Jean Hagen

Jean Hagen (born Jean Shirley Verhagen; August 3, 1923 – August 29, 1977) was an American actress best known for her role as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Hagen was also nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Margaret Williams on the first three seasons (1953–56) of the television series The Danny Thomas Show (when titled as Make Room for Daddy). Early life Hagen was born August 3, 1923, in Chicago, to Christian Verhagen, a Dutch immigrant, and Marie, his Chicago-born wife. The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana, when she was 12, and she graduated from Elkhart High School. She studied drama at Northwestern University, where she was a roommate of actress Patricia Neal. She graduated from Northwestern in 1945. She also worked as an usher. Career Radio Hagen began her show-business career in radio in the 1940s performing in Light of the World, Hollywood Story, and other programs. Using her birth name (Jean Verhagen), she played Betty Webster on Those Websters.