Peters first performed on the stage as a child and then a teenaged actress in the 1960s, and in film and television in the 1970s. She was praised for this early work and for appearances on "The Muppet Show", "The Carol Burnett Show" and in other television work, and for her roles in films including "Silent Movie", "The Jerk", "Pennies from Heaven" and "Annie". In the 1980s, she returned to the theatre, where she became one of the best-known Broadway stars over the next three decades. She also has recorded six solo albums and several singles, as well as many cast albums, and performs regularly in her own solo concert act. Peters continues to act on stage, in films and on television in such series as "Smash" and "Mozart in the Jungle". She has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, winning once.