Jean Hagen is a former American actress mostly known for starring in as Lina Lamont. She was also nominated for the Academy Awards and Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress. He role as Margaret Williams (1953-56) on the television series was critically acclaimed and nominated for Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series three times.
She passed away at the age of 54 on.
Hagen was born Jean Shirley Verhagen on , in Chicago. Her father Christian Verhagen was a Dutch immigrant and mother Marie was Chicago-born.
She along with her family moved to Elkhart, Indiana at the age of 12. She attended Elkhart High School and later graduated from in 1945 with a degree in drama. While attending her university, her roommate was actress Patricia Neal. Hagen also worked as an usherette in a theater for some time.
Hagen started her career in the 1940s in radio, where she performed in , and such other programs. She was also featured in the episode of the dramatic Hollywood anthology series in 1952. She also played Betty Webster using her maiden name on
Hagen first appeared on stage in . Later she also acted in many shows like and .
Hagen’s film debut was from 1949 classic . She got her first starring role in along with Sterling Hayden and Marilyn Monroe. For her role as ‘Doll’, she received excellent feedback from the public.
Hagen played the role of a gangster’s nightclub singer girlfriend in the film (1950). Her best performance is regarded as the talentless and vain Lina Lamont in the film for which she received an nomination as the .
Hagen joined the TV show cast alongside Sherry Jackson and Danny Thomas in 1953. Hagen received three nominations for her role as the wife of Danny Thomas. She left the show after three seasons as she grew dissatisfied with the role.
Hagen co-starred in an episode of in 1957. In 1960, she appeared in an episode of as Elizabeth. She also made a guest appearance on .
The late actress was unable to resume her film career in starring roles successfully even-though she made frequent guest appearances in many TV series. She also played the supporting role of personal secretary of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in . She also appeared in as the friend of Bette Davis.
Later in the 60s, Hagen was hospitalized due to the health problem. She made her comeback by the television series and .
Hagen made her final appearance in the movie in in 1977.
Jean was married to late actor Tom Seidel, on June 12, 1947, in Brentwood. Her husband Tom passed away at the age of 75 on December 7, 1992.
The pair had two children together, Christine Patricia Seidel and Aric Philip Seidel (1952-2012).
Besides her marriage, there is no any rumor of her affairs, relationship, boyfriend or anything related to it.
Tom divorced his wife and took the custody of their children in order to prevent his wife from drinking although it didn’t work. By 1968, Hagen’s alcoholism only worsened and lapsed into a coma at UCLA Medical Center. Hagen never drank again after she emerged from coma however she had another health problem: Throat cancer.
On August 29, 1977, Hagen died due to esophageal cancer at the age of 54 at the . She was laid to rest in
The American actress throughout her life played many roles in different movies. Her earnings and net worth may not be revealed to the public but we can assume that she didn’t earn less than a six digit amount.
Jean stood 5 feet 4 inches tall in height, her nationality is American and ethnicity White. Her movies can be found on YouTube.
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