Bernadette Peters (original) (raw)

Bernadette Peters is the stage name of Bernadette Lazarra (born February 28, 1948 in Ozone Park, Queens, New York), an actress and singer. Her 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. She later appeared on Name That Tune and The Horn And Hardart Children's Hour. She took tap lessons, and at the age of nine got her Equity Card (under the name of Bernadette Peters, to avoid ethnic stereotyping). 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".

Off-Broadway Appearances

Broadway Appearances

Film Appearances

Television Appearances

Her Stage Mother, Herself, The New York Times, April 27, 2003 - profile by Jesse Green on Peters, her mother, and Gypsy