Uta Hagan was born on June 12th, 1919.
Uta Thyra Hagen -LRB- 12 June 1919 -- 14 January 2004 -RRB- was an American actress and theatre practitioner .. theatre practitioner. theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?. by Edward Albee -LRB- who called her `` a profoundly truthful actress '' -RRB- .. Edward Albee. Edward Albee. Because Hagen was on the Hollywood blacklist , in part because of her association with Paul Robeson , her film opportunities dwindled and she focused her career on New York theatre .. Paul Robeson. Paul Robeson. Hollywood blacklist. Hollywood blacklist. She later became a highly influential acting teacher at New York 's Herbert Berghof Studio and authored best-selling acting texts , Respect for Acting , with Haskel Frankel , and A Challenge for the Actor .. Herbert Berghof. Herbert Berghof. Respect for Acting. Respect for Acting. A Challenge for the Actor. A Challenge for the Actor. Her most substantial contributions to theatre pedagogy were a series of `` object exercises '' that built on the work of Konstantin Stanislavski and Yevgeny Vakhtangov .. theatre pedagogy. theatre pedagogy. Konstantin Stanislavski. Konstantin Stanislavski. Yevgeny Vakhtangov. Yevgeny Vakhtangov. She was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981 .. American Theatre Hall of Fame. American Theatre Hall of Fame. She twice won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999 .. Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Special Tony Award. Special Tony Award