# Bebe Neuwirth
**Bebe Neuwirth** (born Beatrice Neuwirth, 1958) is an American actor, singer, and dancer known for her two Tony Award-winning Broadway performances, as Nickie in the 1986 revival of *Sweet Charity* and as Velma Kelly in the 1996 revival of *[Chicago](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-musical)*, and for her two Emmy Award-winning portrayal of Dr. [Lilith Sternin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lilith-sternin)-Crane on the NBC sitcom *Cheers*.[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) • [2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/) She has described the theater as her preferred medium, saying she would "rather be on stage than anywhere else."[3](https://apnews.com/article/84eab89700e7dfa17107751234017a42)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 as Beatrice Neuwirth; raised in Princeton, New Jersey[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) • [4](https://www.comparetv.com.au/actor/bebe-neuwirth/) |
| Training | Ballet from age five at Princeton Ballet School; schooling at Juilliard[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) • [2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/) |
| Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Musical for *Sweet Charity* (1986); Best Leading Actress in a Musical for *Chicago* (1997)[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) • [5](https://playbill.com/article/best-leading-actress-in-a-musical-bebe-neuwirth-com-70566) |
| Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, 1990 and 1991, as Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane on *Cheers*; four nominations total[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bebe-neuwirth) |
| Other stage honors | Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer for *Chicago*[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) |
| Recent Broadway | Fraulein Schneider in *Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club*, a stripped-down revival staged in the round, for which she received a third Tony nomination[3](https://apnews.com/article/84eab89700e7dfa17107751234017a42) |
## Early life and dance training
Neuwirth was raised in [Princeton, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/princeton-new-jersey), and began her dance training at age five at Princeton Ballet School.[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) She has said she originally wanted to be a ballet dancer and studied and performed only ballet in her early years. Seeing *Pippin* on Broadway at age 13 redirected her toward theater dance; she recalled recognizing herself in [Bob Fosse](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-fosse)'s choreography before she knew who Fosse was.[7](https://playbill.com/article/my-life-in-the-theatre-bebe-neuwirth) After schooling at Juilliard, she toured in *A Chorus Line* from 1978 to 1981, playing various roles including Sheila and Cassie.[2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/)
## Broadway career
Neuwirth appeared on Broadway in *Little Me* and Bob Fosse's *Dancin'* (both 1982) before winning her first Tony Award as Nickie in Fosse's 1986 revival of *Sweet Charity*.[2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/) She returned to Fosse material as Lola in the 1994 revival of *Damn Yankees* and as Velma Kelly in the 1996 revival of *Chicago*, for which she won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, presented by [Mandy Patinkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/mandy-patinkin).[2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/) • [5](https://playbill.com/article/best-leading-actress-in-a-musical-bebe-neuwirth-com-70566) Her *Chicago* performance also earned the Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer.[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/)
Her other Broadway credits include *The Addams Family*, in which she played [Morticia Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/morticia-addams), and *Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club*, where she played Fraulein Schneider in a production staged on a round platform with audience members on all sides, no sets, and few props.[1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/84eab89700e7dfa17107751234017a42) The 2024 role brought her a third Tony nomination.[3](https://apnews.com/article/84eab89700e7dfa17107751234017a42) [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) and regional work has included Anita in *West Side Story* at Cleveland Opera, Katherine in *The Taming of the Shrew* at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and *Here Lies Jenny*.[8](https://www.arenastage.org/globalassets/press-room/release_1617/3-march-13-2017-an-evening-with-bebe-neuwirth-full-release-web.pdf) • [9](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/bebe-neuwirth/profile/) In 2026 she was announced to return for *Chicago*'s 30th-anniversary Broadway performance on November 16, a one-night benefit for the Entertainment Community Fund.[10](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/207800/odds-and-ends-bebe-neuwirth-returns-for-chicagos-30th-anniversary-phantom-of-the-opera-to-be-filmed/)
## Lilith on Cheers and Frasier
Neuwirth's television fame rests on Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane, the repressed, deadpan psychiatrist wife of [Kelsey Grammer](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelsey-grammer)'s Frasier Crane, a role she began in cameos on *Cheers* in the mid-1980s while still performing *Sweet Charity* on Broadway in New York.[2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/) • [11](https://au.variety.com/2022/tv/news/david-hyde-pierce-bebe-neuwirth-julia-frasier-1238/) She remained a semiregular character through 1992 and won the [Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-award-for-outstanding-supporting-actress-in-a-comedy-series) in both 1990 and 1991.[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bebe-neuwirth) She reprised Lilith on the spinoff *Frasier*, receiving a 1995 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, and was nominated in 1999 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a [Miniseries](https://www.edgepedia.org/miniseries) or Movie for playing Dorothy Parker in *Dash and Lilly* on A&E.[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bebe-neuwirth)
Her later television work includes a main role in the CBS drama *Madam Secretary*, a part she has said she found challenging because television requires on-the-spot problem solving and offers an actor knowledge of only that week's script.[3](https://apnews.com/article/84eab89700e7dfa17107751234017a42) • [12](https://playbill.com/article/9-discoveries-of-cbs-madam-secretary-and-its-powerhouse-theatre-cast) In 2022 she played Avis DeVoto, Julia Child's friend, opposite her former *Frasier* castmate [David Hyde Pierce](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-hyde-pierce) in the [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max) series *[Julia](https://www.edgepedia.org/julia-2022-tv-series)*.[13](https://time.com/6163441/david-hyde-pierce-julia-child/)
## Film work
Neuwirth made her film debut as a guidance counselor in *Say Anything* (1989) and had supporting roles in *Green Card* (1990), as [Andie MacDowell](https://www.edgepedia.org/andie-macdowell)'s best friend, and *Bugsy* (1991), as the socialite Countess di Frasso.[2](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/) Her credits also include *Jumanji* and the 2009 remake of *Fame*.[5](https://playbill.com/article/best-leading-actress-in-a-musical-bebe-neuwirth-com-70566) • [1](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/) For the 2002 independent film *Tadpole*, she won the Seattle Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.[14](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001564/awards/)
## References
1. [Bebe Neuwirth, American Repertory Ballet](https://arballet.org/person/bebe-neuwirth/)
2. [Bebe Neuwirth, The Stars, Broadway: The American Musical, PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bebe-neuwirth/)
3. [No sets? Few props? No problem, says Bebe Neuwirth on 'deconstructed' 'Cabaret' revival, Associated Press (2024)](https://apnews.com/article/84eab89700e7dfa17107751234017a42)
4. [Bebe Neuwirth, CompareTV](https://www.comparetv.com.au/actor/bebe-neuwirth/)
5. [Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Bebe Neuwirth, Playbill (June 1, 1997)](https://playbill.com/article/best-leading-actress-in-a-musical-bebe-neuwirth-com-70566)
6. [Bebe Neuwirth, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bebe-neuwirth)
7. ['I Didn't Know That I Was Talking About God!': Bebe Neuwirth Walks Down Memory Lane, Playbill (2024)](https://playbill.com/article/my-life-in-the-theatre-bebe-neuwirth)
8. [An Evening with Bebe Neuwirth, Arena Stage press release](https://www.arenastage.org/globalassets/press-room/release_1617/3-march-13-2017-an-evening-with-bebe-neuwirth-full-release-web.pdf)
9. [Bebe Neuwirth Biography, Broadway.com Buzz](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/bebe-neuwirth/profile/)
10. [Odds and Ends: Bebe Neuwirth Returns for Chicago's 30th Anniversary, Broadway.com Buzz (2026)](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/207800/odds-and-ends-bebe-neuwirth-returns-for-chicagos-30th-anniversary-phantom-of-the-opera-to-be-filmed/)
11. ['Julia' Co-Stars David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth on 'The French Chef,' Friendship and That 'Frasier' Revival, Variety (2022)](https://au.variety.com/2022/tv/news/david-hyde-pierce-bebe-neuwirth-julia-frasier-1238/)
12. [9 Discoveries of CBS' Madam Secretary and Its Powerhouse Theatre Cast, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/9-discoveries-of-cbs-madam-secretary-and-its-powerhouse-theatre-cast)
13. [David Hyde Pierce on Playing Paul Child in Julia and Whether He'd Ever Return to Frasier, TIME (2022)](https://time.com/6163441/david-hyde-pierce-julia-child/)
14. [Bebe Neuwirth Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001564/awards/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Mo to N*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license