Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress, former fashion model, and darling of the television industry.
A five-time Emmy Award winner for her title role in the hit 1988–98 sitcom Murphy Brown, Bergen has since graced the small screen as a Special Guest in series such as Seinfeld, Law & Order, Sex and the City and Will & Grace. Younger tropers will perhaps most likely recognize her as Shirley Schmidt, the foxy, feisty, brilliant attorney lusted after (and loved) by both Denny Crane and Alan Shore in the hit series Boston Legal. In the '90s she also appeared in many commercials for Sprint long-distance telephone service, advertising the ten cents a minute plan they offered at the time
. She is also notable as a member of the "Five-Timers Club" of Saturday Night Live hosts.
Bergen is no stranger to the silver screen, either. She made her big-screen breakout in Carnal Knowledge and has since starred in critically acclaimed films such as The Wind and the Lion and Gandhi, as well as such blockbusters as Miss Congeniality, Sex and the City, and Sweet Home Alabama. She even earned herself an Academy Award nomination for her role in the 1979 romantic comedy Starting Over, but lost to the acting tour de force that was Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer.
The daughter of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, she was married to French film director Louis Malle from 1980 until his death in 1995, and had one child (daughter Chloe Françoise) with him. Since 2000 she has been married to real estate developer Marshall Rose.
Filmography on TV Tropes:
- The Sand Pebbles (1966) as Shirley Eckert
- Live for Life (1967) as Candice
- The Magus (1968) as Lily
- Getting Straight (1970) as Jan
- Soldier Blue (1970) as Cresta
- Carnal Knowledge (1971) as Susan
- Bite the Bullet (1975) as Miss Jones
- The Wind and the Lion (1975) as Eden Pedecaris
- Gandhi (1982) as Margaret Bourke-White
- 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) SAL 9000 (voice, as Olga Mallsnerd)
- Miss Congeniality (2000) as Kathy Morningside
- Sweet Home Alabama (2002) as Mayor Kate Hennings
- View from the Top (2003) as Sally Weston
- Sex and the City (2008) as Enid Frick
- The Women (2008) as Catherine Frazier
- Bride Wars (2009) as Marion
- A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014) as Donna Mitchler
- The Meyerowitz Stories (2017) as Julia
- The Muppet Show (1 episode, 1976) as Herself
- Murphy Brown (1988–98, 2018) as Murphy Brown
- Seinfeld (1 episode, 1992) as Murphy Brown
- Family Guy (2 episodes, 2000) as Gloria Ironbox/Murphy Brown (voice)
- Sex and the City (3 episodes, 2002–04) as Enid Mead/Enid Frick
- Will & Grace (1 episode, 2003) as Herself
- Law & Order (1 episode, 2004) as Trial Judge Amanda Anderlee
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury (3 episodes, 2005) as Trial Judge Amanda Anderlee
- Boston Legal (2005–08) as Shirley Schmidt
- House (3 episodes, 2011) as Arlene Cuddy
- The Michael J. Fox Show (1 episode, 2013) as Beth Henry
- Battle Creek (1 episode, 2015) as Constance
- BoJack Horseman (1 episode, 2016) as The Closer (voice)
- The Conners (3 episodes, 2021) as Barb
Associated Tropes:
- And Starring: She gets the "with" in the Boston Legal credits, right before William Shatner.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Candice started out as a debutante with an Ice Queen reputation, but has softened over the years, largely thanks to her role in Murphy Brown, where she was finally able to showcase her comedic side.
- Former Teen Rebel: She was a political activist in her younger years, and was involved in a prank that resulted in the temporary shutdown of the New York Stock Exchange.
