Candice Bergen Says She’s ‘Not as Feisty’ as Murphy Brown
Candice Bergen Says She’s ‘Not as Feisty’ as Murphy Brown
Virginia ChamleeThu, March 12, 2026 at 5:37 PM UTC
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Candice BergenCredit: CBS Photo Archive/Getty; Michael Loccisano/Getty -
Candice Bergen is sharing her thoughts on the character Murphy Brown
Bergen starred as the titular character in the sitcom Murphy Brown
The late-'80s/'90s sitcom followed its namesake protagonist and her colleagues working at a newsmagazine called FYI
Candice Bergen says playing Murphy Brown was "a gift," but admits she's not too similar to the character.
Bergen starred as the titular character in the sitcom Murphy Brown from 1988 to 1998 and again in the show's 2018 revival, which was canceled after one season.
The series followed its namesake protagonist and her colleagues working at a newsmagazine called FYI and often tackled then-controversial subjects like sexual harassment and LGBTQ+ rights.
In an interview with AARP’s Movies for Grownups, published Tuesday, March 10, the almost 80-year-old actress acknowledged, "I’m 80, there’s not a lot of work I want to do. I don’t want to do a series again. Although I loved doing Murphy Brown, that was a lot of work."
She added: "Playing Murphy was such a gift. And I just always made the effort to insist that she not be too tough and to be kind at the end of the night."
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Candice Bergen stars as Murphy Brown,(a seasoned broadcast journalist) on "Murphy Brown"Credit: CBS via Getty
Asked if she was similar to the character, Bergen replied, "Not as feisty. Because Murphy was very feisty, which is what I think people loved about her."
Elsewhere in the interview, the actress — who turns 80 in May — admitted that she finds the age “unfathomable.”
“Oh God. Oy. I’m in denial,” Bergen said of turning 80. “I’m just in total denial. I don’t even want to talk about it. Being 80 is just unfathomable to me.”
She continued: “It doesn’t feel anything. You feel the same. You feel like you always felt. Except maybe you walk a little bit slower and more carefully, because you don’t want to fall. So stepping off a curb is a big event for me.”
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Bergen also shared that her favorite parts of getting older are spending time with her daughter Chloe Malle and her grandchildren — Louis, 5, and Alice, 3 — saying, "They are the lights of my life."
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