Sex and the City star Frances Sternhagen is dead at 93 as family claims they will stay inspired by her ‘love and life’. How she died, her career, fortune, and untold facts explored.
The world has lost yet again one of the prolific movie stars.
Frances Sternhagen (real name: Frances Hussey Sternhagen) made a name for herself in the entertainment industry as an actress with a number of films under her belt.
She was best known as a character actress who appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on television over the course of her six-decade career.
On November 27, 2023, the death of Sternhagen, who played Bunny MacDougal on ‘Sex and the City,’ was announced to the world by her family.
Following the unfortunate news, many want to know more about her cause of death, career, movies, TV shows, net worth, and more.
What was Frances Sternhagen’s cause of death?
Sex and the City guest star Frances Sternhagen has been confirmed dead.
She died on November 27, 2023, at the age of 93.
Her passing reportedly happened in New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Sternhagen died peacefully of natural causes on Monday, according to her family.
Her son Tony Carlin confirmed the death.
In a family statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, they wrote: “We continue to be inspired by her love and life.”
Survivors include her six children; Paul, Amanda, Tony, Sarah, Peter, and John.
Who was Frances Sternhagen? She had an impressive career
Frances Sternhagen was born on January 13, 1930, in Washington, D.C., United States.
The demise actress, whose birthname is Frances Hussey Sternhagen, was born into a well-to-do family. Her father was the tax court judge John M. Sternhagen and her mother was a homemaker who served as a nurse during World War I.
She was educated at the Madeira and Potomac schools in McLean, Virginia. At Vassar College, she was elected head of the Drama Club “after silencing a giggling college crowd at a campus dining hall with her interpretation of a scene from Richard II, playing none other than Richard himself”. She attended the Catholic University of America as a graduate student. She also studied at the Perry Mansfield School of the Theatre, and at New York City’s Neighborhood Playhouse.
The two-time Tony Award-winning actress was also known for her roles in Cheers, On Golden Pond, and The Heiress.
Though a star on the stage, Sternhagen is best known for playing a pair of mothers on television.
Bunny MacDougal on HBO’s Sex and the City and Esther Clavin on NBC’s Cheers.
Performances for which she received Emmy nominations.
“I must say it’s fun to play these snobby older ladies,” Sternhagen revealed during a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times.
She continued: “It’s always more fun to be obnoxious.
“I have known women like that, and I can imitate them, I guess.”
Sternberger debuted as Esther Clavin on the fifth season of Cheers as the mother of the postman Cliff, played by John Ratzenberger.
The character, like her son, had a knack for spouting obscure trivia facts.
In Sex and the City, she played the role of Bunny the mother of Kyle MacLachlan’s character Trey.
Her motherly, over-protectiveness put her at odds with Trey’s new bride, Charlotte played by series star Kristin Davis.
Sternhagen garnered her first Tony in 1974 for her work in the original production of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor.
Over twenty years later she won again in 1995 for playing the widowed Aunt Lavinia opposite stage actress Cherry Jones in a revival of The Heiress.
She received a Tony nomination for originating the role of Ethel Thayer in the 1979 Broadway production of On Golden Pond.
Sternhagen was again nominated for a Tony in 1996 for portraying Dora Strang, the mother of an emotionally disturbed son, in Equus.
The actress collected several more nominations for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window in 1972, Angel in 1978, and Morning’s at Seven in 2002.
In 2001, Sternhagen confessed that it was through “working on characters in plays that I’ve learned about myself, about how people operate.”
“Do what you love, whatever that is,” she stated before adding, “And if you’re able to make a living at what you love to do, you’re terribly lucky.”
What was Frances Sternhagen’s net worth?
The late American movie star had a successful career that spanned over 6 decades from 1951 to 2014.
Throughout those years, not only did she take up challenging roles but she accumulated impressive fortune for herself.
At the time of her death, Frances Sternhagen was estimated to have a staggering net worth of between $1 million and $3 million. She accrued her money from her primary profession as an actress as well as other endeavors.