Candice Bergen to Receive 8th Annual Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award

OLD SAYBROOK, CT – Acclaimed actress Candice Bergen will receive the 8th annual Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center’s Gala, titled THROUGH HER LENS on Sunday, August 20, 2023. Affectionately known as the Kate, the Center presents the award each year to an individual who embodies the spirit, independence, and character of the legendary actress.

The Gala is the non-profit arts organization’s largest fund raiser and THROUGH HER LENS will celebrate two women who guided their careers to their own standards – Katharine Hepburn and Candice Bergen.
Ms. Bergen shined as the feisty eponymous broadcast news legend of the critically acclaimed CBS comedy series Murphy Brown, for which she received five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards over the 10-year run. Like Miss Hepburn, she has the same knack for comedic timing, an “I don’t give a darn” attitude, artistic flair, and perseverance through a decades-long career. Through her body of work and the diverse characters she's portrayed, Candice Bergen has challenged the norm, challenged the rules, and shown her own true independent spirit.

Ms. Bergen served as an executive producer when she returned to that iconic role in the CBS revival in the fall of 2018. She starred that same year in the box office hit The Book Club alongside Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen and this past May the same cast returned in its sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter. Other recent work includes the HBO Max film Let Them All Talk with Meryl Streep and Diane Wiest and As Sick As They Made Us with Dustin Hoffman.

Film credits include Starting Over, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Gandhi, Rich and Famous, Home Again, Sweet Home Alabama, and Miss Congeniality among many others. Additional television credits include Boston Legal, which garnered her two Emmy nominations as well as a Golden Globe and SAG nomination. Broadway credits include the original production of Hurly Burly, Gore Vidal’s 2012 production of The Best Man, and Love Letters opposite Alan Alda.

Ms. Bergen’s autobiography, Knock Wood, was released in 1984 to critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller, as did its sequel, A Fine Romance published in 2015. In 2017, Candice created Bergen Bags, a personal customization business for which she hand paints renderings of beloved images onto handbags. That business has been expanded to include designs on apparel and accessories at www.candicebergenartstuff.com. All proceeds are donated to charity. Follow her on Instagram @bergenbags.

The August 20th Gala includes a special performance by The Cartell Quartet, featuring members of The Cartells, plus a silent and live auction.

THROUGH HER LENS is sponsored by Privé Swiss Wellness | Fitness, The Shops at Mohegan Sun, Bank of America Private Bank, Dominion Energy, Essex Financial Services, Kainen Escalera & McHale PC, Liberty Bank, Possidento Therrien Electrical Contractors LLC, and GSB in partnership with the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. In-Kind support is also provided by Red Paper Plane, Highclere Castle Gin, Saybrook Home, and the official wine of the Gala through La Crema Winery. Program advertisers include Mahoney Sabol, Jeffrey N. Mehler CFP LLC, Shoreline Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Essex Meadows, MJP Wealth Advisors, Kiara Rusconi Realtor, Craft Design & Build LLC, Valenti Family Auto Group, and Patricia Toner.

For additional information or tickets, visit www.thekate.org or call 860-510-0453.