Michelle Pfeiffer (born 29.04.1958) Michelle Pfeiffer is a BAFTA winning American actress.
Childhood: Michelle Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California but grew up in Midway City. Her parents are Donna and Richard Pfeiffer, an air-conditioning contractor. She attended Fountain Valley High School and Golden West College where she briefly trained to be a court stenographer. She worked at Vons supermarket in her teenage years and won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978 after which she came sixth in the Miss California pageant.
Acting career: Michelle Pfeiffer began her career in television with roles in 'Fantasy Island', 'Delta House' and 'BAD Cats' in the 70s and later landed small roles in the films 'Falling in Love Again' in 1980 which starred Susannah York, 'The Hollywood Knights' starring Robert Wuhl and 'Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen' in 1981. Her first lead role was in ‘Grease 2’ opposite Maxwell Caulfield in 1982 though it did poorly at the box office. In 1983, she appeared in the fairly well-received ‘Scarface’ with Al Pacino. Two years later she landed roles in ‘Ladyhawke’ alongside Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick, and ‘Into the Night’ with Jeff Goldblum. She was also in ‘Sweet Liberty’ with Michael Caine in 1986 and ‘Amazon Women on the Moon’ in 1987. Her first big box office success was in 1987’s ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ opposite Jack Nicholson, Cher and Susan Sarandon In 1988, she was in Jonathan Demme's 'Married to the Mob' opposite Matthew Modine and Dean Stockwell which earned her her first Golden Globe Award nomination.
She was also in 'Tequila Sunrise' opposite Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell, and 'Dangerous Liaisons' with Glenn Close and John Malkovich for which she won a BAFTA and an Academy Award nomination. The following year she appeared in ‘The Fabulous Baker Boys’ alongside Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges which earned her another Oscar nomination and BAFTA nomination.
She was given a Golden Globe nomination for 1990's 'The Russia House' opposite Sean Connery before reuniting with Al Pacino in 1991 for 'Frankie and Johnny'. She was nominated for several awards for her appearance in 'Love Field' in 1992. The same year also saw her play Catwoman in Tim Burton's hugely successful 'Batman Returns' opposite Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito. She was in Martin Scorsese's 'The Age of Innocence' in 1993 with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder which earned her several awards.
The following year she teamed with Jack Nicholson in the horror film 'Wolf'. 1995 saw her appear in 'Dangerous Minds', before starring opposite Robert Redford in 1996's 'Up Close & Personal' and taking on the lead role in 'To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday'. In 1996, she executively produced 'One Fine Day' in which she also starred alongside George Clooney. The following year she was in 'A Thousand Acres' with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
In 1999, she starred in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' opposite Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci as well as 'The Story of Us' with Bruce Willis. She appeared in thriller 'What Lies Beneath' with Harrison Ford which became a majoy success while 2001 and 2002 saw her in 'I Am Sam' with Sean Penn and 'White Oleander' with Renée Zellweger respectively.
She then took a four year hiatus to devote her time to her family but returned in 'Hairspray' opposite John Travolta, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah in 2007 and as a witch in 'Stardust' with Claire Danes, Charlie Cox and Robert De Niro. In 2007, she appeared in ‘I Could Never Be Your Woman’ opposite Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan and in 2009 she was in ‘Personal Effects’ opposite Ashton Kutcher and Kathy Bates. She then took another break before starring in Garry Marshall's 2011 rom com ‘New Year's Eve’ and co-starring with Chris Pine in ‘People Like Us’ in 2012. That year also saw her in Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’ with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Chloë Grace Moretz.
Personal life: Michelle Pfeiffer was 'brainwashed' into quitting drinking, smoking and taking drugs by a cult when she was younger who also took advantage of her money. She dated Peter Horton while she took acting classes in Beverly Hills and he helped her leave the cult. They married in 1981 before getting divorced in 1990. She then had a relationship with Fisher Stevens which lasted three years. She was then set up on a blind date with David E. Kelley who she married in 1993. In 1993, she adopted a baby girl called Claudia Rose and in 1994, gave birth to a son called John Henry. She is a vegan.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
