Bebe Neuwirth is an singer, dancer, and actress best known for her role as Lilith in the TV shows "Cheers" and "Frasier". She has won two Emmy awards, has appeared in several films, and has enjoyed a substantial career in theater.
This actress was born on New Year's Eve, 1958, in Newark, New Jersey. Her father, Lee Neuwirth, was a mathematician and triathlete, while her mother, Sydney Anne Neuwirth, was an artist. Always interested in performing, the young Neuwirth began taking ballet lessons at the age of five. While studying at Princeton High School she appeared in several amateur ballets and plays, and she went on to study dance at Juilliard. Her first major stage appearance came in 1980 when she toured with A Chorus Line, and in 1982 she appeared on Broadway in "Dancin' and Little Me".
More performances followed before she finally hit the big time, winning her first Tony Award as Outstanding Featured Actress in a revival of "Sweet Charity". It was this which drew her to the attention of the Cheers team, who cast her opposite Kelsey Grammer in what was both her first major television role and her longest-running one. When "Cheers" finally ended, Neuwirth continued to play Lilith on a special guest star basis in the follow-on series Frasier, preferring not to commit full time since she wished to continue with her theatrical work and with what was, by this time, a burgeoning career in Hollywood.
Neuwirth got her first role in 1989's "Say Anything...", in which she starred alongside John Cusack and Ione Skye. She went on to take minor parts in several successful movies, including Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam", with John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody; "Green Card", with Andie MacDowell and Gerard Depardieu; "Malice", with Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman; and "Jumanji", with Robin Williams. She also lent her voice talents to animated films including "All Dogs Go To Heaven 2" and "The Adventures of Pinnochio". Later, she was to appear in more substantial roles. She acted alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Diane Wiest in "The Associate" and received critical acclaim for her work in "Tadpole" with Aaron Stanford and Sigourney Weaver. In "Celebrity" she played a prostitute demonstrating oral sex with a banana, a role which Woody Allen reportedly wrote specially for her.
Besides Cheers, Neuwirth has featured in several other major TV series, including Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Law and Order. She also appeared in Oliver Stone's mini series Wild Palms alongside James Belushi, Dana Delaney, and Kim Cattrall. Her principal focus, however, has remained on the stage. She was the star of the 1994 revival of Damn Yankees, and in 1996 she won her second Tony award for her portrayal of murderess Velma Kelly in a Broadway production of Chicago, alongside Ann Reinking, James Naughton, and Joel Gray.
Neuwirth has been married twice, first to theater director Paul Dorman, who made a rare big screen appearance in Lloyd Kaufman's "Waitress!", and subsequently to fellow Law and Order star Michael Danek. She has since dated Bill Clinton's advisor George Stephanopoulos, who is now married to actress Alexandra Wentworth. Neuwirth currently lives alone in New York City.
