Hester Sondergaard (July 5, 1903 – February 26, 1994)[1] was an American actress.

[2] She attended the University of Minnesota,[4] where she was active in productions of the Masquers Club.

[3] After college, she acted with the Wisconsin Players and in venues that included the Civic Repertory Theater in New York.

[4] Her Broadway credits include Galileo (1947), My Heart's in the Highlands (1939), Marching Song (1937), Bitter Stream (1936), Mother (1935), and Black Pit (1935).

[6] An article in the December 1949 issue of Radio and Television Mirror magazine described Sondergaard as having "one of the largest repertories [sic] of dialects of any actress", being able to sound authentic in roles using any of 11 accents.