Candice Bergen
Encyclopedia
Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.
She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy
Murphy Brown
(1988–1998), for which she won five Emmy Award
s and two Golden Globe Award
s; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama
Boston Legal
(2004–2008), for which she was nominated for two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in several major films throughout the mid 1960s to early 1980s such as The Sand Pebbles
, Carnal Knowledge
, The Wind and the Lion
, and Gandhi
and received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Starting Over. Her later career includes character roles in Miss Congeniality and Sweet Home Alabama
.
. Her mother, Frances Bergen
(née
Westerman), was a Powers model
who was known professionally as Frances Westcott. Her father, Edgar Bergen
, was a ventriloquist, comedian, and actor. Her paternal grandparents were Swedish
-born immigrants who anglicized their surname, which was originally Berggren. As a child, Bergen was irritated at being referred to as Charlie McCarthy's little sister, Charlie McCarthy being her father's star dummy.
's quiz show You Bet Your Life
as Candy Bergen. She said that when she grew up she wanted to design clothes.
Bergen made her screen debut playing an aloof university student in The Group
(1966), which delicately touched on the then-forbidden subject of lesbianism. Her second film in 1966 was The Sand Pebbles
, in which she played Shirley Eckert, an assistant school teacher and missionary opposite Steve McQueen
. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards
. After starring in the French film Live for Life (1967) and The Magus
(1968) with Michael Caine
and Anthony Quinn
, she was featured in a 1970 political satire, The Adventurers, playing a frustrated socialite who has a lesbian affair. In 1975 she starred with Sean Connery
in The Wind and the Lion
, as a headstrong American widow kidnapped in Morocco in 1904 along with her two young children.
Despite initial rocky reviews, she appeared in such films as Mike Nichols
' provocative Carnal Knowledge
(1971) and the Burt Reynolds
romantic comedy Starting Over (1979), for which she received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress.
Bergen had roles in Western films including The Hunting Party
and Bite the Bullet, both of which starred Gene Hackman
. She was the love interest of Ryan O'Neal
in the Love Story
sequel, Oliver's Story
, and portrayed a best-selling author in Rich and Famous
(1981) with Jacqueline Bisset
. In 1982 Bergen appeared in the Academy Award for Best Picture
winning drama film Gandhi
in which she portrayed documentary photographer Margaret Bourke-White
.
Bergen has written articles, a play, and a memoir, Knock Wood (1984). She has also studied photography and worked as a photojournalist. Considered one of Hollywood's most beautiful women, Bergen worked as a fashion model before she took up acting.
Turning to television and given a chance to show her little-seen comic talent, Murphy Brown
, Bergen played a tough television reporter. Primarily a conventional sit-com, the show did tackle important issues: TV star Murphy Brown, a recovering alcoholic
, became a single mother and later battled breast cancer
. In 1992, Vice President
Dan Quayle
criticized prime-time TV for showing the Murphy Brown character "mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice." His remarks became comedic fodder, and were written into the show as if he were talking about the Murphy Brown character, who was depicted watching Quayle's speech. A subsequent episode explored the subject of family values within a diverse set of families. The Brown character arranges for a truckload of potato
es to be dumped in front of Quayle's residence, an allusion to an infamous incident in which Quayle erroneously directed a school child to spell the word "potato" as "potatoe". In reality, Bergen agreed with at least some of Quayle's observations, saying that while the particular remark was "an arrogant and uninformed posture", as a whole, it was "a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable and nobody agreed with that more than I did." Bergen's run on Murphy Brown was extremely successful: between 1989 and 1995 she was nominated for an Emmy Award
seven times and won five. After her fifth win, she declined future nominations for the role. Throughout the same time frame as Murphy Brown, Bergen also appeared as the main spokesperson for a Sprint
telephone ad campaign, known to many in the ads as the "Dime Lady", for advertising Sprint's 10 cents a minute rate.
After playing the role of the successful journalist
, Bergen was offered a chance to work as a real-life one. After the run of Murphy Brown ended in 1998, CBS approached her to cover stories for 60 Minutes
, an offer she declined, with the conviction that she didn't personally want to blur the lines between actor and journalist at the time.
After Murphy Brown, Bergen hosted Exhale with Candice Bergen on the Oxygen network
. She also appeared in character roles in films, most notably Miss Congeniality (2000) as a former beauty queen who rivals Sandra Bullock
; and as the mayor of New York who disapproves of her son marrying Reese Witherspoon
in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She also appeared in the comedies View from the Top
with Gwyneth Paltrow
and The In-Laws
with Michael Douglas
, both released in 2003.
In January 2005, Bergen joined the cast of the television series Boston Legal
as Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner in the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. She played the role for five seasons. In 2006 and 2008, she received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
A frequent host on NBC's Saturday Night Live
, she was the first woman to host the show and the first host to do a second show. Bergen guest-starred on The Muppet Show
in its first year, appearing in several skits, an episode now available in a DVD collection. She was also featured in a long-running "Dime Lady" ad campaign for the Sprint
phone company.
She has also made guest appearances on many other TV shows, including Seinfeld
(as herself playing Murphy Brown), Law & Order
, Family Guy
, Will & Grace
(playing herself), and Sex and the City
, where she played Enid Frick, Carrie Bradshaw
's editor at Vogue
. More recently she appeared in the 2009 movie Bride Wars
as Marion St. Claire, New York's most sought-after wedding planner, who also serves as the narrator of the story.
Since its launch in 2008, Candice Bergen has been a contributor for wowOwow
.com, a website for women to talk culture, politics and gossip.
Bergen has an occasional role on House
as Lisa Cuddy
's mother, starting in Season 7, including the 2011 episodes "Larger Than Life
" and "Family Practice
".
In 2010, she appeared in a one-night only concert semi staged reading of Evening Primrose by Stephen Sondheim
.
, where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Miss University, but acknowledges that her failure to take her education seriously resulted in her being asked to leave. She received an honorary doctorate from Penn
in May 1992.
During the 1960s, Bergen and then-boyfriend Terry Melcher
, the son of Doris Day
, lived at 10050 Cielo Drive
in Los Angeles
, which was later occupied by Sharon Tate
and her husband, Roman Polanski
. Tate and four others were murdered in the home in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson
. There was some initial speculation that Melcher may have been the intended victim.
A political activist, Bergen accepted a date with Henry Kissinger
. During her activist days she participated in a Yippie
prank when she, Abbie Hoffman
, and others threw dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
in 1967, leading to its temporary shut-down. In 1972, she served as a fundraiser and organizer for George McGovern
's presidential campaign
.
On September 27, 1980, she married French film director Louis Malle
(Bergen herself has traveled extensively and speaks French fluently). They had one child, a daughter named Chloe, in 1985. The couple were married until Malle's death from cancer
on Thanksgiving Day in 1995.
Since June 15, 2000, she has been married to New York real estate magnate and philanthropist
Marshall Rose.
Golden Globe Awards:
She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
(1988–1998), for which she won five Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s and two Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
(2004–2008), for which she was nominated for two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in several major films throughout the mid 1960s to early 1980s such as The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles is a 1962 novel by American author Richard McKenna about a Yangtze River gunboat in 1926. It was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post for the three issues from November 17, 1962 through December 1, 1962. The author completed it in May, 1962, just in time to enter it in the 1963...
, Carnal Knowledge
Carnal knowledge
Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. The term derives from the Biblical usage of the verb know/knew, as in the King James and other versions, a euphemism for sexual conduct...
, The Wind and the Lion
The Wind and the Lion
The Wind and the Lion is a 1975 adventure film. It was written and directed by John Milius and starred Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith and John Huston...
, and Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
and received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Starting Over. Her later career includes character roles in Miss Congeniality and Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama (film)
Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, and Patrick Dempsey. The film was released on September 27, 2002.-Plot:...
.
Early life
Bergen was born in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. Her mother, Frances Bergen
Frances Bergen
Frances Bergen was an American actress and fashion model. She was the wife of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and the mother of actress Candice and film & television editor Kris Bergen....
(née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Westerman), was a Powers model
John Robert Powers
John Robert Powers was an American actor and founder of a prominent New York City modeling agency.In 1923, John Robert Powers founded a modeling agency. The John Robert Powers Agency represented many models who went on to success in the Hollywood film industry, and even Betty Bloomer who became...
who was known professionally as Frances Westcott. Her father, Edgar Bergen
Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
, was a ventriloquist, comedian, and actor. Her paternal grandparents were Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-born immigrants who anglicized their surname, which was originally Berggren. As a child, Bergen was irritated at being referred to as Charlie McCarthy's little sister, Charlie McCarthy being her father's star dummy.
Career
Bergen began appearing on her father's radio program at a young age, and in 1958, at age eleven, with her father on Groucho MarxGroucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
's quiz show You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
as Candy Bergen. She said that when she grew up she wanted to design clothes.
Bergen made her screen debut playing an aloof university student in The Group
The Group (film)
The Group is a 1966 ensemble film directed by Sidney Lumet based on the novel of the same name by Mary McCarthy about a group of female graduates from a Connecticut College-like college during the early 1930s....
(1966), which delicately touched on the then-forbidden subject of lesbianism. Her second film in 1966 was The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles (film)
The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
, in which she played Shirley Eckert, an assistant school teacher and missionary opposite Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. After starring in the French film Live for Life (1967) and The Magus
The Magus (film)
The Magus is a 1968 film British mystery film directed by Guy Green. The screenplay was written by John Fowles, based on his novel of the same name. It starred Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn, Candice Bergen and Anna Karina...
(1968) with Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
and Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
, she was featured in a 1970 political satire, The Adventurers, playing a frustrated socialite who has a lesbian affair. In 1975 she starred with Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
in The Wind and the Lion
The Wind and the Lion
The Wind and the Lion is a 1975 adventure film. It was written and directed by John Milius and starred Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith and John Huston...
, as a headstrong American widow kidnapped in Morocco in 1904 along with her two young children.
Despite initial rocky reviews, she appeared in such films as Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
' provocative Carnal Knowledge
Carnal knowledge
Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. The term derives from the Biblical usage of the verb know/knew, as in the King James and other versions, a euphemism for sexual conduct...
(1971) and the Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
romantic comedy Starting Over (1979), for which she received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress.
Bergen had roles in Western films including The Hunting Party
The Hunting Party (1971 film)
The Hunting Party is a violent 1971 American western film directed by Don Medford and starring Oliver Reed, Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Simon Oakland and Ronald Howard.-Plot:...
and Bite the Bullet, both of which starred Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
. She was the love interest of Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
in the Love Story
Love Story (1970 film)
Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal and based on his novel Love Story. It was directed by Arthur Hiller. The film, well known as a tragedy, is considered one of the most romantic of all time by the American Film Institute , and was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story...
sequel, Oliver's Story
Oliver's Story
Oliver's Story is the sequel to the novel Love Story by Erich Segal, turned into a movie of the same name in 1978. It was directed by John Korty and starred Ryan O'Neal and Candice Bergen. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge and Francis Lai. Unlike the original film, Oliver's...
, and portrayed a best-selling author in Rich and Famous
Rich and Famous (1981 film)
Rich and Famous is a 1981 American drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gerald Ayres is based on the 1941 play Old Acquaintance by John Van Druten, which was filmed with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins in 1943 under its original title. Both film versions are now owned by Turner...
(1981) with Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
. In 1982 Bergen appeared in the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
winning drama film Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
in which she portrayed documentary photographer Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White was an American photographer and documentary photographer. She is best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet Industry, the first female war correspondent and the first female photographer for Henry Luce's Life magazine, where her...
.
Bergen has written articles, a play, and a memoir, Knock Wood (1984). She has also studied photography and worked as a photojournalist. Considered one of Hollywood's most beautiful women, Bergen worked as a fashion model before she took up acting.
Turning to television and given a chance to show her little-seen comic talent, Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, Bergen played a tough television reporter. Primarily a conventional sit-com, the show did tackle important issues: TV star Murphy Brown, a recovering alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, became a single mother and later battled breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. In 1992, Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dan Quayle
Dan Quayle
James Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....
criticized prime-time TV for showing the Murphy Brown character "mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice." His remarks became comedic fodder, and were written into the show as if he were talking about the Murphy Brown character, who was depicted watching Quayle's speech. A subsequent episode explored the subject of family values within a diverse set of families. The Brown character arranges for a truckload of potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es to be dumped in front of Quayle's residence, an allusion to an infamous incident in which Quayle erroneously directed a school child to spell the word "potato" as "potatoe". In reality, Bergen agreed with at least some of Quayle's observations, saying that while the particular remark was "an arrogant and uninformed posture", as a whole, it was "a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable and nobody agreed with that more than I did." Bergen's run on Murphy Brown was extremely successful: between 1989 and 1995 she was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
seven times and won five. After her fifth win, she declined future nominations for the role. Throughout the same time frame as Murphy Brown, Bergen also appeared as the main spokesperson for a Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
telephone ad campaign, known to many in the ads as the "Dime Lady", for advertising Sprint's 10 cents a minute rate.
After playing the role of the successful journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, Bergen was offered a chance to work as a real-life one. After the run of Murphy Brown ended in 1998, CBS approached her to cover stories for 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, an offer she declined, with the conviction that she didn't personally want to blur the lines between actor and journalist at the time.
After Murphy Brown, Bergen hosted Exhale with Candice Bergen on the Oxygen network
Oxygen (TV channel)
Oxygen is an American cable television specialty channel with television programming marketed towards women, with a format similar to Lifetime.- History :...
. She also appeared in character roles in films, most notably Miss Congeniality (2000) as a former beauty queen who rivals Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
; and as the mayor of New York who disapproves of her son marrying Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She also appeared in the comedies View from the Top
View from the Top
View from the Top is a 2003 romantic comedy film about a young woman from a small town who sets out to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant...
with Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
and The In-Laws
The In-Laws (2003 film)
The In-Laws is a 2003 American comedy film starring Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Candice Bergen and Ryan Reynolds. The film is a remake of the original 1979 cult classic, which starred Alan Arkin and Peter Falk...
with Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, both released in 2003.
In January 2005, Bergen joined the cast of the television series Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
as Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner in the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. She played the role for five seasons. In 2006 and 2008, she received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
A frequent host on NBC's Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, she was the first woman to host the show and the first host to do a second show. Bergen guest-starred on The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
in its first year, appearing in several skits, an episode now available in a DVD collection. She was also featured in a long-running "Dime Lady" ad campaign for the Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
phone company.
She has also made guest appearances on many other TV shows, including Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
(as herself playing Murphy Brown), Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
(playing herself), and Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, where she played Enid Frick, Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
's editor at Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. More recently she appeared in the 2009 movie Bride Wars
Bride Wars
Bride Wars is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson....
as Marion St. Claire, New York's most sought-after wedding planner, who also serves as the narrator of the story.
Since its launch in 2008, Candice Bergen has been a contributor for wowOwow
WowOwow
wowOwow is a U.S.-based website publication run by Joni Evans. The site was launched by CEO Joni Evans, Mary Wells Lawrence, Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl, and Peggy Noonan on March 8, 2008...
.com, a website for women to talk culture, politics and gossip.
Bergen has an occasional role on House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
as Lisa Cuddy
Lisa Cuddy
Dr. Lisa Cuddy, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. She is portrayed by Lisa Edelstein. Cuddy was the Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator of the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. She also becomes House's love interest through the...
's mother, starting in Season 7, including the 2011 episodes "Larger Than Life
Larger Than Life (House)
"Larger Than Life" is the ninth episode of the seventh season of the American medical drama House. It aired on January 17, 2011.-Plot:...
" and "Family Practice
Family Practice (House)
"Family Practice" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the American medical drama House. It first aired on February 7, 2011.-Plot:...
".
In 2010, she appeared in a one-night only concert semi staged reading of Evening Primrose by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
.
Personal life
Candice Bergen attended the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Miss University, but acknowledges that her failure to take her education seriously resulted in her being asked to leave. She received an honorary doctorate from Penn
Penn
-Places:England*Penn, Buckinghamshire*Penn, West MidlandsUnited States*Penn, North Dakota*Pennsylvania**Penn, Pennsylvania*Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania*Penn Township , several municipalities-Education:...
in May 1992.
During the 1960s, Bergen and then-boyfriend Terry Melcher
Terry Melcher
Terrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
, the son of Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, lived at 10050 Cielo Drive
10050 Cielo Drive
The original home located at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California, has been occupied by many famous Hollywood figures, and was the scene of one of the Manson "family" murders. The house was designed by Robert Byrd in 1942 for French actress Michèle Morgan...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, which was later occupied by Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
and her husband, Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
. Tate and four others were murdered in the home in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
. There was some initial speculation that Melcher may have been the intended victim.
A political activist, Bergen accepted a date with Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
. During her activist days she participated in a Yippie
Youth International Party
The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a radically youth-oriented and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s. It was founded on Dec. 31, 1967...
prank when she, Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
, and others threw dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
in 1967, leading to its temporary shut-down. In 1972, she served as a fundraiser and organizer for George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
's presidential campaign
George McGovern presidential campaign, 1972
George McGovern, a United States Senator from South Dakota, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 1972 presidential election.-Leading up to the announcement:...
.
On September 27, 1980, she married French film director Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
(Bergen herself has traveled extensively and speaks French fluently). They had one child, a daughter named Chloe, in 1985. The couple were married until Malle's death from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on Thanksgiving Day in 1995.
Since June 15, 2000, she has been married to New York real estate magnate and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Marshall Rose.
Awards won
Emmy Awards:- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for: Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
(1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995) 5 wins
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical for: Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
(1989, 1992) 2 wins
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Lakey | ||
| 1966 | Shirley Eckert | ||
| 1967 | Electra Brown | ||
| 1967 | Vivre pour vivre | Candice | aka Live for Life (US) |
| 1968 | Lily | ||
| 1970 | Sue Ann Daley | ||
| 1970 | Getting Straight Getting Straight Getting Straight is a 1970 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures.The story centered upon student politics at a university in the early 1970s, seen through the eyes of non-conformist graduate student Harry Bailey... |
Jan | |
| 1970 | Soldier Blue Soldier Blue Soldier Blue is a 1970 American Revisionist Western movie directed by Ralph Nelson and inspired by events of the 1864 Sand Creek massacre in the Colorado Territory.... |
Kathy Maribel Lee, 'Cresta' | |
| 1971 | Carnal Knowledge Carnal Knowledge (film) Carnal Knowledge is a 1971 American drama film. The film was directed by Mike Nichols and written by Jules Feiffer.-Plot:Sandy and Jonathan are roommates at Amherst College whose lives are explored and seem to offer a contrast to one another... |
Susan | |
| 1971 | Melissa Ruger | ||
| 1971 | T.R. Baskin T.R. Baskin T.R. Baskin is a 1971 American drama film directed by Herbert Ross. It stars Candice Bergen, Peter Boyle, Marcia Rodd and James Caan.The screenplay by Peter Hyams focuses on a naïve young woman who moves to Chicago with the hope of finding romance and a fulfilling career.The film was released as A... |
T. R. Baskin | aka A Date with a Lonely Girl (UK) |
| 1974 | 11 Harrowhouse 11 Harrowhouse 11 Harrowhouse is a 1974 British film directed by Aram Avakian. It was adapted by Charles Grodin based upon the novel by Gerald A. Browne with the screenplay by Jeffrey Bloom... |
Maren Shirell | |
| 1975 | Eden Pedecaris | ||
| 1975 | Bite the Bullet | Miss Jones | |
| 1977 | Ellie Tucker | aka The Domino Killings (UK) | |
| 1978 | Lizzy | ||
| 1978 | Oliver's Story Oliver's Story Oliver's Story is the sequel to the novel Love Story by Erich Segal, turned into a movie of the same name in 1978. It was directed by John Korty and starred Ryan O'Neal and Candice Bergen. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge and Francis Lai. Unlike the original film, Oliver's... |
Marcie Bonwit | |
| 1979 | Starting Over | Jessica Potter | |
| 1981 | Rich and Famous Rich and Famous (1981 film) Rich and Famous is a 1981 American drama film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Gerald Ayres is based on the 1941 play Old Acquaintance by John Van Druten, which was filmed with Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins in 1943 under its original title. Both film versions are now owned by Turner... |
Merry Noel Blake | |
| 1982 | Gandhi Gandhi (film) Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both... |
Margaret Bourke-White Margaret Bourke-White Margaret Bourke-White was an American photographer and documentary photographer. She is best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet Industry, the first female war correspondent and the first female photographer for Henry Luce's Life magazine, where her... |
|
| 1984 | 2010 | SAL 9000 | voice only (credited as Olga Mallsnerd) |
| 1985 | Stick Stick (film) Stick is a 1985 crime film directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard.-Plot:Ernest "Stick" Stickley, a former car thief, has just been released from prison. He meets up with an old friend, Rainy, whose "quick stop" near the Florida Everglades... |
Kyle McClaren | |
| 2000 | Miss Congeniality | Kathy Morningside | |
| 2002 | Sweet Home Alabama | Mayor Kate Hennings | |
| 2003 | View from the Top View from the Top View from the Top is a 2003 romantic comedy film about a young woman from a small town who sets out to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant... |
Sally Weston | |
| 2003 | Judy Tobias | ||
| 2008 | Sex and the City | Enid Frick | |
| 2008 | Catherine Frazier | ||
| 2009 | Bride Wars Bride Wars Bride Wars is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson.... |
Marion St. Claire | |
| 2010 | Augusta |
Short subject
- Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947)
- Flash 02 (1967)
- The Lion Roars AgainThe Lion Roars AgainThe Lion Roars Again is a short film that documents an event that was hosted by Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer. The event was the International Press Conclave of 1975. The film was shot in a span of a couple days and was used as a preview of upcoming MGM movies...
(1975)
Documentary
- Wedding of the Doll (1968)
- Frames from the Edge (1989)
- Belly Talkers (1996)
- Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997)
Television
- Coronet BlueCoronet BlueCoronet Blue is an American TV series that ran on CBS from May 29, 1967, to September 4, 1967.It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford costarred...
(1 episode, 1967) - The Kraft Music Hall (1 episode, 1969)
- Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(1975) - The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
(1976) - Arthur the King (1985) (aka Merlin & the Sword) .... Morgan le FayMorgan le FayMorgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
- Murder: By Reason of Insanity (1985)
- Hollywood WivesHollywood WivesHollywood Wives is a 1983 novel by the British author Jackie Collins. It was her ninth novel, and her most successful.Hollywood Wives tells the stories of several women in Hollywood, ranging all the way from long-time talent agents and screenwriters to vivacious screen vixens and young, innocent...
(1985) (miniseries) - Mayflower Madam (1987)
- Trying Times (1 episode, 1987)
- Murphy BrownMurphy BrownMurphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
(247 episodes, 1988–1998) (also executive producer) - SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
(1 episode, 1992) - Understanding Sex (1994) .... Narrator
- UnderstandingUnderstandingUnderstanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object....
(2 episodes, 1995) .... Narrator - Mary & Tim (1996) (also co-executive producer)
- InkInk (TV series)Ink is a television sitcom which aired on CBS from 1996-1997 that starred real-life husband and wife Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen as newspaper journalists, allegedly inspired by the film His Girl Friday. The show was also produced by Danson and Steenburgen. The show was canceled after one season...
(1 episode, 1997) - Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
(2 episodes, 2000) as Gloria Ironbox - Footsteps (2003)
- Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
(3 episodes, 2004) as Vogue editor Enid Frick - Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
(1 episode, 2004) .... Judge Amanda Anderlee - Will & GraceWill & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
(2004) as herself - Law & Order: Trial by JuryLaw & Order: Trial by JuryLaw & Order: Trial by Jury is an American television drama about criminal trials set in New York City. It was the third spin-off from the long-running Law & Order. The show's almost exclusive focus was on the criminal trial of the accused, showing both the prosecution's and defense's preparation...
(3 episodes, 2005) .... Judge Amanda Anderlee - Boston LegalBoston LegalBoston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
(78 episodes, cast member from 2005–2008) - HouseHouse (TV series)House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
(3 episodes, 2011)