Jean Hagen (August 3, 1923 - August 29, 1977) was an American film actress.
Hagen was born as Jean Shirley Verhagen in Chicago, Illinois, to Dutch immigrant Christian Verhagen (10 August 1890 - April 1983) and his Chicago-born wife, Marie (b. 25 May 1896). The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana when she was 12 and she subsequently graduated from Elkhart High School. She studied drama and worked as a theater usherette before making her Broadway thea...
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Jean Hagen (August 3, 1923 - August 29, 1977) was an American film actress.
Hagen was born as Jean Shirley Verhagen in Chicago, Illinois, to Dutch immigrant Christian Verhagen (10 August 1890 - April 1983) and his Chicago-born wife, Marie (b. 25 May 1896). The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana when she was 12 and she subsequently graduated from Elkhart High School. She studied drama and worked as a theater usherette before making her Broadway theatre debut in Another Part of the Forest in 1946.
Her film debut was as a femme fatale in Adam's Rib in 1949. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) provided Hagen with her first starring role beside Sterling Hayden, and excellent reviews. She is arguably best remembered for her comic performance in Singin' in the Rain. As the vain and talentless silent movie star Lina Lamont, Hagen received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. MGM failed to provide her with a quality follow up role to enable her to build on her growing popularity.
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