Tony Award-winning actor Francis Sternhagen, best known for her Broadway success and recurring Sex and the City appearances, has died aged 93.
Key points:
- Francis Sternhagen died on Monday, as confirmed by her son and representatives
- The actor is most recognisable as her recurring characters in TV shows Cheers and Sex and The City
- She won two Tony Awards throughout her career for her work in theatre
The stage and screen star died at her New York home on Monday night, according to a statement from her son, John Carlin.
"Frannie. Mom. Frances Sternhagen. On Monday night, Nov 27, she died peacefully at her home, a month and a half shy of her 94th birthday," he said.
"I'm very lucky I was able to call her my mum, my friend, my song and dance partner. We were together last week, and we spoke Monday afternoon, said how much we loved and missed one another."
"Fly on, Frannie. The curtain goes down on a life so richly, passionately, humbly and generously lived."
Sternhagen’s publicist confirmed she was in New Rochelle, New York, at the time of her death.
Sternhagen won a Tony for best featured actress in a play in 1974 for her role in Neil Simon's The Good Doctor, and a second one in 1995 for a revival of The Heiress. Her last turn on Broadway was in Seascape in 2005.
She gathered four other Tony nominations over her illustrious stage career for starring or featured roles in The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Equus, Angel and Morning's at Seven.
TV viewers knew her for playing the rich grandmother of Dr John Carter (Noah Wyle) in the long-running ER. On Cheers she was the know-it-all mother of postman Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) — the role brought her two Emmy nominations.
More recently, she had a recurring role in Sex and the City as Bunny MacDougal, the strong-minded mother-in-law of Charlotte (Kristin Davis), which earned her a third Emmy nomination.
Between her more recognisable feature television roles, Sternhagen lent cameos to shows ranging from 90s horror anthology Tales from the Crypt to a 2002 episode of The Simpsons where she voiced wealthy recluse Mrs Bellamy.
Playwright Paul Rudnick called her "a wonderful actress, capable of the highest comedy and deeply moving drama". She was, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "an indelible presence".
The Walking Dead actor Jay Huguley also took to social media to remember Sternhagen's impact on theatre lovers.
"I was fortunate enough to see this great actor in so many plays. Often sitting in between my parents," he said.
"It had such a deep impression on me as a young actor to see this woman always be great in so many different parts."
Sternhagen was born in 1930 in Washington, DC, where her father was a tax court judge. As a child, she loved to perform — she recalled herself as "a shameful show-off" — but she never considered an acting career. She entered Vassar College as a history major, but a friendly teacher suggested another direction: acting.
After graduation she taught drama, modern dance and singing outside Boston, earning $2,000 for the year before deciding to pursue work in the theatre.
She met her husband, actor Thomas A Carlin, while appearing in a production in Maryland. He died of heart failure in 1991.
She did not let her pregnancies interfere much with her work schedule, explaining that as an only child, "I always longed for a big family".
She and Carlin had four sons — Paul, Tony, Peter and John — and two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. She also is survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
"A celebration of her remarkable career and life is planned for mid-January, near her 94th birthday," said a statement from her family. "We continue to be inspired by her love and life."
AP/ABC