Candice Bergen has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, shaping a stellar career for nearly six decades. Despite working in an industry where physical looks have always been the subject of criticism, Bergen does not shy away from delving into conversations about one’s body appearance.
Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of Vogue before she made her screen debut in the film “The Group.”
But she has also done several successful projects on television, including Shirley Schmidt in the drama “Boston Legal.” Meanwhile, Bergen received various nominations throughout the course of her career, including Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “Starting Over,” and a Bafta Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “Gandhi.”
Perhaps Bergen is best known for her role in the CBS sitcom “Murphy Brown” where she portrayed the titular role. It became one of the most successful TV shows she ever did, giving her five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for the said project.
In 2015, Bergen released a memoir called “A Fine Romance,” where she talked about her experience doing “Murphy Brown” and how it changed her life for a decade.
“For the 10 years I did the show, my life revolved around a darkened soundstage. Despite the fact that ‘Murphy Brown’ was set at a newsmagazine, it was a struggle to keep up with current events. I’d carry the ‘New York Times Book Review’ back and forth on the plane between L.A. and New York and never read it. I was out of the loop at dinner parties,” she said.
Bergen went on to describe how fun it was for her doing “Murphy Brown.” She said she didn’t want the stop doing what she did in the show.
“Yet I never wanted it to end; doing ‘Murphy Brown’ was insanely fun. When the writing was good, it was a giddy, joyous experience. I was the most comfortable and confident I’d ever been. The part was a godsend — a fantastic role that completely suited me. My friends were all happy for me; it was unusual for a woman my age to get that role and that success,” Bergen said.
Outside of her stellar career as an actress, Bergen is a doting mom to her daughter, Chloe Malle, whom she had with her late French director husband, Louis Malle, who passed in 1995. She remarried in 2000, tying the knot with Marshall Rose.
In 2020, she marked another milestone in her family life as she became a grandmother to her adorable grandson, Arthur Louis Albert. Chloe announced her son’s birth on Instagram with adorable pictures of the newborn. Since then, Bergen has been an undeniably hands-on grandmother who dotes on the little tot. Bergen’s Instagram feed is filled with loving pictures of her and her grandson, such as when she first met “Artie,” as he’s been nicknamed. “Life A.A. After Artie. My first grandson. Oh my. After two weeks quarantine and a Covid test. Life as a Pandemic granny,” she wrote in the caption. She also posted a photo of her bottle feeding the infant, bathing him in the “same tub I used to bathe his mama!” and spending their first Christmas together.
Bergen’s new role as a grandmother also saw her reduced to tears when she appeared on “The Talk” in 2020. As soon as host Sharon Osbourne congratulated Bergen on becoming a grandmother, the star became overwhelmed with emotion and could barely get her words out.
“Oh, bless you,” Osbourne said as Bergen tried to pull herself back together. “He’s great, his name is Arthur and he’s just the best,” Bergen finally managed to get out.
“And I bet you are a doting grandma,” Osbourne said, to which Bergen replied, “Yes, I am.”
In July 2022, Bergen posted an update on little Artie via a cute photo on Instagram. The young boy was dressed as a chef and “whipping up dinner” on his play kitchen set. More photos posted in February 2023 showed Artie goofing around with his grandmother and wearing a fake mustache. “My grandson is only 21/2 but they mature so fast today,” Bergen wrote in the caption. It’s clear Bergen is simply smitten with Artie. However, she’s also incredibly proud of her daughter as well.
In an Oct. 27, 2022, post, Bergen shared a sweet throwback photo of her with her daughter Chloe, captioned simply: “Maternal pride.”
For Bergen, getting older is not the burden it’s made out to be. While she has lost some of the luster of her youth, she isn’t letting it get her down.
“The reality is that I don’t look like I used to look,” she told New York magazine. “I just don’t care enough, and in a way it’s saved me.”
In the said book, she opened up about her “overpowering love” for Chloe – including seeing the latter blossom into the woman that she is today. In the same book, Bergen opened up about gaining weight, sharing how she felt otherwise positive about it.
“Let me just come right out and say it: I am fat,” she wrote.
“None of this ‘eat to live’ stuff for me. I am a champion eater. No carb is safe — no fat, either,” she said.
She also shared her experience of seemingly getting judged for eating what she liked at an event. But Bergen had the most epic response to dismiss the judgment she received from the person who gave her a look: she simply didn’t care.
“At a recent dinner party, I shared bread and olive oil, followed by chocolate ice cream with my husband. A woman near me looked at me, appalled, I thought, ‘I don’t care,’” she remarked.
While most people her age try to become more conscious about their diet, she preferred to eat food that makes her happy.
“Dieting is out of my purview,” she said. “I crave cookies… all the things that dilate my pupils,” she added.
Bergen went on to share what her friends have had to endure to maintain their diet, admitting it’s something she just couldn’t do.
“They maintain their weight by routinely vomiting after major meals consisting of a slice of steak or a filet of fish,” she said. “I am incapable of this,” she revealed.
How adorable is Bergen as a grandmother? Do you agree with her views about dieting? Let us know your thoughts, and pass this on to anyone who might love to read this!
