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Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( FY-fər; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. Prolific in film for over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as one of the era's defining sex symbols. She is known for pursuing a wide range of characters that span multiple genres, which have earned her various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Beginning her acting career with minor television and film appearances, Pfeiffer attained her first leading role in the critically and commercially unsuccessful Grease 2 (1982). Disillusioned with being typecast in nondescript parts as attractive women, she achieved her breakout role as Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983). Pfeiffer's mainstream success grew with performances in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Tequila Sunrise (1988), and she received her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations for Married to the Mob (1988). Her performances in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) earned her two consecutive Academy Award nominations, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress respectively, winning a Golden Globe Award for the latter. Pfeiffer went on to star in The Russia House (1990) and Frankie and Johnny (1991), making her one of the highest-paid actresses of the 1990s. In 1992, she played Catwoman in Batman Returns and received her third Academy Award nomination for Love Field, which were succeeded by performances in The Age of Innocence (1993) and Wolf (1994). She also produced several of her own star vehicles under her company Via Rosa Productions, including Dangerous Minds (1995). Opting to prioritize her family, she acted sporadically throughout the 2000s, appearing in What Lies Beneath (2000), White Oleander (2002), Hairspray, and Stardust (both 2007). Following another hiatus, Pfeiffer returned to prominence in 2017 with performances in Where Is Kyra?, Mother!, and Murder on the Orient Express, and received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for playing Ruth Madoff in The Wizard of Lies. In 2020, she received her eighth Golden Globe Award nomination for French Exit. Pfeiffer has played Janet van Dyne in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2018, beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp. Early life Michelle Marie Pfeiffer was born on April 29, 1958, in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children of Donna Jean (née Taverna), a housewife, and Richard Pfeiffer, an air-conditioning contractor. She has an older brother, Rick, and two younger sisters, Dedee and Lori. Her parents were both originally from North Dakota. Her paternal grandfather was of German ancestry and her paternal grandmother was of English, Welsh, French, Irish, and Dutch descent, while her maternal grandfather was of Swiss-German-Italian descent and her maternal grandmother of Swedish ancestry. The family moved to Midway City, another Orange County community around seven miles (11 km) away, where Pfeiffer spent her early years. Pfeiffer attended Fountain Valley High School, graduating in 1976. She worked as a check-out girl at Vons supermarket, and attended Golden West College where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After a short stint training to be a court stenographer, she pursued an acting career. Pfeiffer won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978 and finished sixth in the Miss California contest the same year. After her appearances in these pageants, Pfeiffer acquired an agent and began to audition for television and film roles. Career Late 1970s and 1980s Pfeiffer made her acting debut in 1978, in a one-episode appearance of Fantasy Island. Other roles on television series followed, including Delta House, CHiPs, Enos and B.A.D. Cats, as well as in the made-for-CBS film The Solitary Man (1979). Pfeiffer transitioned to film with the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), with Tony Danza, appearing as high school sweethearts. She subsequently played supporting roles in Falling in Love Again (1980) with Susannah York and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), none of which met with much critical or box office success. She appeared in a television commercial for Lux soap, and took acting lessons at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, before appearing in three 1981 television movies – Callie and Son, with Lindsay Wagner, The Children Nobody Wanted and Splendor in the Grass. Pfeiffer obtained her first major film role as the female lead in Grease 2 (1982), the sequel to the smash-hit musical film Grease (1978). With only a few television roles and small film appearances, the 23-year-old Pfeiffer was an unknown actress when she attended the casting call audition for the role, but according to director Patricia Birch, she won the part because she "has a quirky quality you don't expect". The film was a critical and commercial failure but Pfeiffer's performance was noted as a standout. The New York Times remarked: "[A]lthough she is a relative screen newcomer, Miss Pfeiffer manages to look much more insouciant and comfortable than anyone else in the cast." Despite escaping the critical mauling, her agent later admitted that her association with the film meant that "she couldn't get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her." On her early screen roles, she asserted: "I needed to learn how to act ... in the meantime, I was playing bimbos and cashing in on my looks." Director Brian De Palma, having seen Grease 2, refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface (1983), but relented at the insistence of Martin Bregman, the film's producer. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. The film was considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained a large cult following in subsequent years. Pfeiffer received positive reviews for her supporting turn; Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote, "most of the large cast is fine: Michelle Pfeiffer is better ..." while Dominick Dunne, in an article for Vanity Fair titled "Blonde Ambition", wrote, "[s]he is on the verge of stardom. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot." Following Scarface, she played Diana in John Landis' comedy Into the Night (1985), with Jeff Goldblum; Isabeau d'Anjou in Richard Donner's fantasy film Ladyhawke (1985), with Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick; Faith Healy in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986), with Michael Caine; and Brenda Landers in a segment of the 1950s sci-fi parody Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), all of which, despite achieving only modest commercial success, helped to establish her as an actress. She finally scored a major box-office hit as Sukie Ridgemont in the 1987 adaptation of John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick, with Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Susan Sarandon. The film received positive reviews and grossed over $63.7 million domestically, equivalent to $171 million in 2023 dollars,.... Discover the Helen Phifer popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Helen Phifer books.