Bernadette Peters’ outstanding characteristics are her flawless complexion, bee-stung lips, kewpie-doll voice, and gift for light comedy. Her mother started her off in show business by putting her on the television show Juvenile Jury at the age of three and a half years. By the age of nine, she got her Equity Card. In her teen years, she appeared in The Most Happy Fella (1959), was an understudy for “Dainty June” in the touring company of Gypsy (1961), and was in The Penny Friend (1966) and The Girl In The Freudian Slip (1967). She first attracted critical notice in the Off-Broadway spoof of 1930s musicals, Dames at Sea. In the movies, she is remembered primarily for the movies she made with Steve Martin; in theatre, she has come to be associated with Stephen Sondheim’s music, appearing in his Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and, in 2003, returning to Gypsy as “Mama Rose.” She has won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice: 1985 for Song and Dance and 1999 for Annie Get your Gun. Bernadette continues to perform on stage and in front of the camera. Most recently, she appeared in the film Coming Up Roses, which was released in 2012. Bernadette is frequently named one of the four greatest living musical divas alongside Betty Buckley, Patti LuPone and Elaine Paige. Bernadette continues to tour the globe.
