Bebe Neuwirth Biography

Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth (born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, musician and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife (later ex-wife), on both the TV sitcom Cheers (in a starring role), and its spin-off Frasier (in a recurring guest role). On stage, she is also known for the role of Nickie in the revival of Sweet Charity, the role of Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago (for both of which she won Tony Awards) and for the role of Morticia Addams in The Addams Family musical.

Early life

Neuwirth was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the daughter of Sydney Anne, a painter, and Lee Paul Neuwirth, a mathematician. She has an older brother Peter, an actuary. Neuwirth is Jewish, and attended Chapin School in New Jersey as well as Princeton Day School (New Jersey) of Princeton, but graduated from Princeton High School (a public school) in 1976.

She began to study ballet at the age of five, and chose it as her field of concentration when she attended Juilliard in New York City in 1976 and 1977, during which time she performed with the Princeton Ballet Company in Peter and the Wolf, The Nutcracker, and Coppélia, also appearing in community theater musicals. Neuwirth always dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer; the only other career she seriously contemplated was reportedly being a veterinarian.

Career

Theatre work

Neuwirth made her Broadway debut in the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line in 1980. She later appeared in revivals of Little Me (1982) Sweet Charity (1986), for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Damn Yankees (1994). 1996 saw her play Velma Kelly in the Broadway revival of Chicago. That role brought her her greatest stage recognition to date, and several awards including the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Neuwirth would later return to the still-running revival of Chicago in 2006, this time as Roxie Hart.

She appeared in a musical revue Here Lies Jenny, that featured songs by Kurt Weill, sung and danced by Neuwirth and a four-person supporting cast, as part of an unspoken ambiguous story in an anonymous seedy bar possibly in Berlin in the 1930s. The show ran from May 7 through October 3, 2004, in the Zipper Theater in New York City. Here Lies Jenny was also presented by Neuwirth in San Francisco in 2005. In 2009, Neuwirth toured a one-woman cabaret show with pianist Scott Cady. The cabaret included music by Kurt Weill, Stephen Sondheim, Tom Waits, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, John Kander and Fred Ebb amongst others. In 2010, she returned to Broadway to create the role of Morticia Addams in the original production of The Addams Family opposite Nathan Lane.

Film and television

Her screen credits include Green Card, Bugsy, Say Anything..., Jumanji, Summer of Sam, Liberty Heights, Tadpole (for which the Seattle Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress), The Associate, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Malice, The Big Bounce, The Faculty and Woody Allen's Celebrity.

On television, from 1986 to 1993 Neuwirth played Dr. Lilith Sternin, who married Dr. Frasier Crane on the hit comedy series Cheers. From the fourth to the seventh season, Neuwirth portrayed Lilith in a regular recurring role, and she appeared on the show as a main star from season eight to the final season, season eleven. Like Kelsey Grammer when he started on the show as Frasier Crane, she was not immediately given star billing in the opening credits, but at the end for seasons eight and nine; she appeared in the opening credits with her own portrait in seasons ten and eleven. She auditioned for this role with her arm in a sling, following a fall a week earlier. She won two Emmy Awards for the role, in 1990 and 1991. The character also made an appearance in the series Wings and in 12 episodes of the Cheers spin-off Frasier, which earned her a 1995 Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Other small screen credits include a guest appearance in the first season of NewsRadio, a small role on The Adventures of Pete and Pete (episode: "The Call"), Deadline (2000), Hack (2003), Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999 as a modeling agent/suspect; 2005 as A.D.A Tracey Kibre), and the miniseries Wild Palms and the fourth season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, First Contact, as Lanel.

She appeared as herself in episodes of Will and Grace, Strangers with Candy and Celebrity Jeopardy!. In 2009, she co-starred as Ms. Kraft in the remake of Fame. She recently had a recurring role as Caroline, the literary editor of Jonathan Ames, on the HBO series Bored to Death.

Personal life

Neuwirth's 1984 marriage to Paul Dorman ended in divorce in 1991. Since 2009, she has been married to Chris Calkins.

In May 2006, she had a total hip replacement.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Say Anything...	Mrs. Evans
1990	Without Her Consent	Gloria Allred	Television movie
1990	Green Card	Lauren
1991	Bugsy	Countess di Frasso
1993	Malice	Det. Dana Harris
1995	Jumanji	Nora Shepherd
1996	All Dogs Go to Heaven 2	Anabelle, the Dog Goddess
1996	The Adventures of Pinocchio	Felinet
1996	The Associate	Camille Scott
1998	Celebrity	Nina, the hooker
1998	The Faculty	Principal Valerie Drake
1999	Getting to Know You	Trix
1999	Summer of Sam	Gloria
1999	Dash and Lilly	Dorothy Parker	Television movie Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1999	Liberty Heights	Ada Kurtzman
2000	An Extremely Goofy Movie	Sylvia Marpole
2000	Tadpole	Diane Lodder	Nominated"?Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture
2003	How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days	Lana Jong
2003	Le Divorce	Julia Manchevering
2004	The Big Bounce	Alison Ritchie
2005	Game 6	Joanne Bourne
2008	"Adopt A Sailor"	Patricia
2009	Fame	Ms. Kraft

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986"1993	Cheers	Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane	80 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1990"91)
1986	Simon & Simon	Receptionist	Episode: "Family Forecast"
1986	Fame	Phyllis Turner	Episode: "Stagefright"
1990	The Famous Teddy Z	Unknown	Episode: "Teddy Gets a Guru"
1990	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Dr. Lilith Sternin	Episode: "Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration"
1991	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Lanel	Episode: "First Contact"
1992	Wings	Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane	Episode: "Planes, Trains and Visiting Cranes"
1993	Wild Palms	Tabba Schwartzkopf	5 episodes
1994	The Adventures of Pete & Pete	Mailcarrier	2 episodes
1994"1995	Aladdin	Mirage	6 episodes
1994"2003	Frasier	Dr. Lilith Sternin	12 episodes Nominated"?American Comedy Award for Funniest Guest Appearance in a Comedy (1999-2000) Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
1995	NewsRadio	Sandi Angelini	Episode: "Friends"
1996	Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man	Tamara La Boinque	Episode: "Noir Gang"
1996	Freakazoid!	Deadpan	Episode: "The Wrath of Guitierrez"
1996"1998	All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series	Anabelle	5 episodes
1997	The Magic School Bus	Flora Whiff	Episode: "Makes a Stink"
1997	Jungle Cubs	La La	Episode: "Old Green Teeth/The Elephant Who Couldn't Say No"
1999	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Juliette	Episode: "Salem and Juliette"
1999	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Nina Laszlo	Episode: "Or Just Look Like One"
2000"2001	Deadline	Nikki Masucci	13 episodes
2002"2003	Cyberchase	Binky	2 episodes
2003	Hack	Faith O'Connor	5 episodes
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	A.D.A. Tracey Kibre	Episode: "Night"
2005"2006	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	A.D.A. Tracey Kibre	13 episodes
2009"2011	Bored to Death	Caroline Taylor	3 episodes
2010	The Cleveland Show	Sarah Friedman	Episode: "Brotherly Love"
2012"2013	The Good Wife	Judge Claudia Friend	3 episodes

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975-1990	A Chorus Line	Sheila
1978-1982	Dancin'	Replacement
1982	Little Me	Boom Boom Girl
1986-1987	Sweet Charity	Nickie	Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated"?Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
1994-1995	Damn Yankees	Lola
1996"present	Chicago	Velma Kelly	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
2002-2003	Funny Girl	Fanny Brice
2010-2011	The Addams Family	Morticia Adams