Michelle Pfeiffer
Highest Rated: 96% The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Lowest Rated: 7% New Year's Eve (2011)
Birthday: Apr 29, 1958
Birthplace: Santa Ana, Orange County, California
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. That same year, Pfeiffer would finally realize her lifelong goal of motherhood when she adpoted a baby girl named Claudia just a few short months before walking down the aisle for a second time to wed Ally McBeal and Boston Legal creator David E. Kelley (the actress' previous marriage to actor Peter Horton had dissolved in 1988). In 1994, Pfeiffer and Kelly would complete their nuclear family when the ecstatic mother gave birth to young John Henry.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. Not that Pfeiffer would be in any danger of losing her looks in the near future; after perfectly meeting the rigorous standards of California plastic-surgeon Dr. Stephen Marquardt's complex "beauty formula" in 2001, the sultry actress was singled out as having the mo

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Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

MOVIES

CREDIT
No Score Yet Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Queen Ingrith — 2019
88% Ant-Man and the Wasp Janet van Dyne — 2018
81% Where Is Kyra? Kyra — 2018
60% Murder On The Orient Express Mrs. Hubbard $101.6M 2017
69% mother! Woman $17.3M 2017
74% The Wizard of Lies Ruth Madoff — 2017
29% The Family Maggie Blake $34.7M 2013
53% People Like Us Lillian $12.5M 2012
36% Dark Shadows Elizabeth Collins Stoddard $79.8M 2012
7% New Year's Eve Ingrid $54.6M 2011
50% Chéri Léa de Lonval $2.7M 2009
No Score Yet Personal Effects Linda — 2009
76% Stardust Lamia $38.3M 2007
91% Hairspray Velma Von Tussle $118.9M 2007
64% I Could Never Be Your Woman Rosie — 2007
45% Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Eris $26.4M 2003
69% White Oleander Ingrid Magnussen $16.3M 2002
35% I Am Sam Rita Harrison $40.3M 2001
46% What Lies Beneath Claire Spencer $155.1M 2000
28% The Story of Us Katie Jordan — 1999
67% William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Titania — 1999
43% The Deep End of the Ocean Producer Beth Cappadora — 1999
79% The Prince of Egypt Tzipporah — 1998
24% A Thousand Acres Rose Cook Lewis — 1997
48% One Fine Day Executive Producer Melanie Parker — 1996
14% To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday Gillian — 1996
31% Up Close & Personal Tally Atwater — 1996
28% Dangerous Minds Louanne Johnson — 1995
60% Wolf Laura Alden — 1994
83% The Age of Innocence Ellen Olenska — 1993
40% Love Field Lurene Hallett — 1992
78% Batman Returns Catwoman — 1992
66% Frankie & Johnny Frankie — 1991
76% The Russia House Katya — 1990
96% The Fabulous Baker Boys Susie Diamond — 1989
40% Tequila Sunrise Jo Ann Vallenari — 1988
89% Married to the Mob Angela Demarco — 1988
93% Dangerous Liaisons Madame De Tourvel — 1988
No Score Yet Power, Passion and Murder Natica Jackson — 1987
59% Amazon Women on the Moon Brenda $0.6M 1987
74% The Witches of Eastwick Sukie Ridgemont — 1987
75% Sweet Liberty Faith Healy — 1986
64% Ladyhawke Isabeau d'Anjou — 1985
38% Into the Night Diana — 1985
81% Scarface Elvira Hancock $0.7M 1983
38% Grease 2 Stephanie Zimone — 1982
No Score Yet Callie & Son Sue Lynn — 1981
40% Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Cordelia Farrington III — 1981
17% The Hollywood Knights Suzie Q — 1980
No Score Yet Falling in Love Again Sue Wellington — 1980

TV

CREDIT
No Score Yet The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
Guest
  • 2017
No Score Yet Today
2017
Guest
  • 2017
No Score Yet Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2015
Guest
  • 2017
No Score Yet The Graham Norton Show
2007
Guest
  • 2017
  • 2013
No Score Yet Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
2009-2014
Guest
  • 2013
No Score Yet The View
1997
Guest
  • 2012
No Score Yet The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
Guest
  • 2012
  • 2007
No Score Yet The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
1992-2014
Guest
  • 2012
  • 2007
  • 2002
  • 2000
85% The Simpsons
1989
Voice
  • 1994
  • 1993
  • 1991
No Score Yet Great Performances
2000
Natica Jackson

QUOTES FROM Michelle Pfeiffer CHARACTERS