Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress and producer known as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars of the 1980s and 1990s. Born on April 29, 1958, her work across film and television has earned her a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, along with nominations for three Academy Awards and three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, to Richard Pfeiffer and Donna Jean (née Taverna), both originally from North Dakota. Raised in Midway City alongside an older brother and two younger sisters, she attended Fountain Valley High School, graduating in 1976. She worked as a cashier at a Vons supermarket and studied at Golden West College, briefly training as a court stenographer before pursuing acting. In 1978, she won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant and placed sixth in Miss California, after which she acquired an agent and began auditioning for screen roles.

Pfeiffer made her acting debut in 1978 on the television series Fantasy Island, followed by appearances in shows such as CHiPs and Delta House, and early films like The Hollywood Knights (1980). She landed her first leading film role in Grease 2 (1982), and achieved her breakthrough portraying Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983). She gained further mainstream success in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Married to the Mob (1988), the latter earning her the first of six consecutive Golden Globe nominations. She subsequently earned Academy Award nominations for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), for which she won a BAFTA Award, and The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), which brought her a Golden Globe Award.

By the early 1990s, Pfeiffer was one of the world's highest-paid actresses. In 1990, she co-founded her own production company, Via Rosa Productions. She starred in films such as The Russia House (1990), Frankie & Johnny (1991), and played Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992). Her performance in Love Field (1992), which she produced, earned her a third Academy Award nomination as well as the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival. Throughout the decade, she appeared in prominent projects including The Age of Innocence (1993), Wolf (1994), and Dangerous Minds (1995), which she also co-produced.

In the 2000s, Pfeiffer reduced her workload to focus on her family. During this period, she appeared in select feature films such as What Lies Beneath (2000), White Oleander (2002), Hairspray (2007), and Stardust (2007).

Following a hiatus, Pfeiffer returned to prominence in 2017 with roles in Where Is Kyra?, Mother!, Murder on the Orient Express, and the television film The Wizard of Lies, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. She received an eighth Golden Globe nomination for French Exit (2020). Pfeiffer joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Janet van Dyne, beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). She also stars as family matriarchs in the streaming series The Madison and Margo's Got Money Troubles, earning two additional Primetime Emmy Award nominations as actor and producer for the latter.