---
name: "Agnes Moorehead"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/agnes-moorehead"
fi1m_id: "agnes-moorehead"
imdb_id: "nm0001547"
tmdb_id: 11025
wikidata_id: "Q231221"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "6 December 1900"
died: "30 April 1974"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-09-25T07:24:06.146616+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Agnes Moorehead

## Identity

Agnes Moorehead

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/agnes-moorehead
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** agnes-moorehead
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001547
- **TMDB ID:** 11025
- **Wikidata ID:** Q231221
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Moorehead, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q231221, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001547/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11025

Actor. Born 6 December 1900 in Clinton, Massachusetts, USA. Died 30 April 1974.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 6 December 1900, Clinton, Massachusetts, USA
- **Died:** 30 April 1974
- **Active:** 1941–1962
- **Also known as:** Agnes Robertson Moorehead
- **Frequently works with:** [Joseph Cotten](https://film.one/person/joseph-cotten.md), [Jane Wyman](https://film.one/person/jane-wyman.md), [Orson Welles](https://film.one/person/orson-welles.md)
- **Golden Globes:** 2 Golden Globes (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 81 (4), 1950s 85 (2), 1960s 62 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 79 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 5 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Mystery 2, Romance 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1, Western 1
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $23m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Moorehead, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q231221, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001547/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11025

## Fi1m on Agnes Moorehead

> Agnes Moorehead's best work is women who want something they cannot ask for, and she plays it through the hands and the voice rather than the face. She had one great part, Fanny in *The Magnificent Ambersons*, and thirty years of narrower versions of it.

Late at night in the Amberson kitchen, Fanny Minafer feeds her nephew strawberry shortcake and asks who Eugene danced with. Every question is about something else. Stanley Cortez holds the pair of them in a single shot, George eating and Fanny hovering, and Moorehead does almost none of it with her face; it is in what her hands find to do and in where her voice settles, a shade too bright. It put a lump in our throat we had not planned on, because nothing happens except that a woman gives herself away to a boy who is not listening. That scene is the whole of what Moorehead did best: a woman who wants something, refusing to ask for it.

She came to pictures from the radio and the stage, joining Orson Welles's Mercury Players in 1937 and going west with them. Her first film part was Mary Kane in *Citizen Kane* (1941), a few minutes as Kane's mother on which the film's account of the man depends. Our review does not single her out, and that is not a slight; she was one of Welles's instruments, and he handed her the awkward ones. "He thought I could play anything," she said of him. "If it was a strange part, he said, 'Give it to Agnes. She can play it.'" She made four films with Welles and three with Joseph Cotten, and Fanny in *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942) is the one that used everything she had.

What followed was thirty years of supporting parts, and the parts narrowed. Madge Rapf in *Dark Passage* (1947), Sara Warren in *All That Heaven Allows* (1955), the housekeeper Velma Cruther in *Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte* (1964): strong women, haughty women, neurotic women, meddling spinsters, the sort of role a producer reaches for when the script needs somebody unsettling in the second half. She was good at them, and the radio training showed in the diction; she could pitch a voice for almost any age. But Fanny was never an eccentric. She was an ordinary woman in agony, and the later parts kept Moorehead's sharpness and mislaid the ache.

Then came Endora in *Bewitched* (1964–1972), the television role that reached far more people than any of her films did. There are worse fates. If you know her only from there, go back to the Amberson kitchen and watch what she does with a plate of shortcake and a question she cannot ask. It is the finest thing in a film we rate among the best America has made, and it is over before you have worked out what she was doing.

## Biography

Agnes Moorehead was an American actress. She joined Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre in 1937 and made her film debut as Mary Kane in *Citizen Kane* (1941). Over a career spanning five decades she worked in radio, stage, film and television, appearing in more than seventy films.

Moorehead is best known for playing Endora in the television series *Bewitched* (1964–1972). She received one Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Fi1m 62, as Rebecca Prescott — [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)
- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), Fi1m 84, as Woman — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)
- *All That Heaven Allows* (1955), Fi1m 86, as Sara Warren — [page](https://film.one/film/all-that-heaven-allows.md)
- *Johnny Belinda* (1948), Fi1m 78, as Aggie MacDonald — [page](https://film.one/film/johnny-belinda.md)
- *Since You Went Away* (1944), Fi1m 63, as Emily Hawkins — [page](https://film.one/film/since-you-went-away.md)
- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942), Fi1m 89, as Fanny Minafer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-ambersons.md)
- *Citizen Kane* (1941), Fi1m 93, as Mary Kane — [page](https://film.one/film/citizen-kane.md)

## Complete filmography (113)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration* (2019), as Woman (archive footage)
- *Bewitched* (2005), as Endora (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *A Bewitched Christmas* (1994), as Endora
- *The Complete 'Citizen Kane'* (1991), Actor
- *Frankenstein: The True Story* (1974), as Mrs. Blair
- *That's Entertainment!* (1974), as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love* (1974), as Hercule's Wife
- *Frankenstein: The True Story* (1973), series, as Mrs. Blair
- *Charlotte's Web* (1973), as Goose (voice)
- *Night of Terror* (1972), as Bronsky
- *Rolling Man* (1972), as Grandmother
- *Dear Dead Delilah* (1972), as Delilah Charles
- *The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove* (1971), as Mrs. Pringle
- *Suddenly Single* (1971), as Marlene
- *Marriage: Year One* (1971), as Grandma Duden
- *What's the Matter with Helen?* (1971), as Sister Alma
- *Night Gallery* (1970), series, as Head Witch (segment "Witches' Feast"), Emma Brigham (segment "Certain Shadows on the Wall")
- *The Ballad of Andy Crocker* (1969), as Lisa's Mother
- *Love, American Style* (1969), series, as Mrs. Cooper
- *Marcus Welby, M.D.* (1969), series, as Mrs. Ramsey
- *Lancer* (1968), series, Actor
- *That's Life* (1968), series, Actor
- *The Magic Pear Tree* (1968), as Chantelle
- *Custer* (1967), series, Actor
- *Alice Through the Looking Glass* (1966), as The Red Queen
- *The Lone Ranger* (1966), series, as Black Widow (voice)
- *The Singing Nun* (1966), as Sister Cluny
- *The Wild Wild West* (1965), series, as Emma Valentine
- *Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte* (1964), as Velma Cruther
- *Bewitched* (1964), series, as Endora
- *Who's Minding the Store?* (1963), as Phoebe Tuttle
- *Burke's Law* (1963), series, as Liz Haggerty, Pauline Moss, Dona Ynez Ortega y Esteban
- *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1963), series, as Millie
- *How the West Was Won* (1962), as Rebecca Prescott — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)
- *The Virginian* (1962), series, as Emma Garvey
- *Jessica* (1962), as Maria Lombardo
- *Bachelor in Paradise* (1961), as Judge Peterson
- *The Wonderful World of Disney* (1961), series, as Mrs. Snow (archive footage)
- *Twenty Plus Two* (1961), as Mrs. Eleanor Delaney
- *The Chevy Mystery Show* (1960), series, as Elizabeth Marshall
- *Pollyanna* (1960), as Mrs. Snow
- *Startime* (1959), series, as Carmen Lynch
- *Adventures in Paradise* (1959), series, as Jikiri
- *The Rebel* (1959), series, as Martha Lassiter
- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), series, as Woman — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)
- *The Bat* (1959), as Cornelia van Gorder
- *Night of the Quarter Moon* (1959), as Cornelia Nelson
- *Rawhide* (1959), series, as Sister Frances
- *Tempest* (1958), as Vassilissa Mironova
- *The Rifleman* (1958), series, as Bertie Hoakam
- *Shirley Temple's Storybook* (1958), series, as Witch, Mombi the Witch
- *Raintree County* (1957), as Ellen Shawnessy
- *The Story of Mankind* (1957), as Queen Elizabeth I
- *Suspicion* (1957), series, as Katherine Searles
- *Alcoa Theatre* (1957), series, as Mrs. Adams
- *DuPont Show of the Month* (1957), series, as Madame Defarge
- *Wagon Train* (1957), series, as Mary Halstead
- *Jeanne Eagels* (1957), as Nellie Neilson
- *The True Story of Jesse James* (1957), as Mrs. Samuel
- *The Life You Save May Be Your Own* (1957), as Ma Crater
- *Not One Shall Die* (1957), as Hannah Lessing
- *The Opposite Sex* (1956), as Countess Lavaliere
- *Pardners* (1956), as Mrs. Matilda Kingsley
- *The Revolt of Mamie Stover* (1956), as Bertha Parchman
- *The Swan* (1956), as Queen Maria Dominika
- *Meet Me in Las Vegas* (1956), as Miss Hattie
- *The Conqueror* (1956), as Hunlun
- *Matinee Theater* (1955), series, Actor
- *The Left Hand of God* (1955), as Beryl Sigman
- *All That Heaven Allows* (1955), as Sara Warren — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/all-that-heaven-allows.md)
- *Untamed* (1955), as Aggie (Kildare's governess)
- *The Millionaire* (1955), series, as Katherine Boland
- *The Wonderful World of Disney* (1954), series, as Mrs. Pringle, Mrs. Snow
- *Climax!* (1954), series, as (segment "Child of the Wind"), Irene
- *Magnificent Obsession* (1954), as Nancy Ashford
- *Those Redheads from Seattle* (1953), as Mrs. Edmonds
- *Main Street to Broadway* (1953), as Mildred Waterbury
- *Revlon Mirror Theatre* (1953), series, as Martha Adams
- *Scandal at Scourie* (1953), as Sister Josephine
- *The Story of Three Loves* (1953), as Aunt Lydia
- *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Ana Konrad Bethlen
- *The Blazing Forest* (1952), as Jessie Crain
- *The Blue Veil* (1951), as Mrs. Palfrey
- *Adventures of Captain Fabian* (1951), as Aunt Jezebel
- *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Ma Crater
- *Show Boat* (1951), as Parthy Hawks
- *Fourteen Hours* (1951), as Christine Hill Cosick
- *Black Jack* (1950), as Mrs. Emily Birk
- *Caged* (1950), as Ruth Benton
- *Without Honor* (1949), as Katherine Williams
- *The Great Sinner* (1949), as Emma Getzel
- *The Stratton Story* (1949), as Ma Stratton
- *Johnny Belinda* (1948), as Aggie MacDonald — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/johnny-belinda.md)
- *Station West* (1948), as Mrs. Mary Caslon
- *The Woman in White* (1948), as Countess Fosco
- *Summer Holiday* (1948), as Cousin Lily
- *The Lost Moment* (1947), as Juliana Borderau
- *Dark Passage* (1947), as Madge Rapf
- *Her Highness and the Bellboy* (1945), as Countess Zoe
- *Our Vines Have Tender Grapes* (1945), as Bruna Jacobson
- *Keep Your Powder Dry* (1945), as Lieut. Colonel Spottiswoode
- *Tomorrow, the World!* (1944), as Aunt Jessie Frame
- *Mrs. Parkington* (1944), as Baroness Aspasia Conti
- *The Seventh Cross* (1944), as Madame Marelli
- *Dragon Seed* (1944), as Third Cousin's Wife
- *Since You Went Away* (1944), as Emily Hawkins — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/since-you-went-away.md)
- *Jane Eyre* (1943), as Mrs. Reed
- *Government Girl* (1943), as Adele - Mrs. Delancey Wright
- *The Youngest Profession* (1943), as Miss Featherstone
- *Journey into Fear* (1943), as Mrs. Mathews
- *The Big Street* (1942), as Violette Shumberg
- *The Magnificent Ambersons* (1942), as Fanny Minafer — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-magnificent-ambersons.md)
- *Citizen Kane* (1941), as Mary Kane — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/citizen-kane.md)

## Gallery

- ![Agnes Moorehead](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-335a0bec2fa9.jpg) Agnes Moorehead — ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Agnes_Moorehead_Bewitched_1969.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Main cast photo from the premiere of the television progam Bewitched. At top is Agnes Moorehead as Endora, the mother of Samantha Stephens. Left is Dick York as (1964)](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-ca0f02ea602d.jpg) Main cast photo from the premiere of the television progam Bewitched. At top is Agnes Moorehead as Endora, the mother of Samantha Stephens. Left is Dick York as (1964) — ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Agnes_Moorehead_Dick_York_Elizabeth_Montgomery_Bewitched_1964.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Belair Drive-In theater advertisement for the American crime-mystery thriller film w:The Bat (1959 film)The Bat (1959). From the 30 September 1959 San Bernardin](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-9428d672a818.jpg) Belair Drive-In theater advertisement for the American crime-mystery thriller film w:The Bat (1959 film)The Bat (1959). From the 30 September 1959 San Bernardin — Allied Artists, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Belair_Drive-in_Ad_-_30_September_1959%2C_Fontana%2C_CA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Cast photo from the premiere of the television series Bewitched. From left:Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead.](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-0bba4c15b963.jpg) Cast photo from the premiere of the television series Bewitched. From left:Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead. — ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Bewitched_cast_1964.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Agnes Moorehead](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-58f3ed857562.jpg) Agnes Moorehead — Image via TMDB
- ![Agnes Moorehead](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-85193ccacdeb.jpg) Agnes Moorehead — Image via TMDB
- ![Agnes Moorehead](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-ea4c5c7fbc4b.jpg) Agnes Moorehead — Image via TMDB
- ![Theater advertisement for the film, Caged. 8 June, 1950.](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-8d2917702bf3.png) Theater advertisement for the film, Caged. 8 June, 1950. — Warner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Caged_-_Theatre_ad_-_8_June%2C_1950.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Agnes Moorehead](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-5fd788568547.jpg) Agnes Moorehead — Image via TMDB
- ![Agnes Moorehead](https://film.one/media/person/59030/gallery-355356e0a180.jpg) Agnes Moorehead — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1949: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Johnny Belinda*
- 1943: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *The Magnificent Ambersons*

### Golden Globes — 2 won

- 1965: Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (won), for *Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte*
- 1945: Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (won), for *Mrs. Parkington*

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 1967: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (won), for *The Wild Wild West*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/agnes-moorehead