Bernadette Peters

According to a 1999 New York Times profile, Peters is "considered by many to be the premier interpreter" of the works of Stephen Sondheim. On Broadway, she created roles in the premieres of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George (1984) and Into the Woods (1987), and starred in revivals of his A Little Night Music and Follies. She created other Broadway roles in Mack and Mabel (1974) and Song and Dance (1985) and starred in Broadway revivals of The Goodbye Girl (1993), Annie Get Your Gun (1999), Gypsy (2003), and Hello, Dolly! (2018). She co-starred in the revue Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends both in the West End (2023) and on Broadway (2025). She has recorded six solo albums and many cast albums, and has performed regularly in solo concert acts.
Peters first performed on the stage as a child actress and then a teenager in the 1960s, and in film and television from the 1970s. She was praised for this early work and for appearances on, among other programs, The Muppet Show and The Carol Burnett Show, and for her roles in films including Silent Movie (1976), The Jerk (1979), Pennies from Heaven (1981, for which she won a Golden Globe Award), and Annie (1982). She has also acted in television shows such as Animaniacs (1993–1998), Ally McBeal (2001), Smash (2012–2013), Mozart in the Jungle (2014–2018), The Good Fight (2017–2018), Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020–2021) and High Desert (2023).