Broadway legend Bernadette Peters betrayed not a hint of her 78 years as she walked the red carpet at the Tony Awards this Sunday.
Peters achieved stage stardom in the 1970s, with her formidable talent lurking behind features of such cherubic femininity that she was often compared to a kewpie doll.
She made her mark in movies as well, captivating audiences with her vulnerability in The Jerk and Pennies from Heaven opposite her then-boyfriend Steve Martin.
Onstage she often put on a ‘sex kitten’ persona, particularly in concert renditions of show tunes like Broadway Baby and There Is Nothing Like a Dame.
Her enduring youthfulness and slinky appeal got in her way when fans regarded her as insufficiently matronly in the role of Mama Rose in a 2003 revival of Gypsy.
When she arrived at Radio City Music Hall this weekend for the Tonys, Peters radiated an exquisite beauty honed by a rigorous diet and exercise regime.
Broadway legend Bernadette Peters betrayed not a hint of her 78 years as she walked the red carpet at the Tony Awards this Sunday; pictured 1979
Peters achieved stage stardom in the 1970s, with her formidable talent lurking behind features of such cherubic femininity that she was often compared to a kewpie doll; pictured 1979
Her enduring youthfulness and slinky appeal got in her way when fans regarded her as insufficiently matronly to play Mama Rose in a 2003 revival of Gypsy; pictured 1979
Her impressively preserved hourglass frame was draped in a blood-red off-the-shoulder dress with tulle sleeves and a plunging neckline.
Bringing out her luminous complexion with makeup including a slick of scarlet lipstick, she wore her signature red curls in an elegant updo.
Peters, who has won two competitive Tony Awards and been nominated for a further five, was enlisted to present best musical that evening.
She wound up handing the trophy to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels for his work as the producer of Schmigadoon!, an adaptation of an Apple TV+ sitcom about a bickering couple who get transported to the world of a classic Broadway musical.
Peters attended the ceremony with her husband Tom Sorce, whom she secretly married in 2024 after a two-year relationship she kept out of the public eye.
Sorce is a Broadway sound designer who had worked with Peters on the 1985 production Song and Dance, an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical transplanted from London.
Peters broke the news of her new marriage a year after she and Sorce exchanged vows, slipping the bombshell into a 2025 profile for Long Island Woman.
‘I’ve known him 39 years, but our lives went in different directions. Then we started dating two years ago and got married last year,’ she shared.
When she arrived at Radio City Music Hall this weekend for the Tony Awards on Sunday, Peters radiated an exquisite beauty honed by a rigorous diet and exercise regime
Her impressively preserved hourglass frame was draped in a blood-red off-the-shoulder dress with tulle sleeves and a plunging neckline
Peters attended the ceremony with her husband Tom Sorce, whom she secretly married in 2024 after a two-year relationship she kept out of the public eye
‘This just felt like the right time because we love each other very much. That’s a feeling people either have or don’t have. Or maybe they like to live with people but don’t want to get married. Perhaps they had some bad marriages or relationships? I don’t know. But for me, for us, it felt right.’
She was previously married to financier Michael Wittenberg for nine years until his shock death in a helicopter crash in 2005, when he was just 43.
Peters made perhaps her most indelible mark on Broadway as a muse to songwriter Stephen Sondheim, originating the role of Dot in his 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George, and of the Witch in his 1987 show Into the Woods.
She has also starred in revivals of various Sondheim shows like Gypsy, A Little Night Music and Follies, and also served as a replacement for Bette Midler in the smash hit 2017 revival of the Jerry Herman-scored Hello, Dolly!.
Peters’ history with Herman stretches back to 1974 when he wrote the songs for one of her first Broadway shows, the Old Hollywood tragedy Mack & Mabel.
Most recently, she brought her star power to the Sondheim revue Old Friends, which started life in England in 2022 and came to Broadway last year.
A decade ago, she gave a viral interview in which she revealed the monastic diet and exercise regime she followed to retain her exquisite physique, via The Cut.
She began her days with a cup of coffee and three grapefruit slices, as well as tea with hemp powder and an occasional ‘little bit of oatmeal,’ she said.
Peters, who has won two competitive Tony Awards and been nominated for a further five, was enlisted to present best musical that evening
She wound up handing the trophy to Saturday Night Live impresario Lorne Michaels, the producer of Schmigadoon!, an adaptation of an Apple TV+ sitcom
‘I don’t eat a big breakfast. Because then I’ll go down to the gym. I like to run. I do intervals. I work with a trainer three times a week,’ she said, adding that she also incorporated weights into her workout routine.
‘I eat a lot of sashimi, especially when I’m in a show. My diet is pretty clean. Just protein, vegetables, and salad – basically that’s what I try to stick with,’ she said.
‘I don’t say: “I’m going to have a cheat day.” I think I’ve gotten past that. But I don’t keep things in the house,’ explained the Mozart in the Jungle star.
‘My poor friend came over and she felt peaked and she said: “Do you have a cracker?” and I said: “Oh, unfortunately, I don’t have any crackers in this house.” Because if it’s around, I’ll eat it,’ she confessed.
‘I share a KIND bar sometimes with my assistant, and that’s great because then you have half of the calories. I just boiled potatoes for my dog, so I just had a piece of a boiled potato, which I don’t usually have – but it’s a vegetable,’ she said.
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