MICHELLE PFEIFFER

'Michelle Marie Pfeiffer' (born April 29, 1958) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated and internationally known American actress. In a career spanning more than 25 years, she has starred in films such as ''Scarface'', ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'', ''Batman Returns'', ''Hairspray'', ''Stardust'' and Grease 2 ''.

Contents

Early life

Career

Early career

Career breakthrough

Continued success

Hiatus and renewed success

Personal life

Academy Award nominations

Filmography

TV work

References

External links

Early life

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California to Donna (née Taverna), a homemaker, and Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air conditioning contractor.^[1] She was raised in Midway City, Orange County, California, about 30 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 briefly pursued a career as a court reporter at local Golden West Community College before dropping out to pursue a career in acting. 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, the young Pfeiffer acquired an agent, who helped her secure TV commercial parts and small movie and television roles before making her mark in Hollywood.

Career

Early career

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

Career breakthrough

But 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. In 1985 she stared in the fantasy romance ''Ladyhawke'', which gave Pfeiffer good reviews, but failed to become a box office success.
In 1987 she stared in ''The Witches of Eastwick'' which was a box office and critical success. Through 1988, and 1989 Pfeiffer would earn worldwide critical acclaim in ''Married to the Mob'', ''Dangerous Liaisons'', and ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'', which would earn her Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe award wins, and nominations

Continued success

Through the 1990s Pfeiffer would continue her hollywood stardom. ''The Russia House'', ''Frankie and Johnny'', ''Batman Returns'', ''The Age of Innocence'', ''Dangerous Minds'', and ''One Fine Day''.

Despite working less frequently in recent years, Pfeiffer has continued to maintain her status as one of the film world's reigning screen goddesses. In 2000, Pfeiffer starred with Harrison Ford in one of the biggest box office hits of the year, Robert Zemeckis's 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.

Hiatus and renewed success

After a long absence from the spotlight, Pfeiffer returned to acting in 2006. Her first round of projects teamed her with director Amy Heckerling in the romantic comedy ''I Could Never Be Your Woman'' (opposite Paul Rudd, scheduled for release November 2007) as well as opposite Robert De Niro, Claire Danes, and Sienna Miller in the fantasy epic ''Stardust''. Pfeiffer co-starred in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical ''Hairspray'' as Velma Von Tussle. 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.^[2]
On her return to acting, Pfeiffer says, "Now that I'm working again, I realize I really like this stuff." Michelle revealed that she is not about to start a new project yet, but one will start in the Winter of 2007/2008. "It looks like I'm going back to work... and I won't wait four years."

Personal life

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 (''Ally McBeal'', ''The Practice'', ''Boston Public'', and ''Boston Legal'').
Earlier that year, before meeting Kelley, Pfeiffer adopted a daughter, Claudia Rose, who was then adopted by Kelley following their marriage. The adopted baby was the daughter of a African-American nurse living in New York, who already had four children. At the time of the adoption, there were rumours that money was exchanged for the baby, but Michelle has vigorously denied these claims stating that the adoption was private. In 1994 Pfeiffer gave birth to a son, John Henry. Pfeiffer and Kelley divide their time between homes in Los Angeles and Northern California.
In an August 2006 ''In Style'' interview (her first in many years), Pfeiffer discussed her return to making movies, stating that she is "a better mother if I also work... It empowers them [her children] without me hovering, making everyone feel inadequate". Pfeiffer discussed plastic surgery, stating that she hopes she is "courageous enough to age gracefully". Pfeiffer also referred to her beauty as a "curse", as she believes that it often stunted her ability to get serious roles and eclipsed her acting ability.

Academy Award nominations

★ 1988 - Best Supporting Actress - ''Dangerous Liaisons''

★ 1989 - Best Actress - ''The Fabulous Baker Boys''

★ 1992 - Best Actress - ''Love Field''

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
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
2003	''	Eris	(voice)
2007	''Hairspray''	Velma Von Tussle
	''Stardust''	Lamia
	''I Could Never Be Your Woman''	Rosie
2008	''Chasing Montana''		(pre-production)

TV work

★ ''The Solitary Man'' (1979)

★ ''Delta House'' (1979) (canceled after 15 episodes)

★ ''B.A.D. Cats'' (1980) (canceled after 6 episodes)

★ ''Callie & Son'' (1981)

★ ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1981)

★ ''The Children Nobody Wanted'' (1981)

★ ''One Too Many'' (1983)

★ '' (1987)

★ ''The Simpsons'' (1993) (Mindy Simmons)

★ ''Muppets Tonight'' (1996)

References

1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/22/Michelle-Pfeiffer.html
2. http://news.lalate.com/2007/08/07/michelle-pfeiffer-gets-star-on-hollywood-walk-of-fame/

External links

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