Barbara Hershey

'Barbara Hershey' (qv) was born Barbara Lynn Herzstein in Hollywood, California, to Melrose (Moore) and Arnold Nathan Herzstein, a horse racing columnist. Her father, born in Manhattan, was from a Jewish family (from Hungary and Russia), and her mother, originally from Arkansas, had English and Scots-Irish ancestry. Hershey was raised in a small bungalow, and had aspirations of being an actress from her earliest memories.The multi-award-winning actress has been in some of Hollywood's most memorable films. She has been a winner of an Emmy and a Golden Globe for _A Killing in a Small Town (1990)_ (qv). She won two consecutive Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival, (which is unprecedented) for _Shy People (1987)_ (qv) and _A World Apart (1988)_ (qv). She won a Gemini Award for _Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008)_ (qv) for PBS and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Vienna International Film Festival.Hershey was nominated for an Academy Award for _The Portrait of a Lady (1996)_ (qv).She's worked with some of the world's great directors, among them: 'Martin Scorsese' (qv), 'William Wyler' (qv), 'Woody Allen' (qv), 'Jane Campion' (qv) and 'Darren Aronofsky' (qv).The versatile actress was first discovered by a talent agent while she was attending Hollywood High School. She began working in television, _The Monroes (1966)_ (qv), and film, _With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)_ (qv), with 'Doris Day' (qv). And with roles in _The Baby Maker (1970)_ (qv) and _Boxcar Bertha (1972)_ (qv), Hershey quickly advanced to starring roles.The 1980's catapulted Hershey's film career, when she starred in _The Stunt Man (1980)_ (qv) with 'Peter O'Toole' (qv), _The Entity (1982)_ (qv), _The Right Stuff (1983)_ (qv), _The Natural (1984)_ (qv) with 'Robert Redford' (qv), _Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)_ (qv) with 'Woody Allen' (qv), _Hoosiers (1986)_ (qv) with 'Gene Hackman' (qv), _Tin Men (1987)_ (qv), _Shy People (1987)_ (qv), _The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)_ (qv), _A World Apart (1988)_ (qv) and _Beaches (1988)_ (qv) with 'Bette Midler' (qv).Hershey returned to television in 1990 with her highly-lauded performance in _A Killing in a Small Town (1990)_ (qv), _Paris Trout (1991)_ (qv), _Return to Lonesome Dove (1993)_ (qv), the British mini-series, _Daniel Deronda (2002)_ (qv) and the last season of _Chicago Hope (1994)_ (qv).During the same period, Hershey remained active in features. She was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for _The Portrait of a Lady (1996)_ (qv). She also starred in Merchant-Ivory's _A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)_ (qv) and the award-winning Australian film, _Lantana (2001)_ (qv).In the 2010 years, Hershey has performed in 'James Wan' (qv)'s cult-hit, _Insidious (2010)_ (qv) and 'Darren Aronofsky' (qv)'s award-winning _Black Swan (2010)_ (qv), playing 'Natalie Portman' (qv)'s insane mother.Hershey resides in Los Angeles.::Impression Entertainment