Michelle Pfeiffer Biography Quotes 10 Report mistakes

Early Life
Michelle Pfeiffer was born on April 29, 1958, in Santa Ana, California, and grew up in nearby Midway City and Fountain Valley. The second of four children of Donna (nee Taverna) and Richard Pfeiffer, she was raised in a close, working-class family alongside her older brother Rick and her sisters Dedee and Lori; Dedee Pfeiffer would also become an actress. After graduating from Fountain Valley High School in 1976, she briefly attended Golden West College and entered local beauty pageants, winning Miss Orange County in 1978 and competing in the Miss California pageant. The exposure accelerated her shift toward acting, as agents and casting directors began calling. Early on she supported herself with everyday jobs and took acting classes, including study with renowned teacher Milton Katselas.

Early Career
Pfeiffer's first onscreen appearances were on television in the late 1970s, with guest roles on series such as Fantasy Island and CHiPs. Film parts followed: Falling in Love Again and The Hollywood Knights (both 1980) gave her her first feature credits. Her first starring vehicle, Grease 2 (1982), was poorly received, but its aftermath pushed her to seek more challenging material and to sharpen her craft.

Breakthrough and Acclaim
Her breakthrough arrived with Scarface (1983), directed by Brian De Palma, where she played the cool, enigmatic Elvira Hancock opposite Al Pacino and Steven Bauer. The performance established her screen presence and opened doors to varied roles. She followed with Ladyhawke (1985), Into the Night (1985), and The Witches of Eastwick (1987), sharing the screen with Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon. A pair of 1988 films confirmed her range: Jonathan Demme's Married to the Mob showcased her comic instincts, while Stephen Frears's Dangerous Liaisons earned her widespread praise and major award recognition. The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), opposite Jeff and Beau Bridges and directed by Steve Kloves, became a signature role; her turn as singer Susie Diamond won the Golden Globe and a sweep of critics' prizes.

1990s: Range and Stardom
The early 1990s brought prestige and box office success. In Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992), Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle/Catwoman was both ferocious and vulnerable, becoming a pop-culture touchstone. In Love Field (1992), directed by Jonathan Kaplan, she portrayed a Dallas housewife whose life intersects with history around the Kennedy assassination; the role brought her another Academy Award nomination and the Berlin festival's Best Actress honor. She reunited with major filmmakers in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993) and Mike Nichols's Wolf (1994), and she anchored the hit classroom drama Dangerous Minds (1995), which her company Via Rosa Productions developed with her producing partner Kate Guinzburg. Romantic dramas and comedies followed, including Up Close & Personal (1996) with Robert Redford and One Fine Day (1996) with George Clooney. She voiced Tzipporah in The Prince of Egypt (1998) and played Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999). Robert Zemeckis's What Lies Beneath (2000), opposite Harrison Ford, extended her run of box-office successes, and White Oleander (2002) reaffirmed her dramatic authority.

Hiatus and Renewed Activity
After prioritizing family and stepping back from the spotlight in the early 2000s, Pfeiffer returned in 2007 with a lively one-two of Hairspray and Stardust. She reteamed with Stephen Frears for Cheri (2009) and later worked with Tim Burton on Dark Shadows (2012), with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Ensemble projects and character-driven dramas followed: People Like Us (2012), Luc Besson's The Family (2013) with Robert De Niro, and the austere indie Where Is Kyra? (2017), which drew strong critical notices for its restraint and emotional clarity.

Television and Later Work
On television she delivered a lauded turn as Ruth Madoff in HBO's The Wizard of Lies (2017), opposite Robert De Niro, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. That same year she appeared in Darren Aronofsky's provocative Mother! and in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express. Pfeiffer joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Janet van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), returned briefly in Avengers: Endgame (2019), and took a central role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). She portrayed Queen Ingrith in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) with Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning, and in French Exit (2020) she gave a sly, brittle performance that earned her another Golden Globe nomination.

Personal Life
Pfeiffer married actor Peter Horton in 1981; they divorced amicably in 1988. In 1993 she adopted a newborn daughter, Claudia Rose, and later that year married writer-producer David E. Kelley, celebrated for series such as The Practice, Ally McBeal, and Big Little Lies. Pfeiffer and Kelley welcomed a son, John Henry, in 1994. The couple has long maintained a low profile, spending significant time in Northern California as she balanced work with family commitments. Her sister Dedee's parallel career has kept acting a family endeavor.

Entrepreneurship and Advocacy
Driven by concerns about ingredient transparency, Pfeiffer launched Henry Rose in 2019, a fine-fragrance and personal care brand named in tribute to her children. Working with perfumers and safety organizations, the line became notable for obtaining Environmental Working Group Verification, signaling rigorous disclosure and health standards. The venture broadened her public role beyond acting into mindful entrepreneurship.

Craft and Legacy
Across four decades, Pfeiffer has been celebrated for combining luminous star power with meticulous character work. She earned three Academy Award nominations, a BAFTA Award for Dangerous Liaisons, and a Golden Globe for The Fabulous Baker Boys, among numerous honors from critics' circles. Collaborations with filmmakers including Brian De Palma, Jonathan Demme, Stephen Frears, Tim Burton, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, Robert Zemeckis, Darren Aronofsky, and Kenneth Branagh highlight a career defined by range and fearless choices. Whether embodying vulnerable romantic heroines, morally conflicted aristocrats, or iconic figures like Catwoman and Janet van Dyne, Michelle Pfeiffer has sustained a rare blend of commercial appeal and artistic credibility, making her one of the most respected American actresses of her generation.

Our collection contains 10 quotes who is written by Michelle, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Funny - Parenting - Work Ethic - Aging.

Other people realated to Michelle: Al Pacino (Actor), Jim Harrison (Writer), Winona Ryder (Actress), Robert Towne (Actor), Dakota Fanning (Actress), Christopher Hampton (Playwright), Ed Harris (Actor), Fisher Stevens (Actor), Coolio (Musician), John Travolta (Actor)