Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Frances Sternhagen

  • Actress
  • Additional Crew
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Frances Sternhagen at an event for Julie & Julia (2009)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:54
Raising Cain (1992)
8 Videos
46 Photos
Raised in Washington, D.C., the great-granddaughter (on her father's side) of German immigrants, Frances Hussey Sternhagen taught acting, singing and dancing to schoolchildren before first performing herself with the Arena Stage Group.

Since then, she has been seen in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. She has been nominated five times for a Tony Award (winning once for her performance in "The Good Doctor"). Other shows in which she appeared include "Equus", "On Golden Pond", "Angel", and "You Can't Take it With You". Among many other appearances Off-Broadway, including the original production of "On Golden Pond", Sternhagen delighted Off-Broadway audiences for over two years with her feisty portrayal of the title character in "Driving Miss Daisy".

Her film debut was in Up the Down Staircase (1967). Since then her credits have included Fedora (1978), Starting Over (1979), Outland (1981) and Communion (1989). She appeared on the long-running television series Cheers (1982) as Esther Clavin, mother of John Ratzenberger's character, the pedagogic know-it-all mailman Cliff Clavin. She played wealthy philanthropist and society matron Millicent Carter, the grandmother of John Carter (Noah Wyle) on ER (1994). She also appeared in episodes of Sex and the City (1998) and Becker (1998).
BornJanuary 13, 1930
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 13, 1930
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
    • 3 wins & 7 nominations total

Photos46

Sean Connery and Frances Sternhagen in Outland (1981)
Sean Connery and Frances Sternhagen in Outland (1981)
Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen in Misery (1990)
Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen in Misery (1990)
Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen in Misery (1990)
Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen in Misery (1990)
Tuesday Weld and Frances Sternhagen in Mother and Daughter: The Loving War (1980)
John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, and Frances Sternhagen in Cheers (1982)
Frances Sternhagen in Tales from the Crypt (1989)
Noah Wyle, Maura Tierney, and Frances Sternhagen in ER (1994)
Frances Sternhagen in ER (1994)
Kristin Davis and Frances Sternhagen in Sex and the City (1998)

Known for

Misery (1990)
Misery
7.8
  • Virginia
  • 1990
Sean Connery in Outland (1981)
Outland
6.6
  • Dr. Marian Lazarus
  • 1981
The Mist (2007)
The Mist
7.1
  • Irene Reppler
  • 2007
Michael J. Fox, Woody Harrelson, and Julie Warner in Doc Hollywood (1991)
Doc Hollywood
6.3
  • Lillian
  • 1991

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton in And So It Goes (2014)
    And So It Goes
    • Claire
    • 2014
  • Kyra Sedgwick, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Robert Gossett, J.K. Simmons, Jon Tenney, and Corey Reynolds in The Closer (2005)
    The Closer
    • Willie Ray Johnson
    • TV Series
    • 2006–2012
  • Pearl (2012)
    Pearl
    • Pearl
    • Short
    • 2012
  • Bonnie Bedelia, Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter, Joy Bryant, Erika Christensen, Lauren Graham, Sam Jaeger, Peter Krause, Mae Whitman, Dax Shepard, Max Burkholder, Miles Heizer, Tyree Brown, Savannah Paige Rae, and Xolo Maridueña in Parenthood (2010)
    Parenthood
    • Blanche Braverman
    • TV Series
    • 2012
  • Dolphin Tale (2011)
    Dolphin Tale
    • Gloria Forrest
    • 2011
  • Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in Julie & Julia (2009)
    Julie & Julia
    • Irma Rombauer
    • 2009
  • The Mist (2007)
    The Mist
    • Irene Reppler
    • 2007
  • Terry Farrell, Ted Danson, Alex Désert, Shawnee Smith, and Hattie Winston in Becker (1998)
    Becker
    • Naomi
    • TV Series
    • 2004
  • George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, Ming-Na Wen, Noah Wyle, Laura Innes, Alex Kingston, Eriq La Salle, Kellie Martin, Paul McCrane, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, Maura Tierney, and Goran Visnjic in ER (1994)
    ER
    • Millicent Carter
    • TV Series
    • 1997–2003
  • Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City (1998)
    Sex and the City
    • Bunny MacDougal
    • TV Series
    • 2000–2002
  • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
    The Simpsons
    • Mrs. Bellamy (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2002
  • Jared Leto, Selma Blair, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Highway (2002)
    Highway
    • Mrs. Murray
    • 2002
  • The Laramie Project (2002)
    The Laramie Project
    • Marge Murray
    • TV Movie
    • 2002
  • Landfall
    • Emily Thornton
    • 2001
  • Billy Campbell in The Rising Place (2001)
    The Rising Place
    • Ruth Wilder
    • 2001

Additional Crew

  • It Takes a Lunatic (2019)
    It Takes a Lunatic
    • contributor
    • 2019

Soundtrack

  • Kyra Sedgwick, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Robert Gossett, J.K. Simmons, Jon Tenney, and Corey Reynolds in The Closer (2005)
    The Closer
    • performer: "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 2007

Videos8

Trailer
Trailer 1:05
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:09
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Official Trailer
Raising Cain
Trailer 1:54
Raising Cain
Outland
Trailer 2:51
Outland
Raising Cain
Trailer 1:46
Raising Cain
Communion
Trailer 1:49
Communion
Dolphin Tale
Featurette 2:32
Dolphin Tale

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Francis Sternhagen
  • Height
    • 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
  • Born
    • January 13, 1930
    • Washington, District of Columbia, USA
  • Spouse
    • Thomas A. CarlinFebruary 13, 1956 - May 6, 1991 (his death, 6 children)
  • Parents
      John M. Sternhagen
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Ethel Thayer") in "On Golden Pond" on Broadway.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Starring in Steel Magnolias on Broadway as Clairee Belcher (the role played by Olympia Dukakis in the film version of the play).
  • Quotes
    If I didn't have my family I would be so lonely. The theater and acting are so artificial that I would go crazy if that was all I had.
  • Trademarks
      Often plays characters who have a cynical attitude.

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
Photos
IMDb's Top Picks for May
See the list
Production art
Photos
The Best Pics of the Week
See the gallery

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Frances Sternhagen’s work you have seen. Go to your list.
Production art
Photos
IMDb's 2023 Summer Movie Guide
See the list

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.