Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Cicely Yasin Bernhard |
| Also Known As | Cicely Bernhard |
| Born | July 4, 1998 |
| Nationality | American |
| Based In | New York City, New York |
| Occupation(s) | Art department assistant, set design/production, creative collaborator (photo/video) |
| Active Years | Late 2010s–present |
| Parent | Sandra Bernhard (mother) |
| Grandparents | Dr. Jerome Bernhard (grandfather), Jeanette LaZebnik Bernhard (grandmother) |
| Known For | Art/set work on fashion and culture-facing projects; appearances at arts events with her mother |
Family, Roots, and Relationships
Cicely Yasin Bernhard comes from a family embedded in the arts, with the connective tissue of comedy, stagecraft, and Jewish-American cultural life braided through it. She is the daughter of Sandra Bernhard, the trailblazing comedian, actress, and writer whose career spans stand-up, television, film, Broadway, and recorded performance. Photographs and event coverage across the years have shown Cicely and Sandra together at cultural gatherings, an affectionate public thread that doubles as a timeline of Cicely’s own coming-of-age in the arts.
A concise view of the family members publicly connected to Cicely:
| Name | Relation | Notable Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sandra Bernhard | Mother | Comedian, actor, writer; has often attended public events with Cicely. |
| Dr. Jerome Bernhard | Grandfather | Sandra’s father; referenced across family biographical records. |
| Jeanette LaZebnik Bernhard | Grandmother | Sandra’s mother; remembered in family remembrances and obituaries. |
| Sara Switzer | Mother’s partner (co-parent, as referenced in interviews) | Longtime partner of Sandra, referenced in press as co-parent. |
Together, these relationships sketch a family portrait grounded in creative labor and public-facing work, with New York City serving as both backdrop and engine.
Formative Years in New York
Cicely was born on July 4, 1998, and grew up largely in and around New York City’s cultural orbit. The city’s arts infrastructure—galleries, theaters, music venues, fashion institutions—forms the ambient soundtrack to her early public appearances and, later, to her own early-career steps. In the late 2000s, photos of Cicely alongside her mother at theater and cultural events begin to appear; these glimpses suggest a comfort with the backstage corridor as much as the red carpet.
By the late 2010s, as she moves into professional life, the roles shift: from attendee and observer to collaborator and maker. The pattern feels organic—the way a backstage kid becomes a builder of scenes and visual language.
Career in Art and Set Design
Cicely’s professional identity is rooted in visual storytelling and the built environment of images. She works in the art department and set design ecosystem, with credits that include assisting on large-scale installs and contributing to photo/video projects that require both craft and taste. Among her highlights are high-visibility retail/fashion displays—such as participating in the creation of holiday windows in 2023 for a major luxury department store in New York—work that merges sculpture, craft, engineering, and brand narrative into one theatrical street-facing diorama.
Her creative profile also includes small video/filmmaking credits, where she is credited behind the camera, shaping mood and motion rather than appearing within it. This hybrid skill set—fabrication and layout, plus camera-conscious design—fits the modern multidisciplinary production landscape. In a world where a set can be both a stage and a shoot, she is part of the hands-on generation that treats visual culture as a workshop.
Key characteristics of her work:
- Cross-disciplinary execution: set builds, prop sourcing, scenic support, on-set art direction assistance.
- Collaboration-first approach: working with production designers, stylists, fabricators, and directors.
- New York City fluency: projects integrated with the city’s fashion and editorial calendars, particularly Q4 retail moments and seasonal campaigns.
Public Appearances and Cultural Footprint
Cicely’s public life is mostly threaded through the arts. Over the years, editorial photographs have documented her at theater openings, concerts, and arts events—often beside her mother, occasionally solo. The effect is cumulative: a steady documentation of a creative life adjacent to performance and design, punctuated by appearances that serve as milestones.
Rather than chase the spotlight, Cicely appears to work around it, crafting what the spotlight illuminates: the rooms, the textures, the story scaffolds. It’s a different kind of visibility, but no less essential. If the star is the song, Cicely’s arena is the soundcheck—the careful tuning that makes everything sing.
Style and Influences
While she has not made a habit of publishing manifestos, her work implies influences: downtown New York’s lineage of bricolage and bricolage-adjacent design; fashion storytelling that blends myth with modernity; and the subtle interplay between craft and camera. The palette is often tactile—paper, wood, fabric, wire—yet it’s designed with cinematic awareness, with an eye to how a lens will translate volume, sheen, and shadow.
There is also a familial influence at play. Growing up around Sandra Bernhard’s stagecraft—where voice, timing, and presence are meticulously engineered—seems to echo in Cicely’s attention to the frameworks that hold a story upright.
Selected Timeline
| Year | Age | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0 | Born in the United States on July 4. |
| 2008–2009 | 10–11 | Appears in public event photos with her mother at New York cultural gatherings. |
| Late 2010s | 19–21 | Begins professional trajectory in art departments and set-focused projects. |
| Early 2020s | 21–25 | Accumulates art department credits across editorial, music, and retail projects. |
| 2023 | 25 | Contributes to high-visibility holiday window production at a major Fifth Avenue retailer. |
| 2024–present | 26+ | Continues freelance work in set design and production assistance in NYC. |
The Work Behind the Curtain: What Set Design Demands
To understand Cicely’s métier, it helps to decode the art department itself. On any given shoot or install, hours are measured in dozens, not single digits. Budgets must be translated into lumber, paint, fixtures, and custom fabrication. A two-minute on-camera scene may require 20 feet of wall flats, six props sourced from different boroughs, and four hands to dress a corner plant so it doesn’t glare under the key light. Success looks like an invisible magic trick—the audience never sees the math.
Within that machinery, Cicely’s role is the practice of making: sketching, sourcing, building, transporting, and fine-tuning. It’s a vocation measured in bolt cutters and mood boards, in call times and wrap times, in the satisfaction of seeing a plan leap from the page into three dimensions.
Family Influence on a Creative Path
Growing up with a mother whose career unites humor, irony, musicality, and performance intensity inevitably leaves a mark. But Cicely’s choice of the art department suggests a specific response: to engineer the habitat where performance breathes. You can feel the continuity—a lineage of stagecraft—yet the work stands as its own chapter. The stage is just as real, but the tools are different.
FAQ
Who is Cicely Yasin Bernhard?
She is a New York–based creative working primarily in art departments and set design, with additional credits in photo/video projects.
When was Cicely Yasin Bernhard born?
She was born on July 4, 1998.
What does she do professionally?
She assists and collaborates on set builds, prop sourcing, and visual environments for shoots, windows, and creative productions.
Is she related to Sandra Bernhard?
Yes, Cicely is the daughter of comedian, actor, and writer Sandra Bernhard.
Where is Cicely based?
She is based in New York City, frequently working on projects aligned with the city’s arts and fashion calendars.
Does she appear at public events?
Yes, she has appeared at cultural and theater events, sometimes alongside her mother, and is featured in editorial photo coverage.
What are some notable projects?
Her credits include art department contributions to retail/fashion installations such as high-profile holiday windows in 2023, along with set and video collaborations.
How is her name typically credited?
She is often credited as Cicely Bernhard, though her full name is Cicely Yasin Bernhard.
