Michelle Pfeiffer
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Biography
Michelle Pfeiffer was an American actress born on April 29, 1958 in Santa Ana, California. The second of four children, including sister and fellow actress Dedee Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer attended Golden West College before deciding to embark on an acting career. After participating in a number of California beauty pageants, Pfeiffer secured an agent and began auditioning for television and movies. She made her acting and TV debut in an episode of "Fantasy Island" (ABC, 1977-1984) in 1978, and her film debut in "The Hollywood Knights" (1980). Just before landing the female lead role in "Grease 2" (1982), Pfeiffer married fellow actor Peter Horton. Her role as Stephanie Zinone in "Grease 2" almost cost her an audition for Brian De Palma's "Scarface" (1983), since De Palma apparently did not like the movie, but in the end, she played Elvira Hancock for her breakout role. This began a string of hit movie roles that made Pfeiffer one of the leading actresses of the 1980s and '90s. She starred in George Miller's "The Witches of Eastwick" (1987), one of her most iconic roles. Pfeiffer has been nominated for three Academy Awards; her roles in "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988) and "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989) earned her two of those nominations. Pfeiffer and Horton divorced in 1990 due to the stresses of their respective careers. She starred as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Tim Burton's superhero sequel "Batman Returns" (1992), one of her most well-known performances that also served to create one of the most vivid interpretations of the comic book character. Pfeiffer was nominated for her third Oscar with "Love Field" (1992) and starred in Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence" (1993). She married TV writer and producer David E. Kelley in 1993. The couple adopted a newborn daughter, Claudia Rose, the same year, and Pfeiffer gave birth to a son, John Henry, in 1994. She lent her voice to DreamWorks' second animated film, "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), and began a four-year hiatus from acting in 2003 that concluded with her appearance as the villainous Velma Von Tussle in the musical hit "Hairspray" (2007). After another four-year acting hiatus that began in 2013, Pfeiffer had a critically acclaimed 2017 thanks to her parts in "Mother!," "Murder on the Orient Express," and the HBO TV movie "The Wizard of Lies." For the latter, she was nominated for her first Emmy Award as Ruth Madoff opposite Robert De Niro as Bernie Madoff. Pfeiffer then joined the pantheon of characters brought to the screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Janet Van Dyne in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018). A relatively private star whose dislike of interviews was public knowledge, Pfeiffer also received significant media attention as an example of exceptional Hollywood beauty. Pfeiffer was critically regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her generation, playing a versatile range of characters across diverse genres and eras.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1978
TV acting debut in bit role on ABC's "Fantasy Island"
1979
TV movie debut in "The Solitary Man" (CBS)
1979
TV debut as regular on the short-lived ABC sitcom "Delta House," which was inspired by the feature film "Animal House"
1980
Was a regular on the Aaron Spelling-produced series "B.A.D. Cats" (ABC)
1980
Feature film debut, "The Hollywood Knights"
1982
Landed female lead in the film sequel "Grease 2"
1983
Earned critical notice, co-starring with Al Pacino in Brian De Palma's gangster classic "Scarface"
1985
Directed by her then-husband Peter Horton in the ABC TV-movie "One Too Many"
1987
Played title role in "Natica Jackson," an episode in the the three-part PBS series "Tales From the Hollywood Hills"; last major television acting role to date
1987
First box-office hit, "The Witches of Eastwick"; co-starred with Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon and Cher
1988
Received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination as the married Madame de Tourval in Stephen Frears' "Dangerous Liaisons"
1988
Played a widowed Mafia wife in Jonathan Demme's comedy "Married to the Mob"
1989
Earned Best Actress Oscar nomination as the chanteuse Susie Diamond in "The Fabulous Baker Boys"
1989
Made NYC stage acting debut in "Twelfth Night"; performed in Central Park under the auspices of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival
1990
With producing partner Kate Guinzberg, formed first look deal with Orion Pictures
1991
Downplayed her looks to portray a working-class waitress romanced by a short-order cook (Al Pacino) in "Frankie & Johnny"
1992
Received second Best Actress Oscar nomination as a woman traveling to the funeral of President John F Kennedy in "Love Field"
1992
Won raves for her performance as Catwoman/Selina Kyle in "Batman Returns"; Tim Burton directed
1994
Reteamed with Jack Nicholson for "Wolf"
1994
Made uncredited cameo appearance in an episode of "Picket Fences"; created by husband David E. Kelley
1995
Had box-office hit as former Marine-turned-teacher LouAnne Johnson in "Dangerous Minds"
1996
Debut as executive producer (also acted), "One Fine Day"; also starred George Clooney
1996
Teamed with Robert Redford as a rising TV newsreporter in "Up Close and Personal"
1996
Took supporting role of the ghost of Peter Gallagher's wife in "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday"; film written by David E. Kelley
1997
Co-starred with Jessica Lange in "A Thousand Acres"; a modern-day version of "King Lear" adapted from Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
1998
Provided a character voice for the DreamWorks animated film "The Prince of Egypt"
1999
Co-starred as Tatiana in a film version of "A Mid Summer Night's Dream"
1999
Produced and starred in "The Deep End of the Ocean"
2000
Co-starred with Harrison Ford in the Robert Zemeckis's thriller "What Lies Beneath"
2001
Portrayed a lawyer fighting to help an autistic father (Sean Penn) retain custody of his daughter in "I Am Sam"
2002
Portrayed a woman who murder's her boyfriend and has her daughter taken away in "White Oleander"; earned a SAG nomination for Best Supporting Actress
2007
Cast as Velma Von Tussel in the remake of the John Water's film "Hairspray"
2007
Played the evil witch Laima in the fairy tale "Stardust," a feature based on the fantasy adventure novel by Neil Gaiman
2007
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (August)
2009
Re-teamed with director Stephen Frears for "Cheri"
2011
Cast in the ensemble romantic comedy "New Year's Eve," directed by Garry Marshall
2012
Co-starred with Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's remake of the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows"
2012
Starred alongside Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks in the dramedy "People Like Us"
2013
Co-starred with Robert De Niro in the mob comedy/thriller "The Family"
2017
Led the cast of New York-set drama "Where Is Kyra?"
2017
Gave a devious turn in Darren Aronofsky's surreal mystery "Mother!"
2017
Starred in Kenneth Branagh's "Murder on the Orient Express" remake
2018
Made her MCU debut in "Ant-Man and the Wasp"
2019
Returned to the MCU in "Avengers 4"
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