Candice Bergen(I)

One cool, eternally classy lady, Candice Bergen was elegantly poised for trendy "ice princess" stardom when she first arrived on the '60s screen, but she gradually reshaped that débutante image in the '70s, both on- and off-camera. A staunch, outspoken feminist with a decisive edge, she went on to take a sizable portion of those contradicting qualities to film and, most particularly, to late 1980s TV.

The daughter of famed ventriloquistEdgar Bergenand former actress and "Chesterfield Girl" modelFrances Bergen(née Westerman), Candice Patricia Bergen was born in Beverly Hills, California, of Swedish, German, and English descent. At the age of six, she made her radio debut on her father's show. She attended Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles, the Cathedral School in Washington D.C. and then went abroad to the Montesano (finishing) School in Switzerland. Although she began taking art history and creative drawing at the University of Pennsylvania, she did not complete her studies.

In between she also worked as a Ford model in order to buy cameras for her new passion--photography. HerGrace Kelly-like glacial beauty deemed her an ideal candidate for Ivy League patrician roles, and Candice made an auspicious film debut while still a college student portraying the Vassar-styled lesbian member ofSidney Lumet'sThe Group (1966)in an ensemble that included the debuts of other lovely up-and-comers includingKathleen Widdoes,Carrie Nye,Joan HackettandJoanna Pettet.

Film offers started coming her way, both here and abroad (spurred by her love for travel). Other than her top-notch roles as the co-ed who comes betweenJack NicholsonandArt GarfunkelinCarnal Knowledge (1971)and her prim American lady kidnapped by Moroccan sheikSean ConneryinThe Wind and the Lion (1975),her performances were deemed a bit too aloof to really stand out among the crowd. During this time, she found a passionate second career as a photographer and photojournalist. A number of her works went on to appear in an assortment of magazines including Life, Playboy and Esquire.

Most of Candice's 1970s films were dismissible and unworthy of her talents, including the campus comedyGetting Straight (1970)opposite the hip counterculture star of the era --Elliott Gould;the disturbingly violentSoldier Blue (1970);the epic-sized bombThe Adventurers (1970);T.R. Baskin (1971);Bite the Bullet (1975);The Domino Principle (1977),Lina Wertmüller's long-winded and notoriously long-titled Italian dramaLa fine del mondo nel nostro solito letto in una notte piena di pioggia (1978);and the inferior sequel to the huge box-office soaperLove Story (1970),entitledOliver's Story (1978)alongside original starRyan O'Neal.Things picked up toward the second half of the decade, however, when the seemingly humorless Candice made a clever swipe at comedy. She made history as the first female guest host ofSaturday Night Live (1975)and then showed an equally amusing side of her in the dramedyStarting Over (1979)asBurt Reynolds' tone-deaf ex-wife, enjoying a "best supporting actress" Oscar nomination in the process. She andJacqueline Bissetalso worked well as a team inGeorge Cukor'sRich and Famous (1981),in which her mother Frances could be glimpsed in a Malibu party scene.

Candice made her Broadway debut in 1985 replacingSigourney WeaverinDavid Rabe's black comedy "Hurlyburly". In 1980 Candice marriedLouis Malle,the older (by 14 years) French director. They had one child, Chloe. In the late 1980s, Candice hit a new career plateau on comedy television as the spiky title role onMurphy Brown (1988),giving great gripe as the cynical and competitive anchor/reporter of a TV magazine show. With a superlative supporting cast around her, the CBS sitcom went the distance (ten seasons) and earned Candice a whopping five Emmys and two Golden Globe awards. TV-movie roles also came her way as a result with colorful roles ranging from the evil Arthurian temptress "Morgan Le Fey" to an elite, high-classed madam -- all many moons away from her initial white-gloved debs of the late 60s.

Husband Malle's illness and subsequent death from cancer in 1995 resulted in Candice maintaining a low profile for an extended period. In time, however, she married a second time (since 2000) to Manhattan real estate developer Marshall Rose and returned to acting with a renewed vigor (or vinegar), with many of her characters enjoyable extensions of her sardonic "Murphy Brown" character. As for TV, she joined the 2005 cast ofBoston Legal (2004)playing a brash, no-nonsense lawyer while trading barbs with a much less seriousWilliam Shatner,earning an Emmy nomination in the process. In 2018, Candice revisited her Murphy Brown character in a revised series form with many of the cast back on board. The show, however, was cancelled after only one season.

Candice also ventured into the romantic comedy film genre with a spray of crisp supports -- sometimes as a confidante, sometimes as a villain. Such films includeMiss Congeniality (2000),Sweet Home Alabama (2002),The In-Laws (2003),Sex and the City (2008),The Women (2008),Bride Wars (2009),A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014),Rules Don't Apply (2016),The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017),Home Again (2017)andBook Club (2018).