Michelle Pfeiffer is an award-winning American actress best known for her roles in the films Scarface, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Batman Returns, One Fine Day, Dangerous Minds, I Am Sam, What Lies Beneath, Hairspray, Stardust, and Grease 2.
Hailing from Santa Ana, California, Michelle Pfeiffer was born on April 29, 1958 to Donna and Richard Pfeiffer. The second of the four siblings, Michelle Pfeiffer grew up Midway City, Orange County, California, where she attended Fountain Valley High School. She studied at Golden West College for one year with the hopes of becoming a court reporter, but eventually dropped out to pursue a career in acting.
It was in 1980 when Pfeiffer had her first major role in the big screen when she starred in the films The Hollywood Knights and Falling in Love Again. Unfortunately, both films failed to attract widespread attention. She then tried a career in television as she appeared in Great Yellow Bird, Fantasy Island, Callie & Son, Splendor in the Grass, and The Children Nobody Wanted. In 1982, she returned in the big screen when she co-starred with Maxwell Caufield in Grease 2. Although the film gained a cult following, it was poorly received by critics.
Pfeiffer finally gained recognition when she co-starred with Al Pacino in the 1983 crime film Scarface, playing the beautiful Elvira Rock. This was then followed by her highly noted performance in the 1985 fantasy romance Ladyhawke. In 1987, she starred in the commercially and critically successful film The Witches of Eastwick alongside Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon.
During the 1990s, Pfeiffer graced the big screen through the films The Russia House, Frankie and Johnny, in which she reunited with Al Pacino, The Age of Innocence, Wolf with Jack Nicholson, Dangerous Minds, One Fine Day and Love Field in which she earned her third Oscar nomination.
In 2000, she co-starred with Harrison Ford in the supernatural thriller What Lies Beneath. The following year, she teamed up with Seann Penn in the widely acclaimed drama I Am Sam. In 2002, she earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal as Ingrid Magnussen in the 2002 drama film White Oleander.
Pfeiffer’s other films include I Could Never Be Your Woman, in which she co-starred with Robert Den Niro, Stradust, and Hairspray.