Trivia

One of the famed acting teachers in New York City. Her former students include Christopher Meloni, Gregory Hines, Helen Slater, Bebe Neuwirth, Joan Allen and many others. She still teaches actively while maintaining her career as a respected working actress.

Suzanne played the mothers of three principal actors from The Sopranos, at different times. On The Sopranos, she had the recurring role of Edie Falco's mother. In the film, Goodfellas, she played Lorraine Bracco's mother. On the TV show, Blue Bloods, she was Steve Schirripa's mother.

She was nominated for a 1986 Joseph Jefferson Award for Director of a Play for "A Lesson from Aloes", at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.

Studied with Sanford Meisner.

She was a founding member of the Compass Players in the early 1960s, along with Alan Alda and Alan Arkin.

Shepherd studied acting with Sanford Meisner, and later went on to teach Meisner's program of acting study, the first woman to do so.

She was not only an actress but also a theater director.

Shepherd was associated with distinguished establishments like the Berghof Studio, Trinity Square Conservatory, Hartman Conservatory, and her own studio in New York City. She also made her mark as a director at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, and other prominent theatres such as the Nederlander Theatre, Dallas Theatre Centre, Trinity Square Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and the Whole Theatre.

An documentary called "A Gift of Fire" (2023) will chronicle her teaching.

Besides her own acting career, Shepherd directed in theaters across the US.

Shepherd only made her film debut two years before her appearance in Goodfellas. She came from a theatre background, directing productions across the United States.