Because Hagen was on the Hollywood blacklist, in part because of her association with Paul Robeson, her film opportunities dwindled and she focused her career on New York theatre.

Her most substantial contributions to theatre pedagogy were a series of "object exercises" that built on the work of Konstantin Stanislavski and Yevgeny Vakhtangov.

[5] Her early years in Germany were likely affected by the growing political changes in Europe, which would have added a layer of complexity to their decision to emigrate.

[6] After spending one semester at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where her father was the head of the department of art history, she left for New York City in 1937.

Hagen went on to play (at age 18) the leading ingénue role of Nina in a Broadway production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

She played Blanche (on the road and on Broadway) opposite at least four different Stanley Kowalskis, including Anthony Quinn and Marlon Brando.

Primarily noted for stage roles, Hagen won her first Tony Award in 1951 for her performance as the self-sacrificing wife Georgie in Clifford Odets' The Country Girl.

"[3] She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award as "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" for her performance on the television soap opera One Life to Live.

Hagen was an influential acting teacher who taught, among others, Matthew Broderick, Christine Lahti, Amanda Peet, Hope Davis, Jason Robards, Sigourney Weaver, Katie Finneran, Liza Minnelli, Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Lemmon, Charles Nelson Reilly, Manu Tupou, Debbie Allen, Herschel Savage, George Segal, Jon Stewart, and Al Pacino.

Later in life, Hagen returned to the stage, earning accolades for leading roles in Mrs. Warren's Profession (1985), Collected Stories, and Mrs. Klein.

In her mode of realism, the actor puts his own psyche to use in finding identification with the role," trusting that a form will result.

[13] David Hyde Pierce worked with Hagen in the Richard Alfieri play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, at the Geffen Playhouse in 2001.

[3] In 2009, Weird Al Yankovic’s “Skipper Dan” referenced Uta Hagen in the opening verse: I starred in every high school play Blew every drama teacher away I graduated first in my class at Juilliard Took every acting workshop I could And I dreamed of Hollywood While I read my Uta Hagen and studied the Bard[19]