Actors - Candice Bergen

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	Actors - Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress best known for her starring role on the television situation comedy Murphy Brown.

Early life

She was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of Frances Westerman and radio ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (whose parents, Johan Henriksson Berggren and Nilla Svensdotter Osberg, were Swedish-born immigrants who Anglicized their surname). As a child Candice was often referred to as "Charlie McCarthy's Little Sister", which irritated her (Charlie McCarthy being one of her father's dummies).

Career

Bergen has written articles, a play, and a memoir. She has also studied photography and worked as a photojournalist. Considered one of Hollywood's most beautiful women, Bergen worked as a fashion model but soon began acting. Despite initial rocky reviews, she appeared in such films as Carnal Knowledge and Starting Over
, for which she received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress.

Bergen was the first female guest host on Saturday Night Live
. On Murphy Brown she played a tough television reporter. Although the show was a successful comedy, it tackled important issues: Murphy Brown, a recovering alcoholic, became a single mother and later battled breast cancer. In 1992, then Vice President of the United States Dan Quayle criticized the Murphy Brown character for bearing a child while unmarried. While his remarks became comedic fodder, they paved the way for a subsequent episode to explore the subject of family values within a diverse set of families. Remaining true to the show's humor, Murphy arranges for a truckload of potatoes to be dumped in front of Quayle's residence (a reference to an incident in which Quayle spelled the word "potato" with an e, as "potatoe", an archaic spelling).

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
as the sweet-yet-demented pageant host Kathy Morningside, and portrayed the mayor of New York in Sweet Home Alabama. In 2003 she appeared in the movie View from the Top
. In January 2005, Bergen joined the cast of Boston Legal as Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner in the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. She has also done guest appearances on many TV shows, including Family Guy and Will and Grace.

Private life

Candice attended the University of Pennsylvania, but acknowledges that her failure to take her education seriously resulted in her being asked to leave. Bergen and then boyfriend Terry Melcher lived at 10050 Cielo Drive, which was later occupied by Sharon Tate and her husband, Roman Polanski. Tate and four others were later murdered in the home. A political activist, Bergen accepted a date with Henry Kissinger but was unable to influence his views. In 1981, she married French film director Louis Malle. They had a daughter, Chloe Malle, in 1985, and remained married until his death by cancer in 1995.

Bergen has traveled extensively, and speaks French fluently. She is a vegetarian and is currently married to Marshall Rose.

Filmography

Film

Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947) (short subject)
The Group (1966)
The Sand Pebbles
(1966)
Flash 02 (1967) (short subject)
The Day the Fish Came Out (1967)
Live for Life (1967)
Wedding of the Doll (1968) (documentary)
The Magus (1968)
The Adventurers (1970)
The Executioner (1970)
Getting Straight (1970)
Soldier Blue
(1970)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
The Hunting Party (1971)
T.R. Baskin (1971)
11 Harrowhouse (1974)
The Lion Roars Again (1975) (short subject)
The Wind and the Lion
(1975)
Bite the Bullet (1975)
The Domino Principle (1977)
A Night Full of Rain (1978)
Oliver's Story
(1978)
Starting Over
(1979)
Rich and Famous (1981)
Gandhi
(1982)
2010 (1984) (voice only) (credited as Olga Mallsnerd)
Stick (1985)
Frames from the Edge (1989) (documentary)
Belly Talkers (1996) (documentary)
Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997) (documentary)
Miss Congeniality
(2000)
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
View from the Top
(2003)
The In-Laws
(2003)

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