Long before audiences knew her as Murphy Brown, Bergen worked as a model and appeared in major fashion publications, including Vogue.
Acting eventually became her calling, and she went on to appear in numerous films and television productions.
But it was “Murphy Brown” that transformed her into one of television’s most recognizable stars.
Interestingly, Bergen wasn’t necessarily the obvious choice for the role.
She later recalled that the character had initially been envisioned as younger, with Heather Locklear among the actresses considered. However, writer and producer Diane English reportedly saw something special in Bergen and believed she was right for the part.
That decision proved enormously successful.
“Murphy Brown” became a major television hit, while Bergen’s portrayal of the outspoken television journalist earned widespread acclaim.
The character was intelligent, ambitious, sarcastic, complicated and unapologetically outspoken—qualities that made her particularly memorable.
Bergen once reflected on how liberating playing Murphy could be, saying the character allowed her to embrace her “brattiest” and “bawdiest” side.
Her performance earned her multiple Emmy nominations and five wins.
After winning for the fifth time, Bergen famously asked that she no longer be submitted for Emmy consideration for the role, opening the door for other performers to receive recognition.
But Bergen’s willingness to challenge expectations hasn’t been limited to her acting career.
She has also spoken remarkably candidly about getting older and refusing to obsess over maintaining the same body she had when she was younger.
In her memoir, “A Fine Romance,” Bergen addressed her relationship with food with the kind of humor and directness longtime fans had come to expect.
“Let me just come right out and say it: I am fat. I live to eat,” she wrote.
Rather than presenting weight gain as something she needed to apologize for, Bergen discussed enjoying food and refusing to allow constant dieting to dominate her life.
She even described herself as a “champion eater,” joking that neither carbohydrates nor fat were particularly safe around her.
Behind the humor was a more serious point.
Bergen had spent much of her life in entertainment and fashion, two industries where a woman’s appearance can be scrutinized relentlessly.
As she grew older, her priorities changed.
Instead of devoting herself to trying to preserve a younger version of herself, Bergen embraced the stage of life she was actually experiencing.
She also spoke about watching women become consumed with staying thin and youthful, sometimes going to troubling extremes to maintain their figures.
Bergen made it clear that wasn’t the life she wanted.
While some people around her concentrated intensely on dieting, she joked that cookies and other foods remained considerably more interesting to her.
Her comments resonated because they pushed against a familiar Hollywood narrative.
Women, particularly actresses, are often expected to treat aging as a problem requiring constant correction.
Bergen chose another approach.
She allowed herself to age.
She allowed herself to enjoy food.
And she refused to pretend she was ashamed of either.
Her personal life has also brought enormous changes over the years.
Bergen married acclaimed French filmmaker Louis Malle in 1980. They welcomed their daughter, Chloe Malle, before Louis died from cancer in 1995.
Bergen later found love again and married Marshall Rose in 2000.
Motherhood has always held a particularly important place in her life, and Bergen has spoken affectionately about her daughter, once describing Chloe as “the love of my life.”
Eventually, another role arrived that had nothing to do with Hollywood.
Grandmother.
Chloe welcomed son Arthur in 2020 and daughter Alice in 2022, making Bergen a grandmother of two.
For an actress whose career has stretched across generations, becoming a grandmother represented another chapter in a life that had already included modeling, movies, television success, marriage, motherhood, devastating loss and new beginnings.
Perhaps that’s part of what has made Candice Bergen so enduring.
Her career achievements are substantial, but she has also been refreshingly willing to acknowledge that life eventually becomes about more than awards, appearances or fitting somebody else’s definition of perfection.
She became a fashion model.
Then a movie actress.
Then one of television’s defining stars.
She won five Emmys.
She became a wife, a widow, a wife again, a mother and eventually a grandmother.
And along the way, she reached a point where she no longer seemed interested in apologizing for enjoying herself.
In an entertainment industry obsessed with youth and reinvention, Bergen’s attitude offers a different message:
Getting older doesn’t necessarily mean desperately trying to remain the person you were decades ago.
Sometimes it means finally becoming comfortable enough to enjoy the person you are now.