Michelle Pfeiffer

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Michelle Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards, 1990
Born Michelle Marie Pfeiffer
April 29, 1958 (1958-04-29) (age 50)
Santa Ana, California
Years active 1979 - present
Spouse(s) Peter Horton (1981-1988)
David E. Kelley (1993-)

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (IPA: /mɪˈʃɛl ˈfаɪfɜr/;[1] born April 29, 1958) is a Golden Globe- and BAFTA-winning and Academy Award-nominated American actress. In a career spanning more than 25 years, she has starred in films such as Scarface, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Batman Returns, One Fine Day, Dangerous Minds, I Am Sam, What Lies Beneath, Hairspray, Stardust, and Grease 2 .

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[edit] Early life

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, the daughter of Donna (née Taverna), a homemaker, and Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air conditioning contractor.[2][3] She is of Swiss, Swedish, Dutch and German descent.[4] She was raised in Midway City, Orange County, California, about thirty miles southeast of Los Angeles. Pfeiffer is the second of four siblings: an older brother, Rick Pfeiffer, and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer (b. 1964, also an actress) and Lori Pfeiffer (b. 1965). Pfeiffer attended Fountain Valley High School, graduating in 1976. She was Alice in Wonderland at Disneyland during her tenure, performing in the Main Street Electrical Parade. She briefly pursued a career as a court reporter at local Golden West Community College before dropping out to pursue a career in acting.[3] In 1978, Pfeiffer entered and won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant, and then entered the statewide competition for Miss California USA. Although unsuccessful in winning the title, Pfeiffer acquired an agent, who helped her secure TV commercial parts and small movie and television roles before making her mark in Hollywood.

[edit] Career

[edit] 1980s: Early success

Her first major screen role was in 1980 in the films The Hollywood Knights and Falling in Love Again. However, both films failed to get her widespead notice. She tried a TV career when she starred in Great Yellow Bird, Fantasy Island, Callie & Son, Splendor in the Grass, and The Children Nobody Wanted. She returned to film in Grease 2; it was weakly received by critics and audiences, despite gaining a cult following.

It was not until 1983, when Pfeiffer co-starred with Al Pacino in Brian De Palma's gangster classic Scarface, that she caught the attention of Hollywood.[3] In 1985, she starred in the fantasy romance Ladyhawke, which gave Pfeiffer good reviews, but failed to become a box office success. In 1987, she starred in The Witches of Eastwick, which was a box office smash and a critical success. Through 1988 and 1989, Pfeiffer earned worldwide critical acclaim in Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Fabulous Baker Boys; those films also earned her Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe award wins and nominations.[3]

[edit] 1990s: Continued success

Pfeiffer as Catwoman in Batman Returns, 1992
Pfeiffer as Catwoman in Batman Returns, 1992

Through the 1990s, she continued her Hollywood stardom: The Russia House, Frankie and Johnny starring Al Pacino, Batman Returns starring Michael Keaton & Danny Devito, The Age of Innocence, Wolf starring Jack Nicholson, Dangerous Minds, and One Fine Day starring George Clooney. She received her third Oscar nomination in 1993 for Love Field.

[edit] 2000s: Hiatus and renewed success

In 2000, she starred with Harrison Ford in one of the biggest box office hits of the year, Robert Zemeckis's supernatural thriller What Lies Beneath. In 2001, she starred opposite Sean Penn in I Am Sam and in 2002 alongside Renée Zellweger and Robin Wright Penn in White Oleander, which earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress.[3]

She then took a lengthy hiatus from the spotlight but returned to acting in 2006. Her first projects teamed her with director Amy Heckerling in the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007, opposite Paul Rudd), as well as opposite Robert De Niro, Claire Danes, and Sienna Miller in the fantasy epic Stardust.[3] Pfeiffer co-starred in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Hairspray as Velma Von Tussle.[3] She will make a cameo appearance in The Prince and the Pauper, a film in which her sister Dedee stars. Pfeiffer received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 6, 2007, in front of the Hollywood & Highland Center.[5]

On her return to acting, she has said, "Now that I'm working again, I realize I really like this stuff."[6]

Pfeiffer's recently completed work on the romantic drama, Personal Effects with Ashton Kutcher, due in 2008.[7] Pfeiffer stars in her next film, Chéri, the French-period drama. Kathy Bates, and Rupert Friend, will co-star. The film will be directed by Stephen Frears. This is Frears' and Pfeiffer's second outing together. Frears' directed Pfeiffer in, Dangerous Liaisons. Filming began in April 2008 and will wrap sometime in July or August.

[edit] Personal life

Pfeiffer and husband David E. Kelley at the 47th Emmy Awards, 1994
Pfeiffer and husband David E. Kelley at the 47th Emmy Awards, 1994

In 1981, Pfeiffer married Thirtysomething actor Peter Horton but they divorced in 1988 at the height of her career. She has been romantically linked with actors Val Kilmer, John Malkovich, Michael Keaton, and Fisher Stevens. In 1993, Pfeiffer married writer/producer David E. Kelley (creator of The Practice and Ally McBeal).

Earlier that year, before meeting Kelley, Pfeiffer adopted a daughter Claudia Rose, who was then later adopted by Kelley following their marriage. The adopted baby was the daughter of an African American nurse living in New York who already had four children. On August 5, 1994, Pfeiffer gave birth to a son, John Henry.[8] Pfeiffer's influences that persuaded her to act were Oscar-winning actresses Anne Bancroft and Ingrid Bergman.

[edit] Awards

Academy Award nominations

Golden Globe Awards

BAFTA Awards

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1980 Falling in Love Again Sue Wellington
The Hollywood Knights Suzie Q
1981 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Cordelia Farenington
1982 Grease 2 Stephanie Zinone
1983 Scarface Elvira Hancock/Montana
1985 Into the Night Diana
Ladyhawke Isabeau d'Anjou
1986 Sweet Liberty Faith Healy
1987 The Witches of Eastwick Sukie Ridgemont
Amazon Women on the Moon Brenda Landers
1988 Married to the Mob Angela de Marco Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Musical/Comedy Actress
Tequila Sunrise Jo Ann Vallenari
Dangerous Liaisons Madame Marie de Tourvel Nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscar; Won BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress
1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys Susie Diamond Nominated for Best Actress Oscar; Nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actress; Won Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Actress
1990 The Russia House Katya Orlova Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Actress
1991 Frankie and Johnny Frankie Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Musical/Comedy Actress
1992 Batman Returns Catwoman/Selina Kyle
Love Field Lurene Hallett Nominated for Best Actress Oscar; Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Actress
1993 The Age of Innocence Ellen Olenska Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Actress
1994 Wolf Laura Alden
1995 Dangerous Minds Louanne Johnson
1996 Up Close & Personal Sally/Tally Atwater
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday Gillian Lewis
One Fine Day Melanie Parker Also executive producer
1997 A Thousand Acres Rose Cook Lewis Also producer
1998 The Prince of Egypt Tzipporah Voice
1999 The Deep End of the Ocean (film) Beth Cappadora
A Midsummer Night's Dream Titania
The Story of Us Katie Jordan
2000 What Lies Beneath Claire Spencer
2001 I Am Sam Rita Harrison Williams
2002 White Oleander Ingrid Magnussen Nominated for Screen Actor's Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress
2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Eris Voice
2007 Hairspray Velma Von Tussle
Stardust Lamia
I Could Never Be Your Woman Rosie
2008 Personal Effects Linda post-production
Cheri Léa de Lonval filming
Awards
Preceded by
Olympia Dukakis
for Moonstruck
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1989
for Dangerous Liaisons
Succeeded by
Whoopi Goldberg
for Ghost
Preceded by
Meryl Streep
for A Cry in the Dark
NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1989
for The Fabulous Baker Boys
Succeeded by
Joanne Woodward
for Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Preceded by
Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, and Shirley MacLaine
tied for The Accused, Gorillas in the Mist, and Madame Sousatzka
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1990
for The Fabulous Baker Boys
Succeeded by
Kathy Bates
tied for Misery

[edit] TV work

[edit] References

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[edit] External links