It’s the kind of news that would make even a curmudgeon like Murphy Brown smile: Candice Bergen is a first-time grandmother! The 74-year-old sitcom veteran was overjoyed when her daughter, Chloe Malle, gave birth to Arthur Louis Albert on May 19. “Candice is exuberant,” an insider tells Closer magazine, on newsstands now. “She’s thrilled to embrace this new chapter in her life. It’s pure love.”

That’s what Candice has always felt for Chloe, 34, whose father was the late French film director Louis Malle. “I know she’ll be a great mom,” Candice gushes of Chloe. “All I can wish her is the overwhelming, infinite joy being her mama gave me. She is the love of my life.”

76th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 06 Jan 2019
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Candice, who had previously said she and husband Marshall Rose were “over-the-moon excited” about the prospect of Chloe having a baby, has already started spoiling Arthur. “She has gone over the top!” the insider says. “Arthur is being showered with gifts. Candice loves books, so she bought him sets of classic books to read until he’s 5 at least!”

Arthur will be well-dressed, too no surprise since Chloe works in fashion and has collaborated on her mom’s designer BergenBags collection. Says the insider, “Candice has ordered tons of clothes.”

Candice, who had a sometimes-distant relationship with her father, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, hasn’t made the same mistake with Chloe. “She’s affectionate, doting and loving,” the insider says. “They are truly a tight mother-daughter team.” Still, Candice is careful not to cross any boundaries with Chloe, who married Arthur’s dad, Graham McGrath Albert, in 2015. 

Chleo Malle Baby
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“She’ll be there for her when Chloe asks, but she won’t meddle or tell Chloe what to do,” says the insider. “She has tried to give Chloe as much space as possible to make her own choices and live her own life. And for her to know that Candice is always there for her no matter what.” 

No doubt Arthur will only bring Candice and Chloe closer. “Their shared love of him will bond them in a new way,” says the insider. “Which is thrilling for both of them.”

Read this story and more in the new issue of Closer magazine, on newsstands now.