Her Tony-winning Broadway career included “Driving Miss Daisy,” “On Golden Pond” and “The Heiress.” On TV she had maternal roles in “Sex and the City,” and achieved lasting and widespread recognition for her comedically stern portrayal of Esther Clavin, the demanding mother of insufferable postman Cliff Claven on “Cheers.” On “ER,” Sternhagen played Millicent Carter, grandmother of Noah Wyle’s Dr. John Carter, and on “The Closer,” she recurred as Willie Rae Johnson, mother of Kyra Sedgwick’s Brenda Leigh Johnson.
Other TV credits stretching from the 1950s through 2012 include “Westinghouse Studio One,” “The Defenders,” “Spencer,” “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,” “Law & Order,” “Tales From The Crypt,” “The Laramie Project,” “The Simpsons,” “Becker,” and “Parenthood.” She was a familiar presence on daytime TV as well, appearing on soaps “Another World,” “The Secret Storm,” “Love of Life,” “The Doctors” and “One Life to Live.”
News of her death was confirmed by her family in a statement, obtained by People. “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear mother, actress Frances Sternhagen, died peacefully of natural causes in New Rochelle, NY, on November 27th, 2023 at the age of 93,” it read. “We continue to be inspired by her love and life.” Sternhagen worked extensively on stage and on television. On Broadway, she won two Tonys and was nominated for five more. On TV, she played the mother of anybody who was anybody.
Sternhagen is survived by “6 children, 9 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren,” according to her family’s statement. “A celebration of her remarkable career and life is planned for mid-January, near her 94th birthday.” Her son, John Carlin, made a personal statement on Instagram. “Fly on, Frannie,” he wrote. “The curtain goes down on a life so richly, passionately, humbly, and generously lived.”
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