Anne explains in an early scene, “I longed to write once; now I just do it to work everything else out”. Despite having become a well published author and aspiring play-wright, professional success seems to have brought her little true happiness. She has lost Gilbert, the love of her life during the war and she is haunted even more by the worry that her only son has yet to return from overseas. In the shadow of a past where her she has romanticized the lives of her own parents, Anne struggles to maintain the adolescent ideals and values instilled in her during her formative years growing up through the kindness of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

Anne’s lack of solid roots and the memory of those troubled early years where she was abandoned by her father after the death of her mother, affect her even more as an adult than as a child. Anne grapples with a grown-up family, grandchildren and the fear that her adopted son may have disappeared in the aftermath of the war.

Trying to occupy herself with a distraction, she agrees to write a play for her friend, theatre impresario Gene Armstrong. In the process of ‘working everything out’ she delves into memories that provide the basis for a writing a profound and moving play; one that also allows her to view her life from a different perspective.

Multi-award-winning actress Barbara Hershey has showcased her talent in some of Hollywood's most memorable films, television movies, miniseries and series. Hershey, winner of an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for A KILLING IN A SMALL TOWN (1990) also garnered unprecedented back-to-back Best Actress Awards at the Cannes Film Festival for her performances in SHY PEOPLE (1987) and A WORLD APART (1988).

A native of Hollywood, California, Barbara Lynn Herzstein was born February 5, 1948. Her father was a horse racing columnist but also dabbled in acting, which no doubt instilled the desire for her to pursue acting at a young age. She was a student at Hollywood High School and made her acting debut in 1965 on the television series, GIDGET (1965-1966). She followed that appearance by working on another series entitled, THE MONROES (1966-67) in 1966. Her motion picture career however, began in 1968 when she starred in, WITH SIX YOU GET EGGROLL (1968). Her feature film debut in that film led to roles in THE BABY MAKER (1970) and BOXCAR BERTHA (1972), quickly advancing her to starring roles.
The 1980's catapulted Hershey's film career to star status.  She starred in THE STUNT MAN (1980) with Peter O'Toole; THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) with Ed Harris, Sam Shepard and Scott Glenn; THE NATURAL (1984) with Robert Redford and Robert Duvall; HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986) with Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine; HOOSIERS (1986) with Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper; TIN MEN (1987) with Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito; SHY PEOPLE (1987) with Jill Clayburgh; THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988) with Willem Dafoe and Harvey Keitel; BEACHES (1988) with Bette Midler and John Heard and A WORLD APART (1988) with Tim Roth.

An acclaimed method actress, she has starred in many of Hollywood’s most creative films in some very unique and unusual roles. Her appearance in the 1981 horror film, THE ENTITY (1981) - where she played a woman repeatedly raped by an unseen supernatural force - impressed actor Michael Douglas so much that he later fought to have her cast as his estranged wife in FALLING DOWN (1993).

Hershey triumphantly returned to television in 1990 with her award-winning performance as ‘Candy Morrison’ in A KILLING IN A SMALL TOWN (1990) with Brian Dennehy and Hal Holbrook.  She continued her string of television successes with her portrayal of ‘Clara Allen’ in the miniseries RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE (1993) with Jon Voight and Louis Gossett, Jr. and also with her role as ‘Dr. Francesca Alberghetti’ in David E. Kelly's CHICAGO HOPE (1999-2000) on CBS. 

During the same period, Hershey remained active in feature films.  She was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance in THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996) with Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich and also starred in Merchant-Ivory's A SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES (1998) and the award-winning LANTANA (2001) from acclaimed Australian director Ray Lawrence.

In addition to her role as Anne Shirley in ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A NEW BEGINNING (2008), Hershey can be seen in THE BIRDS CAN’T FLY (2007) and LOVE COMES LATELY (2007). Both recently premiered to critical acclaim at the San Sebastian and Toronto Film Festival, respectively.

Hershey resides in Los Angeles.

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