- published: 07 Oct 2014
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Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth ( /ˌbiːətrɪs ˌbiːbiː ˈnjuːwɜrθ/; born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, musician and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife (later ex-wife), on both the TV sitcom Cheers (in a starring role), and its spin-off Frasier (in a recurring guest role). On stage, she is also known for originating the role of Nickie in the revival of Sweet Charity, the role of Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago (for both of which she earned a Tony award) and for the role of Morticia Addams in The Addams Family musical.
Neuwirth was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the daughter of Sydney Anne, a painter, and Lee Paul Neuwirth, a mathematician. She has an older brother Peter, an actuary. Neuwirth is Jewish and attended Chapin School in New Jersey as well as Princeton Day School (New Jersey) of Princeton, but graduated from Princeton High School (a public school) in 1976. She began to study ballet at the age of five, and chose it as her field of concentration when she attended Juilliard in New York City in 1976 and 1977. During this period, she performed with the Princeton Ballet Company in Peter and the Wolf, The Nutcracker, and Coppélia and appeared in community theater musicals. Neuwirth always dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer; the only other career she seriously contemplated was being a veterinarian.