Helen Joan Stenborg (January 24, 1925 – March 22, 2011) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She occasionally acted with her husband, actor

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after m ...

(1915–2006), to whom she was married for 56 years from 1950 until his death in 2006; they had two children.

Career

Stenborg appeared on stage in revivals of ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'', '' A Month in the Country'', and ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

''; the original, belated US production of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's '' Waiting in the Wings'', for which she was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Featured Actress in a Play; and the

Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed." Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright ...

plays, ''

The Rimers of Eldritch ''The Rimers of Eldritch'' is a play by Lanford Wilson. The play is set in the mid-20th century in Eldritch, Missouri, a decaying Bible Belt town that once was a prosperous coal mining community. The plot focuses on the murder of the aging local ...

'' and '' Talley & Son'' winning the Obie Award for her performance in the latter. She portrayed Helga Lindeman on the soap opera '' Another World'' from 1977 to 1978. Stenborg also appeared in the 1999 film, My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York, which won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Short Subject in 2000.

Death

She died on March 22, 2011, aged 86, in New York City.

Partial filmography

*'' Three Days of the Condor'' (1975) - Mrs. Edwina Russell *''

The Europeans ''The Europeans: A sketch'' is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the "new" world of New England ...

'' (1979) - Mrs. Acton *'' Starting Over'' (1979) - Older Woman *''

The Bonfire of the Vanities ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City, and centers on three main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish as ...

'' (1990) - Mrs. McCoy *''

Me and Veronica ''Me and Veronica'' is a 1992 American drama film directed by Don Scardino (in his feature directorial debut), written by Leslie Lyles, and starring Elizabeth McGovern, Patricia Wettig and Michael O'Keefe. Plot Cast *Elizabeth McGovern as Fa ...

'' (1993) - Woman at Laundromat *'' Marvin's Room'' (1996) - Nun on Phone *''

Isn't She Great ''Isn't She Great'' is a 2000 biographical comedy-drama film that presents a fictionalized biography of author Jacqueline Susann, played by Bette Midler. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ja ...

'' (2000) - Aunt Abigail *''

Bless the Child ''Bless the Child'' is a 2000 supernatural horror film directed by Chuck Russell and starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Angela Bettis, Rufus Sewell, Christina Ricci, and Holliston Coleman. It follows a woman who discovers that her niece, w ...

'' (2000) - Sister Joseph *'' Enchanted'' (2007) - Ballroom Lady #1 *'' The Caller'' (2008) - Jimmy's Mother *''

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty ...

'' (2008) - Sister Teresa (final film role)

References

External links

* *
Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg papers, 1880s-2011
held by Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenborg, Helen 1925 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Minnesota American film actresses American stage actresses American soap opera actresses Obie Award recipients Actresses from Minneapolis Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 21st-century American women