Candice Patricia Bergen was born May 9, 1946, in Beverly Hills, California. Her mother was Powers model Frances Westcott and her father was comedian/ actor Edgar Bergen.

As a child, Bergen began appearing on her father’s radio program. At age 11 she appeared with her father on You Bet Your Life. In 1966, Candice made her screen debut in The Group. In 1975, she starred with Sean Connery in The Wind and the Lion. Bergen began to write articles then tried her hand at a play and a memoir, “Knock Wood.” In school, she studied to be a photojournalist, but took up modeling to pay the bills.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s she appeared in many films such as Carnal Knowledge and Starting Over, for which she received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress.
Candice decided to turn to television, to display her comic talents.

Murphy Brown turned out to be so much more. Bergen played a television reporter with her own style and ideas. The series became controversial when they started covering important issues.

The character, Murphy Brown, was a recovering alcoholic, became a single mother and later battled breast cancer. In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle criticized the show for “mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice.”

After Murphy Brown ended in 1998, CBS asked Bergen to cover stories for 60 Minutes, an offer she declined. Bergen went on to host Exhale with Candice Bergen and appear in a variety of movies.

In 2005, Bergen came back to tv in Boston Legal In 2006 and 2008, she received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She has also made guest appearances on many other TV shows, including Seinfeld, Law & Order, Will & Grace, and Sex and the City. Bergen was the first woman to host Saturday Night Live, in 1975, and the first host to do a second show. Bergen also hosted SNL in 1976, 1987, and 1990.

In 1981, Bergen married French film director Louis Malle. They had one child, Chloe Malle, in 1985. The couple was married until Malle’s death in 1995. Candice Bergen has won five Emmy awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Murphy Brown; in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1995. She also has two golden globes for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical for Murphy Brown in1989 and 1992.