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With a rare beauty that
has inspired countless platitudes and an
almost-permanent place on People's Fifty Most
Beautiful list, Michelle Pfeiffer had to work long
and hard before getting respect for her talent,
rather than mere adulation for her looks. |
With a rare
beauty that has inspired countless platitudes and an
almost-permanent place on People's Fifty Most Beautiful
list, Michelle Pfeiffer had to work long and hard before
getting respect for her talent, rather than mere
adulation for her looks. Born April 29, 1957, in Santa
Ana, CA, Pfeiffer got her first taste of fame in her
late teens, when she won both the Miss Orange County
beauty contest and then the title of Miss Los Angeles.
After high school, Pfeiffer went to college for a year,
deciding that she wanted to become a court reporter. It
was while working in a supermarket that Pfeiffer
realized that acting was her true calling and she
auditioned for commercials and modeling assignments
while she attended acting school.
Pfeiffer debuted before the cameras in a one-line role
on the TV series Fantasy Island and went on to a string
of bit parts on TV. She debuted on the big screen in a
small part in Falling in Love Again (1980) and then had
small roles in two more films before getting her big
break with the role of Stephanie in Grease 2 (1982).
This led to her portrayal of Al Pacino's wife in Brian
De Palma's 1983 classic Scarface, for which the actress
garnered favorable attention and greater opportunities.
Her first starring role was in the comedy thriller Into
the Night (1984) with Jeff Goldblum and was followed by
a turn in Richard Donner's fantasy adventure Ladyhawke
(1985). Over the next couple of years, Pfeiffer acted in
films of varying quality, but it was with 1987's The
Witches of Eastwick that her career turned in a truly
positive direction. Starring alongside Cher, Susan
Sarandon, and Jack Nicholson, Pfeiffer received much
acclaim for her work, acclaim that continued with her
turn in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), for which she
received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. The
same year, Pfeiffer took on an entirely different role
as a Mafia wife in the 1988 hit comedy Married to the
Mob. In 1990, she was rewarded with yet another Oscar
nomination -- this time for Best Actress -- for her
portrayal of a nightclub singer in The Fabulous Baker
Boys (1989).
The 1990s proved to be a good decade for Pfeiffer,
allowing her to branch out with a variety of roles that
kept her from being pigeonholed and provided
opportunities for her to showcase her versatility.
Highlights from the first half of the decade included
the 1991 romantic drama Frankie and Johnny, in which she
played a frumpy, bitter waitress opposite Al Pacino;
1993's underrated Love Field, for which she received her
second Best Actress nomination; Tim Burton's 1992
adventure Batman Returns, in which she co-starred with
Michael Keaton and a lethally sexy cat suit; and the
acclaimed 1993 Martin Scorsese adaptation of Edith
Wharton's The Age of Innocence.
The second half of the decade saw Pfeiffer stick to
dramas and romantic comedies, notably the 1996 hit One
Fine Day with George Clooney, Jocelyn Moorhouse's 1997
adaptation of Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, the
star-studded 1999 adaptation of A Midsummer Night's
Dream, and the family drama The Deep End of the Ocean.
Through it all, Pfeiffer maintained her siren status
while increasing her bankability, no small feat in an
industry where women over the age of 27 are often
labeled as past their prime.
Filmography
• Legendary Women On Film
(2005)
• Secondhand Lions/I Am Sam (2005)
• Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
• White Oleander (2002)
• I Am Sam (2001)
• What Lies Beneath (2000)
• The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
• The Story of Us (1999)
• The Prince of Egypt (1998)
• A Thousand Acres (1997)
• One Fine Day (1996)
• To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996)
• Up Close and Personal (1996)
• Dangerous Minds (1995)
• Wolf (1994)
• The Age of Innocence (1993)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• Love Field (1992)
• Frankie and Johnny (1991)
• The Russia House (1991)
• The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
• Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
• Married to the Mob (1988)
• Tequila Sunrise (1988)
• Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
• Power, Passion and Murder (1987)
• The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
• Sweet Liberty (1986)
• Into the Night (1985)
• Ladyhawke (1985)
• Scarface (1983)
• Grease 2 (1982)
• Callie and Son (1981)
• Falling in Love Again (1981)
• The Hollywood Knights (1980)
Producer
• One Fine Day (1996)
Voice
• Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
• The Prince of Egypt (1998) |
