Barbara Hershey

Her five favourite films of all time are The Wizard of Oz (1939), Bicycle Thieves (1948), Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964), Raging Bull (1980) and The Ballad of Narayama (1983).

She began working in television, The Monroes (1966), and film, With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), with Doris Day.

Had frequently enjoyed working with her acting mentor Doris Day in the movie With Six You Get Eggroll (1968) and shared her company with her, in real-life. After her mentor's death, Hershey said she wished her 19 year-old self knew enough to talk with Day, about her love of animals, which she shared more and more as time went on.

And with roles in The Baby Maker (1970) and Boxcar Bertha (1972), Hershey quickly advanced to starring roles.

The 1980's catapulted Hershey's film career, when she starred in The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O'Toole, The Entity (1982), The Right Stuff (1983), The Natural (1984) with Robert Redford, Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) with Woody Allen, Hoosiers (1986) with Gene Hackman, Tin Men (1987), Shy People (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), A World Apart (1988) and Beaches (1988) with Bette Midler.

She has appeared in two films selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Right Stuff (1983) and Hoosiers (1986).

She won two consecutive Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival, (which is unprecedented) for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988).

She gave the book of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) to Martin Scorsese, while filming Boxcar Bertha (1972) with him.

Barbara Hershey 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).

Hershey returned to television in 1990 with her highly-lauded performance in A Killing in a Small Town (1990), Paris Trout (1991), Return to Lonesome Dove (1993), the British mini-series, Daniel Deronda (2002) and the last season of Chicago Hope (1994). During the same period, Hershey remained active in features.

Was considered to play as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (1992) but turned it down.

Hershey was nominated for an Academy Award for The Portrait of a Lady (1996). She's worked with some of the world's great directors, among them: Martin Scorsese, William Wyler, Woody Allen, Jane Campion and Darren Aronofsky. The versatile actress was first discovered by a talent agent while she was attending Hollywood High School.

She was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for The Portrait of a Lady (1996).

She also starred in Merchant-Ivory's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998) and the award-winning Australian film, Lantana (2001).

Met ex-boyfriend Naveen Andrews on the set of Drowning on Dry Land (1999). They were together until late 2009, although they split for a brief time in 2005 during which Naveen fathered a child, Naveen Joshua.

The first (and as of 2006 the only) performer to win back to back acting awards at the Cannes Film Festival.

As of 2007, she is the only woman to be cast twice in a major role in a movie by Martin Scorsese. The two movies are The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Boxcar Bertha (1972).

She won a Gemini Award for Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008) for PBS and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Vienna International Film Festival.

Lived until late 2009 with her then partner, actor Naveen Andrews from the TV series Lost (2004) , who is 21 years her junior.

As of 2014, has appeared in three films which were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Right Stuff (1983), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Black Swan (2010).

Former singer, actress and future Animal rights activist Doris Day took her under her wing, when Hershey was 20. Their friendship lasted for 51 years until Day's death in 2019.