Bernadette Peters

Bernadette Peters Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: February 28, 1948

Age: 76 years old

Birth Place: Queens, New York City, New York

Partners: Steve Martin

Instantly recognizable for her curly red hair and porcelain doll features, Bernadette Peters was already a seasoned theater actress when she broke through with 1968's "Dames at Sea." Her critical triumphs as the star of a series of stage musicals earned her multiple Tony and Drama Desk Awards, and she earned an amazing track record with acclaimed turns in "Song and Dance," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Into the Woods," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Gypsy" and "A Little Night Music," earning a reputation as the premier interpreter of Stephen Sondheim. Romantically linked to Steve Martin for several years, Peters achieved great success onscreen as well, starring in Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie" (1976), the comedy classic "The Jerk" (1979), "Annie" (1982) and "Pennies from Heaven" (1981), winning a Golden Globe for the latter. Gifted with impeccable comic timing, a powerful voice, and a unique charisma, Peters became one of musical theater's most loved and recognizable ambassadors, appearing in many variety shows, tributes and filmed performances that increased mainstream interest in theater. Even audiences resistant to Broadway's charms could appreciate Peters in popular roles such as the sorceress Circe in "The Odyssey" (NBC, 1997) or as Brandy's wickedly bitchy stepmother in "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (ABC, 1997). Working steadily and to enormous acclaim across the entire entertainment spectrum, Bernadette Peters was universally hailed as one of the greatest musical theater performers of all time, if not the all-time greatest.

Born Feb. 28, 1948 in Ozone Park, Queens, NY, Bernadette Lazzara was the daughter of her bread delivery truck driver father, Peter, and a showbiz-savvy mother, Marguerite. (She would later take a form of her father's first name as her stage name.) Thanks to her mother's machinations, the young girl with the powerhouse voice made appearances on several game shows and local children's programming, including "Juvenile Jury" (NBC, 1947-1954; BET, 1983-84; syndicated, 1970-71, 1989-1991). After these first steps, Peters quickly revealed an innate talent for showmanship, notching several impressive professional credits before she was a teenager, including roles in "A Boy Called Ciske" (NBC, 1958) as well as 1959's musical "The Most Happy Fella." A small role in the second national touring company of "Gypsy" introduced Peters to Marvin Laird, who would become her longtime accompanist, conductor and arranger after he overheard her singing to herself and marveled at her immense talent.

Ascending through the theatrical ranks, Peters gained invaluable experience in a variety of plays and musicals, and after graduating high school, she landed work in several off-Broadway musicals, including 1966's "The Penny Friend" and 1967's "Curley McDimple." That same year, she debuted on Broadway in "Johnny No-Trump" and won a Theatre World Award opposite Joel Grey in 1968's "George M!" Her performance as the show-saving ingénue Ruby in the 1968 parody musical "Dames at Sea" sealed her stardom, earning her a Drama Desk Award and a wealth of critical acclaim. A newly minted Broadway star, she starred in 1969's "La Strada," 1971's "On the Town" and 1974's "Mack and Mabel," receiving Tony nominations for the latter two.

Hollywood beckoned, and Peters began to systematically accrue screen credits, including appearing in the TV movie version of the musical "Once Upon a Mattress" (CBS, 1972) and playing a sexy but easily duped prison secretary in the Burt Reynolds comedy smash "The Longest Yard" (1974). A comedic dynamo with a wicked intelligence glowing from behind her ringlet curls and porcelain doll face, Peters proved a natural fit as Mel Brooks' leading lady in his comedy "Silent Movie" (1976) and calibrated her talents to the perfect whacko wavelength to romance Steve Martin in "The Jerk" (1979). A scene in which Peters and Martin, who were dating in real life, earnestly but goofily warble "Tonight You Belong to Me" to each other showcased both performers at the peak of their comedic powers. Many viewers fell in love with Peters during one of her many performances as a staple guest on variety programming during this time, with her Emmy-nominated guest spot on "The Muppet Show" (syndicated, 1976-1981) proving a highlight.

She notched a Top 40 hit with the single "Gee Whiz" in 1980, but she proved most effective as a vocalist when her singing and acting merged on stage or on screen. Perhaps Peters' best feature performance came as a frustrated schoolteacher in love with a traveling salesman (Steve Martin) in Herbert Ross' stylish, underrated "Pennies from Heaven" (1981), a throwback to 1930s movie musicals. For her work in the film, she won a Best Actress Golden Globe and that same year, hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975) as well as posing for the December issue of Playboy wearing Bob Mackie-designed lingerie. Although her follow-up, the film version of the beloved musical "Annie" (1982), was not the enormous blockbuster Hollywood hoped for, Peters stole the show from co-stars Tim Curry and Carol Burnett as Lily St. Regis, Curry's delightfully tacky moll intent on kidnapping America's most optimistic orphan (Aileen Quinn). Despite her success on the West Coast, Peters heeded the siren song of New York and returned to appear in the 1982 off-Broadway dramedy "Sally and Marsha," for which she earned a Drama Desk Award nomination.

In 1984, she appeared in the first of two Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musicals, the experimental "Sunday in the Park with George." Playing a dual role as the lover of artist Georges Seurat (Mandy Patinkin) and her elderly descendent, Peters delivered an incandescent, Tony-nominated performance. A 1986 PBS recording of the performance earned the actress a CableACE Award. Many fans and critics believed that Peters was overdue for earning Broadway's highest honor, and were happy to see her nail the demanding female lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1985 hit, "Song and Dance." Playing an English girl adrift in America, Peters was onstage alone for the first act, singing nearly 20 numbers depicting various stories and aspects of the character's life. For her powerhouse performance, she won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and a reputation for being musical theater's premier leading lady.

A longtime muse of Sondheim's, Peters was universally acclaimed as perhaps the greatest interpreter of the famed composer/lyricist's work; she created the role of the Witch in the Sondheim/Lapine 1987 collaboration "Into the Woods" to rave reviews and a Drama Desk nomination. That same year, she was named Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year as well as the Sarah Siddons Actress of the Year. (Almost 10 years later, she would be the youngest person ever inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.) The actress returned to film work playing a disaffected hat designer in the downtown New York art scene ensemble "Slaves of New York" (1989), starring opposite Clint Eastwood in the dramedy "Pink Cadillac" (1989), and essaying the imperious mistress of Franz Liszt in James Lapine's "Impromptu" (1990). She would find more success on television, however, winning raves for her turns as the mother of a kidnapped child in the powerful "David" (ABC, 1988), as colorful televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker 0opposite Kevin Spacey as Jim Bakker in the biopic "Fall From Grace" (NBC, 1990), and as a cancer patient befriended by her psychologist (Mary Tyler Moore) in "The Last Best Year" (ABC, 1990). Younger viewers also benefited from the talents of this vocal chameleon as she voiced the breathy Rita in a series of recurring appearances on Steven Spielberg's well-regarded cartoon "Animaniacs" (Fox, 1993-95; The WB, 1995-98) as well as a loyal lady-in-waiting in Don Bluth's fantasy-based-in-fact cartoon musical "Anastasia" (1997).

Peters returned to Broadway in the ill-fated 1994 stage version of Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl," but garnered her second Tony and third Drama Desk Award as a goofy, goodhearted Annie Oakley in the 1999 Broadway revival of "Annie Get Your Gun." The lure of Hollywood remained strong, and she essayed memorable turns as a series of powerful women: the sorceress Circe in Homer's epic "The Odyssey" (NBC, 1997), the deliciously wicked stepmother to actress-singer Brandy in "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (ABC, 1997), and a country singer who mentors the up-and-coming LeAnn Rimes in "Holiday in Your Heart" (ABC, 1997). For her recurring role as a woman seeking a divorce after her husband paid someone to seduce her on "Ally McBeal" (Fox, 1997-2002) Peters earned her second Emmy nomination.

Many viewers who did not have the opportunity to see Peters on Broadway were able to see her work her theatrical magic in several performing arts specials such as the star-studded "Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" (PBS, 1992), "Hey Mr. Producer!: the Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh" (PBS, 1998) and "Quincy Jones: the First 50 Years" (ABC, 1998). She co-starred with Christina Applegate and Martin Short in the likable fairy tale-inspired "Prince Charming" (TNT, 2001) and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for her work in "Bobbie's Girl" (Showtime, 2002). Back on the big screen, Peters played Michael Douglas' wife in the dramedy "It Runs in the Family" (2003), but the most impressive next chapter in her career came as Mama Rose in the 2003 Broadway revival of "Gypsy." Considered by many critics to be one of the finest Broadway performances of all time, Peters managed to deliver a complex and radically new take on the legendary stage mother, earning another Tony nomination as well as the best accolades of her career.

In addition to her six solo albums, including the Grammy-nominated Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, Peters added yet another of her Grammy-winning Broadway cast albums to her discography with the release of Gypsy. Television continued to provide juicy roles for the actress, who impressed on the breast cancer research drama "Living Proof" (Lifetime, 2008) and in guest spots on "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ) as well as a recurring role on "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 2006-2010). Showered with awards and honors, Peters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Along with her immense success giving concerts, she also branched out into writing children's books to support Broadway Barks, an annual star-studded pet adoption event she and Mary Tyler Moore co-founded. In a lovely bit of serendipity, the multi-hyphenate talent who performed for Stephen Sondheim at his 1993 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony not only replaced Catherine Zeta-Jones in a 2010-11 Broadway revival of the composer's "A Little Night Music," but also won the Stephen Sondheim Award in 2011 and performed in Sondheim's musical "Follies" during the summer of 2011. Back on the small screen, Peters appeared on a pair of episodes of the Broadway-themed "Smash" (NBC, 2012-13), playing a former actress as well as the mother of Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty).

By Jonathan Riggs

Credits

High DesertStream

Actor
Roslyn/Ginger
Series
2023
71%

Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love

Music Performer
Special
2023

Live with Kelly and MarkStream

Guest
Talk
2023

The Best of The Ed Sullivan Show

Self
Show
2023

Access Daily With Mario & Kit

Guest
Show
2022

Cinderella: The ReunionStream

Self
Special
2022

Cinderella: The Reunion

Self
Show
2022

The 75th Annual Tony Awards

Music Performer
Show
2022

Zoey's Extraordinary ChristmasStream

Actor
Deb
Movie
2021

Katy KeeneStream

Guest Star
Ms. Freesia
Series
2020
91%

Zoey's Extraordinary PlaylistStream

Guest Star
Deb
Series
2020
81%

The Broken Hearts GalleryStream

Actor
Eva Woolf
Movie
2020
80%

Today 3rd Hour

Guest
Show
2018

Nothing Changes: Art for Hank's Sake

Self
Show
2018

The Year in Memoriam 2017

Guest
Show
2017

The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special

Guest
Show
2017

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Guest
Talk
2017

The Good FightStream

Guest Star
Series
2017
95%

10 Little Rubber Ducks

Narrator
Show
2016

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

Best in Shelter With Jill Rappaport

Guest
Show
2015

Girlfriends' Guide to DivorceStream

Guest
Series
2014

Mozart in the JungleStream

Actor
Gloria
Series
2014
94%

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return

Voice
Glinda
Movie
2014

Live! With Kelly and Michael

Guest
Talk
2012

SmashStream

Guest Star
Series
2012
68%

LIVE with Kelly

Guest
Talk
2011

Coming Up Roses

Actor
Diane
Movie
2011

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

Watch What Happens Live With Andy CohenStream

Guest
Talk
2009

Living Proof

Actor
Movie
2008

Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda

Guest
Show
2007

Ugly BettyStream

Guest Star
Jodie Papadakis
Series
2006
97%

Grey's AnatomyStream

Guest Star
Series
2005
84%

Boston LegalStream

Guest Star
Judge Marianna Folger
Series
2004
86%

It Runs in the Family

Actor
Rebecca Gromberg
Movie
2003

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration

Voice
Sue
Movie
2003

Bobbie's Girl

Actor
Bailey Lewis
Movie
2002

Live With Regis and Kelly

Guest
Show
2001

Live With Regis and Kelly

Host
Show
2001

Prince Charming

Actor
Margo / Titania
Movie
2001

Law & Order: Special Victims UnitStream

Guest Star
Stella Danquiss
Series
1999
78%

Snow Days

Actor
Elise Ellis
Movie
1999

Will & GraceStream

Guest Star
Gin
Series
1998

The Closer

Guest Star
Victoria Sherwood
Show
1998

Ally McBeal

Guest Star
Series
1997
61%

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

The OdysseyStream

Actor
Miniseries
1997

Rodgers & Hammerstein's CinderellaStream

Actor
Cinderella's Stepmother
Movie
1997
86%

What the Deaf Man Heard

Actor
Helen Ayers
Movie
1997

Holiday in Your Heart

Actor
Faith Shawn
Movie
1997

AnastasiaStream

Voice
Sophie
Movie
1997
84%

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted ChristmasStream

Voice
Angelique
Movie
1997
13%

FrasierStream

Guest Voice
Rachel
Series
1993
95%

Impromptu

Actor
Marie D'Agoult
Movie
1991

Fall From Grace

Actor
Tammy Faye Bakker
Movie
1990

The Last Best Year

Actor
Jane Murray
Movie
1990

Alice

Actor
Muse
Movie
1990

Slaves of New York

Actor
Eleanor
Movie
1989

Pink Cadillac

Actor
Lou Ann McGuinn
Movie
1989

David

Actor
Marie Rothenberg
Movie
1988

Sunday in the Park With George

Actor
Dot / Marie
Show
1986

Baryshnikov in Hollywood

Actor
The Girl in 'The Sheik'
Movie
1982

AnnieStream

Actor
Lily
Movie
1982
49%

Heartbeeps

Actor
Aqua
Movie
1981

Tulips

Actor
Rutanya Wallace
Movie
1981

Pennies from HeavenStream

Actor
Eileen
Movie
1981
83%

The Martian Chronicles

Actor
Miniseries
1980

Circus of the Stars

Self
Ringmaster
Show
1979

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

The JerkStream

Actor
Marie Kimble Johnson
Movie
1979
83%

Circus of the Stars

Self
Ringmaster
Show
1977

Bing Crosby's White Christmas

Guest
Show
1976

All's Fair

Actor
Charley Drake
Show
1976

The Sonny and Cher Show

Guest
Variety Show
1976

Live From Lincoln Center

Music Performer
Show
1976

Silent Movie

Actor
Vilma Kaplan
Movie
1976

W.C. Fields and Me

Actor
Melody
Movie
1976

Vigilante Force

Actor
Little Dee
Movie
1976

Saturday Night LiveStream

Host
Series
1975

The Longest YardStream

Actor
Miss Toot
Movie
1974
76%

Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies

Actor
Allison
Movie
1973

Great PerformancesStream

Music Performer
Franchise
1972

MaudeStream

Guest Star
Series
1972

All in the FamilyStream

Guest Star
Series
1971

McCloud

Guest Star
B.B. Murchison
Series
1970

George M!

Actor
Josie Cohan
Movie
1970

Love, American Style

Actor
Nellie
Series
1969

The Carol Burnett ShowStream

Guest
Variety Show
1967

The Carol Burnett ShowStream

Guest Star
Variety Show
1967

We Interrupt This Season

Actor
Show
1967

Today

Guest
News
1952

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

News aboutBernadette Peters

Patricia Arquette in Apple TV+'s 'High Desert'

‘High Desert’ Trailer: See Patricia Arquette as Addict-Turned-PI in Dark Comedy (VIDEO)

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella Brady Whitney Houston

10 Fun Facts About ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella,’ Now 25 Years Old

Victor Garber, Brandy Norwood, Whoopi Goldberg in Cinderella

ABC Reuniting ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ Cast for 25th Anniversary

Ariana DeBose performs onstage at the 75th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 12, 2022 in New York City

2022 Tony Awards: Sondheim Tribute, Ariana DeBose’s Opener & More Must-See Moments

Bernadette Peters and Billy Porter

2022 Tony Awards Performers: Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter & More

Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas

Can’t Miss Episode of the Week: ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’

'Annie Live!' Cast Comparisons, 'Annie' 1982, 'Annie' 2014 Casts

See How the ‘Annie Live!’ Cast Stacks Up Against Their Predecessors (PHOTOS)

Bernadette Peters, Matt Dillon, Christine Taylor

Apple Series ‘High Desert’ Adds Matt Dillon, Bernadette Peters, Christine Taylor & More

Top Chef, Die Hart, Archer

10 Reasons to Tune Into the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmys

Jane Levy in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’: Roku Announces Production Start for Christmas Movie

Alice Lee as Emily and Andrew Leeds as David with their baby in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - Season 2
Preview

‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’: Andrew Leeds and Alice Lee Preview Bernadette Peters’ Return

Rita Moreno

10 Amazing ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Guest Stars, From Phylicia Rashad (Who’s Coming Back!) to Rita Moreno

Zoeys Extraordinary Playlist Mary Steenburgen
Preview

Mary Steenburgen on Casket Dancing in ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ (VIDEO)

Gael Garcia Bernal in Mozart in the Jungle - Season 2

Roush Review: ‘Mozart in the Jungle’ Makes Beautiful Music

Mozart in the Jungle

‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Venice, Romance, and Rikers Island Highlight a Joyous Season 3