Polly Bergen Biography

Fast Facts

• Placed 4th at the Laurel Awards for her performance in "The Caretakers․"
• After marrying talent agent Freddie Fields, she decided to convert to Judaism
• Made her screen acting debut in the film "Champion" in 1949
• Began her career in the entertainment industry as a singer on the radio when she was a teenager
• Made her Broadway debut in the musical revue "John Murray Anderson's Almanac" in 1953
• Quote: "I'm one of those people who always needs a mountain to climb․ When I get up a mountain as far as I think I'm going to get, I try to find another mountain․"
• Quote: "I was fanatically ambitious․ All I ever wanted to be was a star․ I didn't want to be a singer․ I didn't want to be an actress․ I wanted to be a star․"
• Was a regular panelist on the game show "To Tell the Truth" during the 1950s
• Best known for her role as Peggy Bowden in "Cape Fear" and as Leslie McCloud in "Kisses for My President․"
• Hosted her own musical-variety show, "The Polly Bergen Show," on NBC in the late 1950s
• Founded her own cosmetics line, the Polly Bergen Company, in 1965