The Untold Story Behind Candice Bergen and Terry Melcher: Secrets That Shaped Her Marriages Revealed!

Candice Bergen — now there’s a name that rings a bell for anyone who loved the ’90s classic Murphy Brown. But if you thought her claim to fame was solely playing a tough-as-nails journalist, think again. Just recently, her world took a fascinating detour when her daughter, Chloe Malle, snagged the top editorial spot at Vogue, stepping into the rather gigantic shoes left by Anna Wintour after 37 years at the helm. Talk about journalism running in the family! Oh, and get this — Candice herself played a Vogue editor on Sex and the City and was once the magazine’s cover model back in the swinging ’60s. Funny how life circles back, isn’t it? At 79, Bergen’s still hustling hard, starring in Book Club and reprising her “Sex and the City” role in And Just Like That… But behind the scenes, her romantic escapades have been anything but predictable — from early dates with Henry Kissinger and Donald Trump to a life intertwined with the dark side of the ’60s music scene and a marriage to iconic French director Louis Malle. Buckle up for a rollercoaster ride through the captivating relationships that have shaped this iconic actress’s five-decade journey. LEARN MORE

Candice Bergen is beloved for her role as the eponymous journalist in the classic ’90s sitcom Murphy Brown, but recently, she’s been in the news for a decidedly different journalistic connection, as her daughter, Chloe Malle, was just named Head of Editorial Content for Vogue, succeeding Anna Wintour, who had the role of Editor-in-Chief for 37 years. On top of that, Bergen just so happened to have played a Vogue editor in three episodes of Sex and the City and appeared on the cover of the magazine as a young model in the ’60s, making her daughter’s impressive new position feel like a truly full-circle moment.

Now 79, Bergen has continued to work steadily, starring in the popular comedy Book Club and its 2023 sequel and reprising her Sex and the City role in an episode of And Just Like That . . . that same year. Over the course of her nearly six decades in the spotlight, the Boston Legal actress’ personal life has drawn a fair amount of attention, as she dated some surprising people (including Terry Melcher, a music producer who became notorious for his connection to Charles Manson) and was married to acclaimed French director Louis Malle. Here’s a look at the actress’ relationships.

Candice Bergen’s unexpected early dates with Henry Kissinger and Donald Trump

Candice Bergen grew up in showbiz, as her father was popular ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and her mother was model and actress Frances Bergen. From a young age, Bergen was meeting high-profile people, and in a Stephen Colbert interview, she revealed that she had a date with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who she met through her parents. Even more surprisingly, she told Colbert that when she was 18, she went on a date with none other than Donald Trump, though she quipped, “I was home very early,” and said that Kissinger was the better date.

Candice Bergen and Terry Melcher: A ’60s relationship tainted by a horrific crime

Bergen may have gone on early dates with Republicans, but she was actually part of the ’60s hippie scene, and had a unique perspective on its dark side through her relationship with musician and producer Terry Melcher. Like Bergen, Melcher also had a famous parent, as his mom was girl-next-door actress and singer Doris Day, and he worked with bands like the Byrds and the Beach Boys.

In 1968, while Bergen and Melcher were dating, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys introduced him to Charles Manson. Melcher was going to help Manson with his music but soon cut ties with him due to his disturbing behavior. Bergen and Melcher lived together in a luxurious L.A. house which Bergen described in her 1984 memoir, Knock Wood, as a “never-never land.” Manson first met Melcher at this house, and its address would soon become one of the most notorious in history.

After the couple moved out, their friends, filmmaker Roman Polanski and his eight-months-pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, moved in. While at the house, Tate and her guests were horrifically murdered by Manson’s crazed followers in 1969. Manson asked if Melcher was still living at the house after he and Bergen moved and sent a threatening message by stealing a telescope from their new house, so the actress and her boyfriend narrowly avoided a tragic fate in revenge for not indulging the crazed cult leader’s musical fantasies. Looking back at Melcher’s connection to Manson, Bergen told The New York Times, “Terry was very stupid.”

Candice Bergen and Louis Malle: A cinematic power couple

Bergen met Louis Malle at a party hosted by fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg in 1979. The actress and the award-winning French director of films like Elevator to the Gallows (1958), Pretty Baby (1978), Atlantic City (1980) and My Dinner With Andre (1981) married in 1980.

Bergen and Malle’s only child, Chloe Malle, now Vogue’s top editor, was born in 1985. Reflecting on her early impressions of her husband in an NPR interview, Bergen said, “He was a very brilliant man. He could be incredibly charming, as only a Frenchman can be. I was just fascinated by him and trusted him.”

Bergen and Malle were married for 15 years before the filmmaker sadly died of lymphoma at 63 in 1995, when Chloe was just 10. In her memoir Knock Wood, written in the ’80s while Malle was still alive, Bergen wrote, “I used to believe that marriage would diminish me, reduce my options. That you had to be someone less to live with someone else . . . In marriage with this man, my options have only expanded. Everything about my life has been enhanced and enriched. I used to think that when you got married your life was over, but I feel like mine has just begun.”

In her second memoir, A Fine Romance, written in 2015, Bergen reflected movingly on her relationship with her departed first husband, writing, “I realized that I had existed for two reasons: to see Chloe into this world and to see Louis out of it.”

Candice Bergen and Marshall Rose: A second marriage with a New York bigwig

While Bergen’s first husband was also in the film industry, her second husband, real estate developer Marshall Rose, wasn’t part of her cultural milieu, as she said he “had barely heard of Murphy Brown.” Bergen and Rose met through 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt and married in 2000. Rose was well-known in New York City for his work on the New York Public Library, Bryant Park and Madison Square Garden, and he and Bergen became the quintessential high-society couple.

Bergen and Rose bonded over having both lost their previous spouses, and during their marriage, she said, “He’s very charming . . . He’s a perfect husband.” The marriage lasted 25 years before Rose passed away earlier this year from Parkinson’s disease at 88. In her 2020 New York Times interview, Bergen talked about acting as her husband’s caretaker, saying, he “has been facing health challenges with grace and elegance for the past few years . . . My life is a very tiny life now. I don’t mind it, frankly. For someone in their 70s, it’s not a tragedy.” This later-in-life romance couldn’t have been further from her chaotic ’60s coupling with Terry Melcher.