Two-time Tony Award winner Peters is one of the recipients of the annual awards, which recognize women "who have distinguished themselves in the communications fields of advertising, arts & entertainment, books, broadcasting, magazines, newspapers, online media and public relations."

Other women who will be honored at the Waldorf-Astoria event include Ann Fudge, chair and CEO of Young & Rubicam; Susan Petersen Kennedy, president of Penguin Group; CNN anchor Paula Zahn; People Magazine's Managing Editor Martha Nelson; Wall Street Journal Senior Editor Alix M. Freedman; Nell Merlino, president and CEO of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence; and Debra Shriver of the Hearst Corporation. Other presenters include actresses Ellen Burstyn, Candice Bergen and Hilary Swank.

The awards luncheon — entitled "Women Who Change the World — is being hosted by Cosmopolitan and CosmoGIRL! For information regarding sponsorships, tickets and reservations, visit www.nywici.org or call (212) 297-2133.

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Bernadette Peters received a 2003 Tony Award nomination for her performance as Momma Rose in the current revival of Gypsy. She won her two Tony Awards for her performances in Song & Dance and Annie Get Your Gun, and she has also starred on Broadway in Mack & Mabel, On the Town, Sunday in the Park with George, The Goodbye Girl and the original production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Peters' numerous screen credits include Emmy-nominated turns for "Ally McBeal" and "Bobbie's Girl," a Golden Globe-winning performance in "Pennies from Heaven" and roles in "The Jerk," "Silent Movie," "Bobbie's Girl," "Pink Cadillac" and "The Last Mile." She was also recently seen in the Michael Douglas film "It Runs in the Family." Peters' solo albums have garnered three Grammy nominations; her latest was titled "Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein." Peters is also an advocate for pets and pet shelters throughout the city and hosts the annual Broadway Barks! fundraiser.