Born and raised in Manhattan, I graduated from Performing Arts High School in 1954 as a dancer, and got my first job on Broadway in “Plain and Fancy” that same year, followed by a national tour with “Can Can”.

Involved in theatre my whole life, my interests and abilities broadened to include acting, playwrighting, directing and teaching.

As an actress I have appeared on Broadway, off, and off-off Broadway, as well as on television and film, in roles ranging from Tondeleyo in “White Cargo”, to Queen Elizabeth opposite Al Pacino in “Richard 111”. I have performed with Center Stage in Baltimore , The Boston Theater Company, Lincoln Center , The Public Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and La Mama. Most recently I have been seen in the film, “Daytrippers”, and on TV in “The Soprano’s” and “Law & Order”.

A published playwright, my plays have been produced at The Actors Studio, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Quaigh, The Common Basis Theatre (all in NYC) around the country in Woodstock, San Francisco, Texas, Florida, The Company of Angels and CSU Fullerton in California, as well as in Australia at La Mama in Melbourne and at the Kultur Im Gugg in Austria. As a director, I have worked on both revivals and original plays at Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Actors Studio, The Common Basis Theatre and in Australia , Portugal , and Austria .

A student of Lee Strasberg’s and subsequently a teacher at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute (including NYU courses) for five years. I Also worked as an adjunct professor in the film graduate program at Columbia University for 2 years. I have taught and coached privately for over twenty five years. My students include Ellen Barkin, Alec Baldwin, Janine Turner, Debbie Mazur, Loren Dean, David Duchovney, Uma Thurman, John Leguizamo. Most recently I’ve coached Harvey Keitel . I have taught for several years in Australia , Austria and for the past ten years in Lisbon , Portugal . I am currently teaching at The New School for Social Research in The Actors Studio MFA program.

I am a long standing member of The Actors Studio, Ensemble Studio Theatre and I am founder and artistic director of The Common Basis Theatre.