Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress and former fashion model. She won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her ten seasons as the title character on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–98). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmidt on the ABC drama Boston Legal (2005–08). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Starting Over (1979), and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gandhi (1982).
Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the front cover of Vogue magazine, before making her screen debut in the 1966 film The Group. She went on to star in The Sand Pebbles (1966), Soldier Blue (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and The Wind and the Lion (1975). She made her Broadway debut in the 1984 play Hurlyburly. From 2002 to 2004, she appeared in three episodes of the HBO series Sex and the City. Her other film roles include Miss Congeniality (2000), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), The Women (2008), and Bride Wars (2009). In the 2010s, she returned to Broadway to star in the revivals of The Best Man (2012) and Love Letters (2014).