The Old Adage True: “She is Much more Than Just a Pretty Face”. A Pfeiffer’s Quick Biography
I know that the most of you already know point to point the complete biography of Michelle Pfeiffer, her history at the movies and the main facts of her personal life… but now I’d like to do a walk around her life thanks to the nice biography of the actress written by Andy Williamson which comes from the Examiner.com. So let’s remember the biography of our fav actress, so interesting (besides yo can read an extensive biography at “Beyond the Age of Inncence” section):
Michelle Pfeiffer
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of all time (some would say one of the most beautiful women who ever lived), Michelle Pfeiffer, over the course of a 30+ year career, has proven the old adage true: she is much more than just a pretty face.
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer was born on April 29th, 1958 in Santa Ana, California, to Richard Pfeiffer (a heating and air-conditioning contractor) and Donna Pfeiffer (a homemaker). The second of four children (one older brother, Rick, and two younger sisters, Dedee and Lori, both actresses), Michelle and her family moved to Midway City, CA when she was still quite young. There she attended Fountain Valley High School and worked at Von’s Supermarket as a checkout girl. Later, after she enrolled at Golden West College, she pledged the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.
After college, Michelle worked briefly as a court stenographer, before realizing what she really wanted to do was act. She entered the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978 and won. She entered the Miss Los Angeles competition that same year, and was quickly signed by a Hollywood agent who was one of the judges. Michelle moved to LA after this, and began auditioning for commercials, films, and television roles.
Steady work soon followed on such small screen fare as Fantasy Island, Delta House, and CHiPs. After appearing in the early 80’s films Falling in Love Again, The Hollywood Knights, and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, Michelle took some acting lessons and went on to appear in the telefilms Callie and Son (1981 – with Lindsay Wagner), The Children Nobody Wanted (1981), and a remake of the Natalie Wood classic Splendor in the Grass (1982). Then came her first major role in a film so bad, that of course, it would eventually become a cult classic.
Grease 2, the completely unnecessary sequel to the 1978 smash, was a critical and commercial failure … to put it mildly. Yet of all the film’s scathing reviews (and they were legion), Michelle was the only one to receive any good notices. And she did, notably from the New York Times, which stated, “although she is a relative screen newcomer, Miss Pfeiffer manages to look much more insouciant and comfortable than anyone else in the cast.” Still, even her agent at the time said that after Grease 2, Michelle “couldn’t get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her.” Better things were just around the corner.
In 1983, when director Brian De Palma was casting his movie Scarface, he refused to audition Michelle — reportedly because he had seen Grease 2. (I guess that Cooooool Rider number didn’t do her any favors … though many do love it.) Yet when the producer insisted, Michelle did get to try out for the part of Elvira Hancock, the stylish-but-cold, dreamy-but-coke-addled moll. During her tense audition scene (even star Al Pacino wasn’t too keen on her), she accidentally cut Mr. Pacino with a piece of broken glass. What could have been a disastrous mishap, turned into her first major hit movie. Years later, Michelle said of the incident: “I look over and I’ve cut Al Pacino. This is the guy who already hates me. So, well, there goes that, I guess! But I actually think it’s when he began to like me. And we’ve been good friends ever since. I got the job.” Audiences everywhere took notice. Even the critics raved about her star turn in the erstwhile gangster flick.
Over the next few years, Michelle appeared in such notable films as Richard Donner’s Ladyhawke (1985), John Landis’ Into The Night (1985 – hilarious, seek it out), and Alan Alda’s Sweet Liberty (1986). But it was The Witches of Eastwick (1987), starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon that pushed Michelle’s career into overdrive.
Michelle followed up that coup with starring roles in Married to the Mob (1988), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), and The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989). Regarding that last, where Michelle played a chanteuse, memorably slithering in a red dress atop Jeff Bridges piano and singing (sighing) the classic Makin’ Whoopee, Roger Ebert likened her to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot and Rita Hayworth in Gilda. Even famed critic Pauline Kael opined that Michelle’s performance had “the grinning infectiousness of Carole Lombard and the radiance of the very young Lauren Bacall.” Other critics most heartily concurred. Amen to all of those comparisons. For that role, Michelle dominated the Best Actress category of many award shows, winning at the Golden Globes, the National Board of Review, the LA Film Critic’s Association, and others. She lost the Oscar, however, to Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.
Following this, Michelle appeared in The Russia House (1990 – with Sean Connery), Frankie and Johnny (1991 – reuniting her with Al Pacino), Love Field (1992), and a marvelous turn as Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992). This performance alone pushed Michelle’s star power into the big leagues. Both audiences and critics alike purred with approval. Premiere Magazine said this about that, “Arguably the outstanding villain of the Tim Burton era, Michelle Pfeiffer’s deadly kitten with a whip brought sex to the normally neutered franchise. Her stitched-together, black patent leather costume, based on a sketch of Burton’s, remains the character’s most iconic look. And Michelle Pfeiffer overcomes Batman Returns’ heavy-handed feminist dialogue to deliver a growling, fierce performance.” Recently, in Empire Magazine’s list of the 69 Sexiest Movie Characters of All Time, Michelle’s Catwoman ranked at number 3. Meow!
Next came roles in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence (1993), Mike Nichols’ Wolf (1994 – again with Jack Nicholson), Dangerous Minds (1995), Up Close and Personal (1996), To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996), One Fine Day (1996 – an underrated gem), A Thousand Acres (1997), The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), The Story of Us (1999), What Lies Beneath (2000 – Zemeckis does Hitchcock, love it!), I Am Sam (2001), and White Oleander (2002). After a five year break devoted to her family life, Michelle returned to acting with roles in Hairspray (2007), Stardust (2007), Chéri (2009), and Personal Effects (2009).
Michelle has been married twice. First, to actor Peter Horton (thirtysomething), from 1981 – 1988. And second, to television writer/producer David E. Kelley (Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal). The couple met on a blind date in 1993 and were married that same year. They have two children, an adopted daughter, Claudia Rose (born 1993), and a biological son, John Henry (born 1994).
Now in her 50s, the still stunningly beautiful actress has of late devoted more time to her family, but has slowly been making her way back to performing. Says Michelle: “I’m a better mother if I also work. Leaving home for little spurts is actually a good thing. Things don’t fall apart. It empowers them without me hovering, making everyone feel inadequate.” Sounds great — whatever gets you back on our movie screens, Michelle. We’ve missed you.
Michelle Pfeiffer Quotes:
“I still think people will find out that I’m really not very talented. I’m really not very good. It’s all just been a big sham.”
Regarding her initial wearing of the Catwoman costume from Batman Returns: “I thought to myself ‘I can’t move, I can’t breathe, I can’t think. I’m unhappy. I can’t act.’ “
“I act for free, but I demand a huge salary as compensation for all the annoyance of being a public personality. In that sense, I earn every dime I make.”
Regarding cosmetic surgery: “If that nose or those jowls bother you, do it! But this epidemic of people losing sight of what looks good, the distortion that has been going on, is creepy. You see some freakish things. I’m hoping I’m courageous enough to age gracefully.”
“I was shocked at the prejudice, voiced in some quarters, over my decision to adopt a mixed-race baby. It’s really surprising that people still put so much emphasis on it. None of us are pure anything. We’re all a mixture. Claudia is a beautiful child, and some of the most beautiful people I’ve seen in the world have been of mixed race. As mother of both an adopted child and my own birth-child, there is absolutely no difference in the huge amount of love I feel for both my children. I always knew I wanted to adopt a child and also have one of my own. There is no difference at all.”
“For me, getting comfortable with being famous was hard — that whole side of it, the loss of anonymity, the loss of privacy. Giving up that part of your life and not having control of it.”
“Acting’s an odd profession for a young person; it’s so extreme. You work, and the conditions are tough and the process is so immersive, and then it stops, and then there’s nothing. So you have to find ways of making you feel productive when you’re not actually producing anything. For a young person, that’s really challenging.”
“It’s my profound fear of embarrassment that’s kept me going. That’s the key to my success.”
“It seems that my leading men just keep getting younger the older I get.”
“If you think hitting 40 is liberating, wait till you hit 50 — and I was surprised at how liberating it was.”
Regarding George Clooney: “He’s just a great guy, great with kids. I bet him he would get married and he keeps inflating the bet — from 100 dollars to 100,000 dollars. I still think he will, he’s a handsome devil.”
Source: Examiner.com
Thanks Andrija for the link.
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