for Cooking."