Peters has also proved a capable performer on both the large and small screens, generally in comedies. She played off her sexy image as the warden's secretary who falls prey to Burt Reynolds' wiles in "The Longest Yard" (1974). Mel Brooks tapped her as his leading lady in "Silent Movie" (1976) and she performed the same duties for Steve Martin in "The Jerk" (1979). Peters gave what is perhaps her best feature performance as the frustrated schoolteacher in love with a traveling salesman (Steve Martin) in Herbert Ross' stylish and underrated "Pennies From Heaven" (1981). She seemed miscast as the hat designer in the Merchant-Ivory production "Slaves of New York" but fared better opposite Clint Eastwood in "Pink Cadillac" (both 1989). Peters was fine as the imperious mistress of Franz Liszt in James Lapine's "Impromptu" (1990) and voiced the character of Sophie in the animated hit "Anastasia" (1997). She offered a terrific performance as the eccentric matriarch of a Jewish family in the independent feature "Let It Snow" (2001; premiered at Sundance in 1999 as "Snow Days").
For much of her career, Peters has been a staple guest on variety programming like "The Carol Burnett Show" and award shows, picking up a 1978 Emmy nod for a guest appearance on "The Muppet Show" (syndicated). She has also continued a flourishing concert and recording career. Peters, however, has demonstrated her dramatic capabilities on the small screen. Her breakthrough came as the mother of a kidnapped child in the based-on-fact "David" (ABC, 1988), and she won critical kudos for her turn as televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker (opposite Kevin Spacey as her husband) in the biopic "Fall From Grace" (NBC, 1990) and as a patient dying from cancer befriended by her psychologist (Mary Tyler Moore) in "The Last Best Year" (ABC, 1990). From 1992 to 1999, she lent her distinctively breathy vocal talents to the character of Rita the Cat in the animated children's series "Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs". Additionally, Peters was Circe in the NBC miniseries "The Odyssey" (1997), the stepmother in "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (ABC, 1997) and a country and western singer in "Holiday in Your Heart" (ABC, 1997). For her 2001 recurring role as a woman seeking a divorce after her husband paid someone to seduce her on Fox's "Ally McBeal" Peters earned her second Emmy nomination.