Jean Hagen Biography

QUICK FACTS
Activity Actress
Real name Jean Shirley Verhagen
Nationality USA
Birth August 3, 1923 (Chicago, Illinois – United States)
Death August 29, 1977
BIOGRAPHY
Actress Jean Shirley Verhagen, better known as Jean Hagen , was born on August 3, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The daughter of a Dutch immigrant, she moved with her family to Elkhart, Indiana when she was twelve years old. She studied theater at Northwestern University, where she was roommates with actress Patricia Neal. She began her career in the late 1940s, performing on radio shows. She participated in Broadway plays and made her film debut in 1949 with a role in the film Adam’s Rib . The following year she earned her first leading role when she played Sterling Hayden in the film noir classic The Asphalt Jungle (1950). Her most recognized performance was her performance as Lina Lamont in the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952), a work that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The following year she participated in the television series Make Room for Daddy (1953), for which she was nominated for three Emmy Awards. She guest starred on shows such as Alfred Hitchcock (1955), The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Caravan (1957) and Starsky and Hutch (1975). She also had supporting roles in Dawn at Campobello (1960) and Her Own Victim (1964). Her last project was the television film Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn. She died on August 29, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, United States, due to esophageal cancer that she suffered from.