She moved to New York City to study theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the HB Studio.

In 1963, she was in the original cast of the Edward Albee play The Ballad of the Sad Café, starring Colleen Dewhurst.

[4] She had made her Off-Broadway debut in 1956 performing in two plays by playwright Seán O'Casey, Purple Dust and Pictures in the Hallway.

She also acted in several productions with the New York Shakespeare Festival including The Merchant of Venice, The Winter's Tale, and King Lear.

In 1974, she was in the original Broadway cast alongside Janie Sell and Phyllis Somerville of Over Here!, which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical.

In 1982 she appeared in the Oscar nominated film, The World According to Garp, and in 1986 Brighton Beach Memoirs as Mrs. Murphy.

Henritze made her television debut on the series The Edge of Night and next appeared on The Defenders and East Side/West Side.