Peters cemented her reputation early on for giving show-stopping performances. She received both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her critically acclaimed performance in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Song and Dance. She garnered Tony nominations for her memorable turn in the 1992 musical The Goodbye Girl; Stephen Sondheim’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park With George; the Jerry Herman/Gower Champion ode to the movies Mack and Mabel; and the Leonard Bernstein/ Comden and Green musical On The Town. Peters also earned a Drama Desk nomination for her portrayal of the Witch (where she was virtually unrecognizable) in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

Bernadette Peters as Mama Rose (Photo by Joan Marcus)

In June 1999, Peters earned her second Tony Award, her third Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Annie Oakley in one of Broadway’s most popular musicals, the smash Tony Award-winning hit Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun.

While the tireless actor is best known for her work in the theater, she never stops working when the curtain goes down. A performer of amazing versatility, Peters has lit up the screen in 14 films during her distinguished career. She currently stars opposite Kirk and Michael Douglas in the comedy It Runs in the Family. She received a Golden Globe Award for her memorable performance in Pennies From Heaven. Other film credits include The Jerk with Steve Martin, The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds, Silent Movie with Mel Brooks, Annie with Carol Burnett, Pink Cadillac with Clint Eastwood, Slaves of New York with Mercedes Ruehl, and Woody Allen’s Alice with Mia Farrow.

Peters has also garnered impressive television credits. Next month, she’ll appear in the Showtime movie Bobbie’s Girl. She’ll play a Broadway diva in Prince Charming, a TNT movie co-starring Martin Short and Christina Applegate. Peters has starred in several TV movies, including Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston, and Holiday In Your Heart with Leann Rimes. Peters’ sparkling personality and quick wit have led to frequent stints as a guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly. “She’s a real dynamo,” raves Philbin. She’s also the voice of Rita the Cat in the popular Steven Spielberg animated program Animaniacs.

Mama Rose sings out (Photo by Joan Marcus)

Peters, a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, was named Woman of the Year in 1999 by the Police Athletic League (PAL), an organization that runs 84 youth centers and 150 summer camps for New York City’s neediest children. That same year, the Actors Fund of America bestowed its 1999 Artistic Achievement Award on her. She recently received the Special Advocate Award from the City of New York for her contributions to the gay and lesbian community, and is the youngest person to be inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. More recently, she received the 2000 New York Heroes Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Other honors include Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year for her “lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment.”

Peters, who shuttles between homes in New York City and LA with her husband of six years, investment adviser Michael Wittenberg, is an intensely private person. In her spare time she enjoys visiting friends in the Hamptons (and is particularly fond of Montauk). The star devotes much of her time and talents to charitable events that benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, God’s Love We Deliver, and The Gay Men’s Health Crisis. An avid animal lover (her two rescue dogs were adopted from local animal shelters) Peters’ “pet project” is Broadway Barks, an annual, star-studded dog adoption event benefiting New York animal shelters. Mommas Rose and Marguerite would be so proud!

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