79-Year-Old Beauty Trailblazer Shares Why She’s Comfortable in Her Own Skin
This 79-Year-Old Beauty Icon Says She’s Okay with Being ‘Fat’ — See What She Looks Like Now
This actress used to dominate primetime TV and appear on the cover of Vogue. She couldn’t trust her memories, so years later she was hesitant to play a part. She now embraces every age-related obstacle.
She has overcome major health challenges, outlived two marriages, experienced the delight of becoming a grandmother, and achieved fame as a beauty symbol and subsequently an actress throughout her life.
Among other things, she has dabbled in business. She has consistently stated that her lifestyle and appearance are no longer influenced by what the general public thinks.
Over the years, her priorities have changed. She doesn’t mind gaining weight, and she won’t starve herself or follow a diet.
She claims that the lines on her face are a natural part of who she is. She is no longer attempting to smooth out wrinkles with cosmetic procedures or fit into sample sizes. It’s a long way from the beginning of her story.
She was the daughter of a well-known ventriloquist who rose to fame on radio, and she was born into Hollywood’s inner circle.
She was raised in the shadow of her father’s celebrity and was expected to live up to the expectations of both her appearance and his legacy.
She had a reputation as an ice princess in the 1960s, long before she ever said a word on film, thanks to her quiet elegance.
When she was featured on the cover of Vogue in August 1967, her appearance strongly reflected American standards of beauty.
However, the jobs she was granted in her early career were restricted and frequently focused more on her appearance than her abilities.
She gradually started to resist the image that characterized her debut. A gradual transition from typecast ingénue to an actress renowned for her brilliance, timing, and capacity to center challenging roles ensued.
She had completely changed who she was by the late 1980s. She stepped up to the lead in “Murphy Brown,” a sitcom that became a cultural icon, and was no longer restricted to supporting parts or fashion spreads.
She received great praise and cemented her position in television history with her portrayal of a scathing, unrepentant broadcast journalist.
During a period when strong, independent women were still uncommon in primetime, the performer played the role with bite and confidence.
She matched the edge of her characters off-screen with strong opinions, especially regarding feminism and the roles that women may play in Hollywood.
She received five Emmy Awards for her performance, which also changed the way that women were expected to perform on television.
This pace was maintained in her subsequent projects. The actress landed big roles in movies including “Miss Congeniality,” in which she portrayed Kathy Morningside, a brutal pageant director.
In “Bride Wars” and “Boston Legal,” she struck a mix between humor and authoritative moments. Her second act became defined by these parts;
it was more about skill and on-screen presence than image. When she married French film director Louis Malle in 1980 at the age of 34, it was the first significant change in her personal life.
Malle died of lymphoma in 1995, ending a 15-year marriage. In 1985, at the age of 39, the former model gave birth to their daughter, Chloe.
After becoming a widow at the age of 49, she spent the ensuing years concentrating on her work and motherhood while remaining mostly private.
She remarried in 2000, this time to Marshall Rose, a philanthropist and businessman from New York. The actress continued to work in television and movies in the ensuing years.
While filming “Boston Legal,” in 2006, the actor experienced a mild stroke. After barely two weeks, she went back to work, but she later acknowledged that she had first kept the diagnosis a secret.
She explained her hesitation to make the news public by saying, “I just don’t want it to be a liability,”
Years later, she disclosed that what she described as “a frightening cluster of mini strokes” that started in her early 60s had left her with long-lasting repercussions.
In a 2012 interview, she disclosed, “My memory is just—” also. “It’s not quite the same.” She shattered her pelvis on a cycling trip five months prior to this interview.
She became more conscious of her physical vulnerability as a result of the injury. “Now I can fall and I’ll break,” she understood. She was apprehensive to accept a role in the Broadway revival of
“The Best Man,” when producer Jeffrey Richards approached her.
She played the part of a betrayed political wife, a figure juggling both private resentment and public scrutiny. Fast-paced conversations and nightly monologues were necessary for the role, which added to her anxiety about memorizing lines.
“My concern with theater was no retakes,” she stated. “I had no confidence in my memory, and I didn’t want to leave my husband.” Her misgivings grew closer to opening night. She expressed her gratitude for simply making it through the show’s opening.
In the years that followed, she became more tolerant of the physical realities that had become a part of her everyday existence and less concerned with keeping up appearances.
The actress addressed it head-on in literature in 2015 after giving up on trying to undo what age had already revealed.
Today magazine was able to obtain an excerpt from her memoir, “A Fine Romance,” in which she said, “Let me just come right out and say it: I am fat.” She said that the weight gain had accumulated over a period of fifteen years. “Eating is what keeps me alive. The ‘eat to live’ stuff is not for me.
She didn’t conceal or justify her activities, according to an excerpt that Page Six was able to secure. “I’m an excellent eater. It states that neither fat nor carbohydrates are safe.
She remembered eating bread and chocolate ice cream at a dinner party with her husband.
A woman in the vicinity gave her a glance that was obviously uneasy. “I don’t care,” she said to herself.
She acknowledged that there were other trade-offs. Her decision seemed obvious, but her peers frequently felt pressured to choose between maintaining their faces or their bodies.
When she wrote, “Dieting is out of my purview,” “I crave cookies… all the things that dilate my pupils.”
She also spoke candidly about how those around her maintained their thinness. “They maintain their weight by routinely vomiting after major meals consisting of a slice of steak or a filet of fish,” wrote the actress. “I am incapable of this.”
Injections were the only cosmetic procedure she attempted. The last time she had them, she claimed, she fainted. She admitted, “I’m so pain-averse,” She didn’t hesitate to tell what she saw in the mirror when she was 75.
“I wear a turtleneck because I have a waddle and these chasms on my lips. But when you become older, at least people can see how you look,” she said. “I just thought that if I’m going to get older, I would like to do it with credibility.”
Candice Bergen is the actress in question. Fans who continue to follow her career and public appearance have left encouraging comments on photos of her that have been posted online in recent years.
Fans commented on one of her Instagram photos, praising not just her appearance but also what she stood for.
“You look fabulous ❤️,” one person commented. Someone another said, “I love this face!” Another person said, “Beautiful, inside and out.
” Her most treasured times are spent with her family, which grew in 2020 after her only child, Chloe Malle, gave birth to a son, Arthur Louis Albert, despite her public reputation.
The news of having her first grandchild made her happy in a different way. She was characterized as “exuberant” and claimed to be eager to become a grandma.
She told People magazine, “We’re just over-the-moon excited,” prior to Arthur’s arrival. In 2015, Chloe, a contributing editor at Vogue, wed Graham McGrath Albert, Arthur’s father.
Following the baby’s birth, Bergen started gathering books for him; according to one account, there were enough to sustain him until he was five years old.
She also placed clothing orders and stayed out of the way when necessary. “She’ll be there for her when Chloe asks,” according to one insider, “but she won’t meddle or tell Chloe what to do.”
Chloe had never been asked by Bergen if she intended to have children. Her words were, “I know better than to have suggested it,”
“I’ve been very discreet, but I’m just thrilled for her.” Bergen is candid about how much Chloe matters to her, and they have a close mother-daughter relationship. She said, “She is the love of my life,”
She started a creative side business called BergenBags about the time she became a grandma. Chloe gave her a Louis Vuitton tote and asked her to decorate it, which sparked the idea. Bergen had drawn rabbits on the bag with her pens after returning from the art store.
Planets, hot dogs, animals, and other whimsical themes were all included into her creations. Later, she added personalized T-shirts, phone covers, tableware, and other hand-painted goods to the lineup. Lena Dunham, Julie Andrews, and Barbra Streisand were among her clients.
Rose, Bergen’s husband of over 20 years, passed away at home in February 2025 due to Parkinson’s disease complications. A Bergen spokesperson verified his death at the age of 88.
Until his passing, Rose, who had struggled with severe health problems for a number of years, was a constant in her life. According to Bergen, their bond is based on mutual presence and trust.
