Editing Bebe Neuwirth (section)

==Career==
===Theater work===
[[File:Bebe Neuwirth at BCEFA.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Neuwirth at the Annual Flea Market and Grand Auction hosted by [[Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS]], September 26, 2006.]]

Studying acting for two years under [[Suzanne Shepard]],<ref name = "Backstage">{{cite web|last=Painter|first=Jamie|date=February 21, 2001|url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/pointe-whether-dancing-singing-acting-bebe-neuwirth-applies-50263/|title=TO THE POINTE – Whether dancing, singing, or acting, Bebe Neuwirth applies the same discipline and focus|work=[[Backstage (magazine)|Backstage]]|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015759/https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/pointe-whether-dancing-singing-acting-bebe-neuwirth-applies-50263/|url-status=live}}</ref> Neuwirth made her Broadway debut in the role of Sheila Bryant in ''[[A Chorus Line]]'' in 1980. She later appeared in revivals of ''[[Little Me (musical)|Little Me]]'' (1982); ''[[Sweet Charity]]'' (1986), for which she won a [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical]] at the [[40th Tony Awards]]; and ''[[Damn Yankees]]'' (1994).

1996 saw Neuwirth play Velma Kelly in the Broadway revival of ''[[Chicago (musical)|Chicago]]''. She described the difficulty level of the role as "like performing microsurgery from 8 to 10:20."<ref name = "AUmag"/> That role brought her her greatest stage recognition to date and several awards including a [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical|Tony Award]], [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical|Drama Desk Award]] and [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Neuwirth would later return to the revival of ''Chicago'' in 2006, this time as Roxie Hart.<ref name=":0">{{IBDB name|id=54414}}</ref> In 2014 she returned again, this time playing "Mama" Morton, making her the first person to play three different characters at three separate times during the course of a single Broadway run.

She appeared in the musical revue ''Here Lies Jenny'' which 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.<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://www.playbill.com/article/jenny-made-her-mind-up-here-lies-jenny-will-extend-one-last-time-to-oct-3-com-121616
| title = Jenny Made Her Mind Up: Here Lies Jenny Will Extend One Last Time, to Oct. 3
| last = Jones
| first = Kenneth
| date = August 27, 2004
| website = [[Playbill]]
| access-date = 2016-02-25
| archive-date = March 4, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142733/http://www.playbill.com/article/jenny-made-her-mind-up-here-lies-jenny-will-extend-one-last-time-to-oct-3-com-121616
| url-status = live
}}</ref> ''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 (musical)|The Addams Family]]'' opposite [[Nathan Lane]].<ref name=":0" />

In 2019, Neuwirth returned to the stage with the [[Philadelphia Theatre Company]], appearing in ''A Small Fire'' at the [[Suzanne Roberts Theater]] in [[Philadelphia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parade.com/946874/debrawallace/bebe-neuwirth-life-lessons/|title=Cheers Star Bebe Neuwirth's Life Lessons: "Come with an Open Heart, An Open Mind and Be Game for the Ride"|first=Debra|last=Wallace|date=November 5, 2019|website=Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays|access-date=September 3, 2020|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918195315/https://parade.com/946874/debrawallace/bebe-neuwirth-life-lessons/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024 she returned to Broadway playing Fräulein Schneider	in a revival of ''[[Cabaret (musical)|Cabaret]]'' for which she received a nomination for the [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical]] at the [[77th Tony Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://people.com/2024-tony-awards-nominations-see-the-full-list-8640244|title= 2024 Tony Awards: Sarah Paulson, Jeremy Strong, Rachel McAdams and More Nab Nominations — See the Full List|website= April 30, 2024}}</ref>

=== Film and television ===
While in Los Angeles waiting to receive a Tony for her appearance in ''Sweet Charity'' in 1985, Neuwirth auditioned for the role of Dr. [[Lilith Sternin]] in the television series ''[[Cheers]]''.<ref name="CheersRetrop101">Bjorklund, p. 101</ref> At the time, Neuwirth was not interested in doing television work and her character was initially planned to be in only one episode of the series.<ref name="CheersRetrop101" /> However, the writers enjoyed writing her dialogue so much that she was written into more episodes of the show, eventually making her one of the series' recurring actors.<ref name="CheersRetrop101" />

Neuwirth's character Lilith eventually married [[Frasier Crane]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]]). From the [[Cheers season 4|fourth]] to the [[Cheers season 9|ninth season]], Neuwirth portrayed Lilith in a regular recurring role, and she appeared on the show as a main star for both seasons [[Cheers season 10|ten]] and [[Cheers season 11|eleven]]. Like Kelsey Grammer when he started on the show as Frasier, she was not immediately given star billing in the opening credits but in the end credits for seasons [[Cheers season 8|eight]] and nine, appearing in the opening credits with her own portrait in seasons ten and eleven. She auditioned for the role with her arm in a sling, following a fall a week earlier. She won two [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series|Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series]] for the role, in 1990 and 1991. The character also made an appearance in the series ''[[Wings (1990 TV series)|Wings]]'' and in twelve episodes of the ''Cheers'' spin-off ''[[Frasier]]'', which earned her a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series]] at the [[47th Primetime Emmy Awards]]. She left ''Cheers'' in 1993 to go back to her career in dancing, but would make more television appearances in other shows and commercials.<ref name="CheersRetrop102">Bjorklund, p. 102.</ref>

[[File:Bebe Neuwirth.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Neuwirth at the Governor's Ball of the Primetime Emmy Awards on August 25, 1991]]
Neuwirth's dip into the film industry began in 1989 with small roles in films such as ''[[Say Anything...]]'' (1989), ''[[Pacific Heights (film)|Pacific Heights]]'' (1990), and ''Penny Ante'' (1990).<ref name="CheersRetrop103">Bjorklund, p. 103.</ref> In 1990 she started doing supporting roles in films including ''[[Green Card (film)|Green Card]]'' (1990), ''[[Bugsy]]'' (1991), and ''[[Malice (1993 film)|Malice]]'' (1993), in all of which she received acclaim from critics for her performances.<ref name="CheersRetrop103" /> Her first lead role came in 1993, when she played Margaret a married woman attracted to Wesley ([[Will Patton]]), one of her neighbors in the psychological thriller comedy film ''The Paint Job (''also released as ''Painted Heart)''.<ref name="CheersRetrop103" /> Her other credits include ''[[Jumanji]]'', ''[[Summer of Sam]]'', ''[[Liberty Heights]]'', ''[[An Extremely Goofy Movie]]'', ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'', ''[[Tadpole (film)|Tadpole]]'', ''[[The Associate (1996 film)|The Associate]]'', ''[[How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days]]'', ''[[The Big Bounce (2004 film)|The Big Bounce]]'', ''[[Le Divorce]]'', ''[[The Faculty]]'', and [[Woody Allen]]'s ''[[Celebrity (1998 film)|Celebrity]]''. In 1996, she starred in a pilot for a TV series called ''[[Dear Diary (1996 film)|Dear Diary]]'' for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] which was not picked up.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Welkos|first=Robert W.|date=March 22, 1997|title='Dear Diary': How It Got an Oscar Nod|language=en-US|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-22-ca-40763-story.html|access-date=2016-02-25|issn=0458-3035|archive-date=July 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702175456/http://articles.latimes.com/1997-03-22/entertainment/ca-40763_1_dear-diary|url-status=live}}</ref> The producers had it edited slightly and put into a single theater for a single weekend in November 1996, and it became one of only two TV pilots to be nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Oscar]] and, at the [[69th Academy Awards]], the only one to win.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Academy Awards Database – AMPAS|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearchInput.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208011732/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearchInput.jsp|archive-date=February 8, 2009|access-date=2016-02-25|website=awardsdatabase.oscars.org|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Other small-screen credits include a guest appearance in the second season of ''[[NewsRadio]]'', a small role on ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'' (episode: "The Call"), ''[[Deadline (2000 TV series)|Deadline]]'' (2000), ''[[Hack (TV series)|Hack]]'' (2003), ''[[Law & Order: Trial by Jury]]'' (2005) as ADA Tracey Kibre, ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'' (1999) as Nina Laszlo, a modeling agent/suspect, the miniseries ''[[Wild Palms]]'', and the [[Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4|fourth season]] ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "[[First Contact (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|First Contact]]" as Lanel.

Neuwirth appeared as herself in episodes of ''[[Will & Grace]]'', ''[[Strangers with Candy]]'' and ''[[List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events#Celebrity Jeopardy!|Celebrity Jeopardy!]]''. In 2009, she co-starred as Ms. Lynn Kraft in the remake of ''[[Fame (2009 film)|Fame]]''. She had a recurring role as Caroline Taylor, the literary editor of Jonathan Ames ([[Jason Schwartzman]]), on the [[HBO]] series ''[[Bored to Death]]''. She also had a recurring role on ''[[Blue Bloods (TV series)|Blue Bloods]]''.

Neuwirth starred as Nadine Tolliver in the 2014 [[CBS]] political drama ''[[Madam Secretary (TV series)|Madam Secretary]]''. In October 2017, Neuwirth announced her decision to leave the series after four seasons. No reason was given.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Petski|first=Denise|date=2017-10-23|title=Bebe Neuwirth Exits CBS Drama Series 'Madam Secretary'|url=https://deadline.com/2017/10/bebe-neuwirth-exits-madam-secretary-cbs-drama-series-1202192957/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501140012/https://deadline.com/2017/10/bebe-neuwirth-exits-madam-secretary-cbs-drama-series-1202192957/|url-status=live}}</ref> She later reprised the role of Nora Shepherd in ''[[Jumanji: The Next Level]]'' in 2019; the film grossed 800 million dollars worldwide and received positive reviews from critics.