Bernadette Peters Overview

Bernadette Peters was born on February 28, 1948 in Ozone Park, New York. A born entertainer, she is considered one of the all time great leading ladies of the Broadway musical stage. Comfortable in both drama and comedy she has put... [more]

Bernadette Peters was born on February 28, 1948 in Ozone Park, New York. A born entertainer, she is considered one of the all time great leading ladies of the Broadway musical stage. Comfortable in both drama and comedy she has put a stamp on many of the great roles in the musical theatre cannon. Peters made her Broadway debut at the tender age of 11, as Tessie in the revival of The Most Happy Fella. She appeared in two Broadway plays The Girl in the Freudian Slip and Johnny No-Trump before making her big splash in the musical George M! Peters played the role of Josie Cohan, George M. Cohan's little sister, she starred alongside Joel Grey and displayed her tap dancing skills to great effect earning her a Theatre World Award. She then played Hildy in a revival of On the Town, for which she was Tony nominated before starring in the Jerry Herman musical flop Mack and Mabel and recieving her first Tony nomination in the lead category. Although, unsuccessful, Peters performance in the role of Mabel secured her as a bonafide Broadway leading lady, putting her signature vocal stylings to use on the songs "Look What Happened to Mabel" and "Time Heals Everything". Absent for nearly a decade, Peters returned to star in the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Sunday in the Park with George, earning raves and another Tony nomination for her work as both Dot, Georges Suerrat's girlfriend and Marie, Georges Suerrat's daughter. Her triumphant work in the musical lead to a mid-80's rush of Peters projects. She next starred in the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical Song and Dance, which found the actress alone on stage for the entire first act of the musical and winning her first Tony Award. She then starred as the witch in the dark fairytale musical of Sondheim and Lapine's Into the Woods. In 1993, Peters starred opposite Martin Short in Marvin Hamlisch musical The Goodbye Girl, which never took off and closed after a few months. In 1999, she returned to Broadway to star in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun, earning a Tony Award for her performance. She then went on to star in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, playing arguably the greatest musical theatre role Mamma Rose to great acclaim and a Tony nomination. [show less]