Barbara Hershey , once known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including westerns and comedies. She began acting at agein 1965 but did not achieve much critical acclaim until the latter half of the 1980s. By that time, the Chicago Tribune referred to her as one of Americas finest actresses.
Barbara Herzstein was born in Hollywood, California. She is the daughter of Melrose and Arnold Nathan Herzstein. Her father, a horse racing columnist, was Jewish and her mother, a native of Arkansas, was a Presbyterian of Irish descent.
Source: Wikipedia