Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (/ˈfaɪfər/; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and

producer. She has received many accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, and three
nominations for an Academy Award.

Pfeiffer began to pursue an acting career in 1978 and had her first leading role in the
musical film Grease 2 (1982). Frustrated with being typecast as the token pretty girl,
she actively pursued more serious material and had her breakthrough role as gangster
moll Elvira Hancock in the crime film Scarface (1983). Further success came with
leading roles in the fantasy feature The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and the comedy
Married to the Mob (1988). Her roles in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Fabulous
Baker Boys (1989) garnered her consecutive two Academy Award nominations, for Best
Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively; her portrayal of lounge singer Susie
Diamond in the latter is one of the most acclaimed of her career.

Pfeiffer went on to star as Catwoman / Selina Kyle in Tim Burton's superhero film
Batman Returns (1992), following which she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress and
earned a third Academy Award nomination for playing a troubled housewife in Love
Field (1992). She continued to gain praise for her performances in the dramas The Age
of Innocence (1993) and White Oleander (2002), and the horror films Wolf (1994) and
What Lies Beneath (2000). During this time, she also produced a series of films under
her production company Via Rosa Productions. After a hiatus from acting in 2002, she
returned with the musical Hairspray (2007). She received her first Emmy Award
nomination for portraying Ruth Madoff in the HBO television film The Wizard of Lies
(2017), and went on to feature in the ensemble films Murder on the Orient Express
(2017) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).

Late 1970's & 80's

Pfeiffer made her acting debut in 1978, in a one-episode appearance of Fantasy

Island.[8] Other roles on television series followed, including Delta House, CHiPs, Enos
and B.A.D. Cats. 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,[13] and took acting lessons at the Beverly Hills Playhouse,[14] 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).[15] 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".[16] The film was a
critical and commercial failure, but 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."[17] 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."[15] 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."[8]

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.[18] The film was
considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained
a large cult following in subsequent years.[19] 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 ..."[20] 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."[21]

Pfeiffer in 1985

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
grossed over $63.7 million domestically, the equivalent to $140.6 million in 2018
dollars.[22][23]

Pfeiffer was cast against type, as a murdered gangster's widow, in Jonathan Demme's
mafia comedy Married to the Mob (1988), with Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell and
Mercedes Ruehl. For the role of Angela de Marco, she donned a curly brunette wig and
a Brooklyn accent,[3] and received her first Golden Globe Award nomination as Best
Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, beginning a six-year streak of
consecutive Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes.[24][25] Pfeiffer then
appeared as chic restaurateuse Jo Ann Vallenari in Tequila Sunrise (1988) with Mel
Gibson and Kurt Russell, but experienced creative and personal differences with
director Robert Towne, who later described her as the "most difficult" actress he has
ever worked with.[26]
At Demme's personal recommendation,[15] Pfeiffer joined the cast of Stephen Frears's
Dangerous Liaisons (1988), with Glenn Close and John Malkovich, playing the virtuous
victim of seduction, Madame Marie de Tourvel. Her performance won her widespread
acclaim; Hal Hinson of The Washington Post saw Pfeiffer's role as "the least obvious
and the most difficult. Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart
enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it. Her porcelain-skinned beauty, in this regard,
is a great asset, and the way it's used makes it seem an aspect of her spirituality."[27] She
won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role[28] and received a
nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[29]

Pfeiffer then accepted the role of Susie Diamond, a hard-edged former call girl turned
lounge singer, in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), which co-starred Jeff Bridges and
Beau Bridges as the eponymous Baker Boys. She underwent intensive voice training for
the role for four months, and performed all of her character's vocals.[30] The film was a
modest success, grossing $18.4 million in the US (equivalent to $37.2 million in 2018
dollars [22]).[31] Her portrayal of Susie, however, drew rave reviews from critics. Critic
Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in Gilda and to Marilyn Monroe in Some
Like It Hot, adding that the film was "one of the movies they will use as a document,
years from now, when they begin to trace the steps by which Pfeiffer became a great
star".[32] During the 1989–1990 awards season, Pfeiffer dominated the Best-actress
category at every major awards ceremony, winning awards at the Golden Globes, the
National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film
Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and the
Chicago Film Critics Association. Pfeiffer's performance as Susie is considered to be
the most critically acclaimed of her career.[33][34]

1990s

Pfeiffer took the part of the Soviets book editor Katya Orlova in the 1990 film
adaptation of John le Carré's The Russia House, with Sean Connery, a role that required
her to adopt a Russian accent. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.[35]
Pfeiffer then landed the role of damaged waitress Frankie in Garry Marshall's Frankie
and Johnny (1991), a film adaptation of Terrence McNally's Broadway play Frankie
and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which reunited her with her Scarface co-star, Al
Pacino. The casting was seen as controversial by many, as Pfeiffer was considered far
too beautiful to play an "ordinary" waitress;[36] Kathy Bates, the original Frankie on
Broadway, also expressed disappointment over the producers' choice.[37] Pfeiffer herself
stated that she took the role because it "wasn't what people would expect of [her]".[38]
Pfeiffer was once again nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress –
Motion Picture Drama for her performance.
Pfeiffer at the 1990 Academy Awards

In 1990, Pfeiffer formed her own boutique film production company, Via Rosa
Productions, which ran for 10 years. The company allowed her to produce and/or star in
films tailored for strong women. She asked her best friend Kate Guinzburg to be her
producing partner at the company. The two met on the set of the film Sweet Liberty
(1986) and quickly became friends. Kate was the Production Coordinator on the film
and became close with Pfeiffer over the course of the shoot. Via Rosa Productions was
under a picture deal with Touchstone Pictures, a film label of The Walt Disney Studios.
The first film the duo produced was the independent drama Love Field, which was
released in late 1992. Reviewers embraced the film and The New York Times felt that
Pfeiffer was "again demonstrating that she is as subtle and surprising as she is
beautiful".[39] For her portrayal of the eccentric Dallas housewife, she earned
nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe for Best
Actress – Drama and won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 43rd Berlin
International Film Festival.[40][41]

Pfeiffer took the role of Catwoman in Tim Burton's superhero film Batman Returns
(1992), with Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito, after Annette Bening withdrew due to
pregnancy. For the role of Catwoman, she trained in martial arts and kickboxing.
Pfeiffer has received universal critical acclaim for the role, and her performance is
consistently referred to as the greatest portrayal of Catwoman of all time by critics and
fans, and is also one of the best regarded performances of her career.[42][43][44][45]
Premiere retrospectively lauded her performance: "Arguably the outstanding villain of
the Tim Burton era, Michelle Pfeiffer's deadly kitten with a whip brought sex to the
normally neutered franchise. Her stitched-together, black patent leather costume, based
on a sketch of Burton's, remains the character's most iconic look. And Michelle Pfeiffer
overcomes Batman Returns' heavy-handed feminist dialogue to deliver a growling,
fierce performance."[46] Batman Returns was a big box office success, grossing over
US$266 million worldwide (equivalent to $474.9 million).[47]

In Martin Scorsese's period drama The Age of Innocence (1993), a film adaptation of
Edith Wharton's 1920 novel, Pfeiffer starred with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder,
portraying a Countess in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. For her role, she
received the Elvira Notari Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture.[48] Also in 1993, she was awarded the
Women in Film Los Angeles' Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their
endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women
within the entertainment industry.[49]

Following the formation of her producing company in 1990, Pfeiffer saw a growing
professional expansion as a producer. While she continued to act steadily throughout the
decade, she and her producing partner Guinzburg experienced a winning streak of
producing back to back films next under their Via Rosa Productions header. In the 1994
horror film Wolf, she starred with Jack Nicholson, portraying the sardonic and willful
interest of a writer who becomes a wolf-man at night after being bitten by a creature.
The film was released to a mixed critical reception;[50] The New York Times wrote: "Ms.
Pfeiffer's role is underwritten, but her performance is expert enough to make even
diffidence compelling."[51] Wolf was a commercial success, grossing US$65 million
(equivalent to $109.9 million) at the domestic box office and US$131 million
worldwide (equivalent to $221.4 million).[52]

Pfeiffer's next role was that of high school teacher and former United States Marine
LouAnne Johnson in the drama Dangerous Minds (1995),[53] which was co-produced
under her company Via Rosa Productions. She appeared as her character in the music
video for the soundtrack's lead single, "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio, featuring L.V.;
the song won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance,[54] and the
video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video.[55] While Dangerous
Minds received negative reviews, it was a box office success, grossing US$179.5
million around the globe.[56] Pfeiffer portrayed Sally Atwater in the romantic drama Up
Close & Personal (1996), with Robert Redford.[57]

Pfeiffer took the role of Gillian Lewis in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996), which
was adapted by her husband David Kelley from Michael Brady's play of the same
name.[58] Under their Via Rosa Productions header, Pfeiffer and Guinzburg produced
the films One Fine Day (1996), A Thousand Acres (1997) and The Deep End of the
Ocean (1998). She voiced of Tzipporah for animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998).
She served as an executive producer and starred as the divorced single mother architect
Melanie Parker in the romantic comedy One Fine Day (1996) with George Clooney,[59]
Subsequent performances included Rose Cook Lewis in the film adaptation of Jane
Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres (1997) with Jessica Lange and
Jennifer Jason Leigh;[60] Beth Cappadora in The Deep End of the Ocean (1998) about a
married couple who found their son who was kidnapped nine years ago;[61] Titania the
Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) with Kevin Kline, Rupert
Everett and Stanley Tucci;[62] and Katie Jordan in Rob Reiner's comedy-drama The
Story of Us (1999) with Bruce Willis.[63]

2000s

Pfeiffer chose to begin the process of dissolving her film production company, Via Rosa
Productions, in 1999, and move into semi-retirement in order to spend more quality
time with her children and family, meaning that she would continue to star in films
sporadically into the 2000s and beyond. Pfeiffer handed her producing partner
Guinzburg one final film to produce under the Via Rosa Productions header. The film
was called Original Sin (2001). It was originally intended to star Pfeiffer, who later
changed her mind as she was looking to work less for a while. The film was produced
by her company, but instead starred Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas.

In the Hitchcockian thriller What Lies Beneath (2000), Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford
starred as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets
about their past. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it opened atop at
the box office in July 2000,[64] and went on to gross US$291 million worldwide.[65] She
then accepted the role of Rita Harrison, a highly strung lawyer helping a father with a
developmental disability, in the drama I Am Sam (2001), with Sean Penn.[66] Despite
grossing $97.8 million worldwide,[67] the movie received unfavorable reviews;[68]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "Pfeiffer, apparently stymied by the bland clichés that
prop up her screechy role, delivers her flattest, phoniest performance ever."[69]
Meanwhile, SF Gate observed: "In one scene, she breaks down in tears as she
unburdens herself to him about her miserable life. It's hard not to cringe, watching this
emotionally ready actress fling herself headlong into false material."[70]

Pfeiffer took on the role of a murderous artist, named Ingrid Magnussen, in the drama
White Oleander (2002), with Alison Lohman (in her film début), Renée Zellweger and
Robin Wright. The film was an arthouse success and Pfeiffer garnered a substantial
amount of critical praise; Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that "Ms.
Pfeiffer, giving the most complex screen performance of her career, makes her
Olympian seductress at once irresistible and diabolical."[71] Kenneth Turan of the Los
Angeles Times described her as "incandescent", bringing "power and unshakable will to
her role as mother-master manipulator" in a "riveting, impeccable performance".[72] She
earned Best Supporting Actress Awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society and
the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award
nomination.

Pfeiffer lent her voice for the character of goddess of chaos Eris in Sinbad: Legend of
the Seven Seas (2003), an animated film featuring Brad Pitt as the voice of Sinbad the
Sailor. She had struggles with finding the character's villainies. Initially the character
was "too sexual", then she lacked fun. After the third rewrite, Pfeiffer called producer
Jeffrey Katzenberg and told him "You know, you really can fire me," but he assured her
that this was just part of the process.[73] Following the release of the film, she took a
four-year hiatus from acting, during which she remained largely out of the public eye to
devote time to her husband and children.[74] At the time, she turned down the role of the
White Witch in the fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and
The Wardrobe (2005), which went to Tilda Swinton.[75]

Pfeiffer returned to the screen in 2007 with villainous roles in two major summer
blockbusters — Hairspray and Stardust. In the film adaptation of the Broadway musical
Hairspray, she starred with John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron and Queen
Latifah,[76] in the role of Velma Von Tussle, the racist manager of a television station.
Travolta requested that Pfeiffer play the part of the villainess, which was her first film
role in five years. A widely positive reception greeted the film upon its release, while it
made an impressive US$118.9 million and US$202.5 million worldwide.[77] The cast of
Hairspray was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion
Picture, but won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast, the
Hollywood Film Festival Award for Ensemble of the Year and the Palm Springs
International Film Festival Award for Ensemble Cast. Her next film release, the fantasy
adventure Stardust, with Claire Danes, Charlie Cox and Robert De Niro,[78] saw her
play the ancient witch Lamia. Filmed before Hairspray, the film premiered three weeks
afterwards; it garnered largely positive reviews but, budgeted at US$70 million, it made
a modest US$135.5 million globally.[79]

Pfeiffer starred in Amy Heckerling's romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman
(2007), with Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan,[80] portraying Rosie, a 40-year-old divorced
mother working as a scriptwriter and producer for a television show who falls in love
with a much younger man (Rudd). Her reported salary was US$1 million, with an
advance on 15 percent of the gross. However, the film was only distributed on home
video markets.[81] Reviews for I Could Never Be Your Woman were moderately
positive,[82] with critic James Berardinelli finding Pfeiffer and Rudd to "have adequate
chemistry to pull off the romance" in what he described as an "enjoyable romantic
comedy that has enough going for it to make it worth a recommendation".[83] She next
starred in Personal Effects (2009), with Ashton Kutcher, playing two grieving people
coping with the pain and frustration of their loss whose bond spawns an unlikely
romance. The drama premiered at Iowa City's Englert Theatre.[84]

Pfeiffer's next film, an adaptation of Colette's Chéri (2009), reunited her with the
director (Stephen Frears) and screenwriter (Christopher Hampton) of Dangerous
Liaisons (1988). Pfeiffer played the role of aging retired courtesan Léa de Lonval, with
Rupert Friend in the title role, with Kathy Bates as his mother. Chéri premiered at the
2009 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received a nomination for the Golden
Bear award.[85] The Times of London reviewed the film favorably, describing Hampton's
screenplay as a "steady flow of dry quips and acerbic one-liners" and Pfeiffer's
performance as "magnetic and subtle, her worldly nonchalance a mask for vulnerability
and heartache".[86] Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it was "fascinating
to observe how Pfeiffer controls her face and voice during times of painful hurt".[87]
Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times praised the "wordless scenes that catch Léa
unawares, with the camera alone seeing the despair and regret that she hides from the
world. It's the kind of refined, delicate acting Pfeiffer does so well, and it's a further
reminder of how much we've missed her since she's been away."[88]

2010s

Following a two-year sabbatical from acting, Pfeiffer made part of a large ensemble cast
in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), her second collaboration
with Marshall after Frankie and Johnny. The film, also starring Halle Berry, Jessica
Biel, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sofía
Vergara, among many others, saw her take on the supporting role of Ingrid Withers, an
overwhelmed secretary befriending a deliveryman (Efron). While the film was panned
by critics, it made US$142 million worldwide.[89] In 2012, she appeared with Chris Pine
and Elizabeth Banks in the drama People Like Us, as the mother of a struggling New
York City corporate trader (Pine). Rolling Stone found her to be "luminous" in the
film,[90] and The New York Times, positively pointing out Pfeiffer and Banks, noted that
their performances "partly compensate for the holes in a story whose timing is hard to
swallow".[91] People Like Us debuted to US$4.26 million, described as "meager" by Box
Office Mojo, and only made US$12 million in North America.[92]
Pfieffer reunited with Tim Burton, her Batman Returns director, in Dark Shadows
(2012), based on the gothic television soap opera of the same name. In the film, co-
starring Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter and Chloë Grace Moretz, she
played Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the stern and strict, but loyal and devoted family
matriarch. Critical response towards the film was mixed, but writers acclaimed the
actors' performances—most notably Depp and Pfeiffer's. IGN found her to be
"commanding" in her role and felt that the main characters were "played by one of
Burton's best ensemble casts yet".[93] While Dark Shadows grossed a modest US$79.7
million in North America, it ultimately made US$245.5 million globally.[94] In Luc
Besson's mob-comedy The Family (2013), co-starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee
Jones, Dianna Agron and John D'Leo, she played the "tough mother" in a Mafia family
wanting to change their lives under the witness protection program.[95][96] Although
reviews for the film were mixed, THV11 said on the cast's portrayals: "The core actors
of The Family were really solid, and the whole film comes together to make a solid
movie."[97] Meanwhile, The Huffington Post felt that "De Niro, Pfieffer and Jones all
brought 100% to their roles."[98] The film grossed US$78.4 million worldwide.[99]

"The only trepidation was I think I took for granted how nice it was to not be under the
spotlight and just having a life. I remember thinking, 'Do I really want to step back into
this?' And I just realized that I'm not done. I have a lot more to do, and a lot more to say.
I'm never going to be one that retires."

—Pfeiffer in 2017 on her comeback[100]

Pfeiffer has stated that her lack of acting throughout the 2000s was due to her
children,[101] and now with both her children away at college, she intends to "work a
lot".[102] She has commented that she feels that her best performance is "still in her", and
that she thinks that's what keeps her going.[103] The slew of films that would follow in
2017 would prompt the media to dub her career resurgence a "Pfeiffer-sance".[104][105] In
the independent drama Where Is Kyra?, she starred as a sensitive and fragile woman
who loses her mother and "faces a crisis in which she must find a means for survival, all
the while hiding her struggles from her new lover". The film premiered at the Sundance
Film Festival on January 23, 2017, and received a limited release on April 6, 2018,[106]
to critical acclaim;[107][108][109] Her role as Kyra was dubbed the "performance of her
life" by Village Voice's Bilge Ebiri,[110] and "the performance of her career", by Rolling
Stone.[111]

Pfeiffer in 2017 at a press conference in Venice, Italy for the film Mother!

Pfeiffer landed the role of Ruth Madoff for the HBO Films drama The Wizard of Lies,
based on the book of the same name. The film, directed by Barry Levinson, reunites her
with actor Robert De Niro, who played her husband, disgraced financier Bernard
Madoff.[112] The Wizard of Lies premiered on HBO on May 20, 2017, garnering
favorable reviews from critics and an audience of 1.5 million viewers, HBO's largest
premiere viewership for a film in four years.[113] Tolucan Times remarked that Pfeiffer
"steals the show as Madoff's wife, Ruth, and is a remarkable lookalike",[114] while Los
Angeles Times asserted: "As Ruth, Pfeiffer convincingly portrays a pampered woman
left with utterly nothing —she's lost her homes, status and, most important, her
relationship with her sons."[115] Pfeiffer earned her first Emmy nomination for her
performance in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or
Movie.[116]

In Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror film Mother! (2017), with Jennifer

Lawrence and Javier Bardem,[117] Pfeiffer portrayed one of the mysterious guests
disrupting the tranquil life of a couple. While Mother! polarized viewers and prompted
mass walkouts, the film was better received by critics.[118][119] Despite its divisiveness,
critics unanimously praised Pfeiffer's contribution,[120][121] some of whom felt that her
performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination.[122] Vulture remarked: "Out of the
main actors, it's Pfeiffer who is able to root the character in meaning — she bracingly
marries the exploration of Biblical creation, mythological overtones, and hellish
domestic commentary. There's a gravity to Pfeiffer's performance that allows her to
succeed where the other main actors fail, save for brief spurts — she straddles the
boundaries between embodying a symbol and granting the character enough interiority
to feel like a flesh and blood woman, too."[123]

Pfeiffer had a supporting role in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express
(2017), the fourth adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name. The
mystery–drama ensemble film follows world-renowned detective Hercule Poirot, who
seeks to solve a murder on the famous European train in the 1930s. Pfeiffer played an
aging socialite with Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, and Judi Dench.[124] Pfeiffer sang the
song "Never Forget", which plays over the film's closing credits and appears on the
film's official soundtrack.[100] The film grossed US$351.7 million worldwide and
received decent reviews from critics, with praise for the performances, but criticism for
not adding anything new to previous adaptations.[125] Although most critics agreed that
the ensemble cast was underused, Pfeiffer's performance earned positive reviews, with
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times opining that the actress delivers the film's
best performance.[126] The New Yorker's Anthony Lane found Pfeiffer to be the only
actor who appears to be enjoying their material.[127] David Edelstein of Vulture
described the actress as "a hoot and a half ... stealing every scene".[128] Mick LaSalle,
writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, identified Pfeiffer as the film's "most
interesting bit of casting", crediting her performance with reminding audiences that she
is one of today's best film actresses and "help[ing] Branagh make the case for his
remake over the original".[129]

Pfeiffer stars as Janet van Dyne in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp, directed by Peyton
Reed. The film was released in theaters July 6, 2018.[130] Critics felt that Pfeiffer used
her limited screentime well. Variety's Owen Gleiberman described her presence as
"lovely" and "wistful",[131] while Josh Spiegel of Film wrote that the film suffers from a
lack of the actress, describing her as "less of a character and more of a MacGuffin" and
her performance as "cruelly brief".[132] She reprised her role as Janet van Dyne in
Avengers: Endgame along with Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly. As of July
2018, Pfeiffer was filming the dark fantasy sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.[133]
In October 2019, she will begin work on the dark comedy French Exit, based on the
acclaimed novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt, directed by Azazel Jacobs.[134][135]
The film will co-star Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts.[136] On May 11, 2019, it was
announced that Pfeiffer would be teaming with actress Annette Bening for the
psychological thriller, Turn of Mind, set to be directed by Gideon Raff.[137]

Acting style and reception

Pfeiffer maintains that she has never received formal acting training.[138] Instead, she
credits director Milton Katselas with teaching her how to recognize the difference
between how an actor thinks a character would behave during a particular scene, and
then how the actor themself would behave during that same scene.[139] Vulture.com's
Angelica Jade Bastién described Pfeiffer as "an actress of such depth, breadth, and
tenacity" that "she obliterates the argument that an untrained actor has less capability
than her trained counterparts."[140] In 1992, Rolling Stone's Gerri Hirshey identified
Pfeiffer as a "character actress" who is comfortable wearing unflattering costumes, with
The Fabulous Baker Boys' Susie Diamond being a notable exception at the time of the
film's release.[141] Pfeiffer claims that she rarely accepts traditionally glamorous roles
because she finds few of them interesting, opting to play characters that "move" her
instead: "I know that if I can hear the character as I'm reading, it's made some
connection [with me]."[141] A film critic once summarized the actress as "a character
actress in a screen siren's body",[139] a sentiment with which her Scarface co-star and
friend Al Pacino agrees.[141] Often commended for her ability to mask her true feelings
and emotions, Pfeiffer frequently uses this technique to her advantage in period films, a
genre that has become a trademark of hers.[139] Pfeiffer herself has admitted to being
skilled in this particular area but at the same time believes that disguising one's feelings
is not uncommon, speculating, "that's how most people behave. We may not be as
mannered or as proper as people were in the 19th century, but very rarely are we talking
about what we're really thinking."[139] Pfeiffer has referred to acting as a
"sadomasochistic" profession due to how "brutal" she finds the process can be at
times.[142]

During the 1980s, Pfeiffer typically played smart, funny, sexually attractive and strong
female characters.[143] New Woman observed that Pfeiffer's characters tend to "play the
world at a distance, mostly, and are often wise beyond their years. They get romanced,
but are not overtly romantic. They may be trashy ... but they all retain an air of
invulnerability, a certain classical poise."[144] In a film review for the Miami New Times,
director and film critic Bilge Ebiri observed that Pfeiffer "often played women who
were somewhat removed from the world", elaborating, "It wasn't so much
unapproachability or aloofness that she conveyed, but a reserve that suggested ...
melancholy, pain, dreams deferred", even in some of her more comedic
performances.[145] Comparing Pfeiffer's resume to that of actress Barbara Stanwyck,
Elizabeth Kaye of The Daily Beast wrote that Pfeiffer's vulnerable characters share a
common theme: "the only reasonable expectation is to not expect much."[143] Pfeiffer
was one of the most popular actresses of the 1980s and 1990s.[146][147] In 2002, Amy
Longsdorf of The Morning Call dubbed Pfeiffer "one of the most popular and critically
acclaimed movie stars in the world."[148] Apart from The Witches of Eastwick, few of the
actress' films during this period had been box office successes,[143] an observation
Pfeiffer never mentioned to studio heads in fear that they would stop hiring her
altogether.[141] However, her performances continued to garner consistently positive
reviews despite lackluster ticket sales and several films that critics dismissed as
"forgettable".[141][149] Pfeiffer has managed to establish herself as a "major star" despite
having yet to receive top-billing in a blockbuster film.[143] Despite this, by 1999 Variety
ranked Pfeiffer "the female movie star most likely to improve a film's box-office
appeal".[150]

Pfeiffer is widely considered to be among the most talented actresses in

Hollywood,[129][151][152][153] as well as one of the greatest actresses of her
generation.[140][154][155][156] Despite observing that she lacks the high-profile film credits
and training of contemporaries such as Anjelica Huston and Meryl Streep, Bastién
wrote that Pfeiffer possesses "the most fascinating thematic through line" among her
generation of actresses.[140] Maclean's film critic Brian D. Johnson argues that Pfeiffer
has never had an opportunity to truly demonstrate her full range, believing that she
could be as respected as Streep "if given the same opportunities".[157] Novelist Steve
Erickson, contributing to Los Angeles Magazine, wrote that Pfeiffer "threatened to
become one of the four or five great American film actresses of her generation" during
her thirties, despite being "well past the starlet age".[158] Deemed one of the industry's
"most interesting" actresses by The Daily Beast,[143] Pfeiffer is particularly known for
the versatility of her performances,[159][160] boasting a diverse filmography that spans
period, romance, fantasy, musical, comedy and drama.[138][161] In 2016, Salon's Charles
Taylor declared "No other actor of the past 10 to 12 years has come close to Michelle
Pfeiffer for sheer versatility".[160] In another review for Vulture.com, Bastién wrote that
"Pfeiffer's greatness as an actress rests among several contradictions", concluding, "No
modern actress better evokes the rich tension between understanding the currency that
comes with being a great beauty and the distaste with being seen at all."[162] Meanwhile,
Johnson claims that Pfeiffer's performances are sometimes crippled by her beauty and
"apparent lack of ambition" due to her tendency to accept "safe, undemanding roles" in
order to spend time with her family.[157] However, Johnson believes that the actress'
same lack of ambition "is also what makes her such a good actor", describing her
approach as "modest to a fault".[157] Similarly, the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick
LaSalle remarked that Pfeiffer's own humility makes it "easy to forget" that she is "a
great screen actress — not just good, or very good, or interesting, but genuinely great,
as in one of the best we have".[129]

Filmmakers and co-stars agree that Pfeiffer is extremely committed to her work,[141]
developing a "reputation for competence, control and hyper-preparation".[144] Her acting
ability continues to draw praise from directors with whom she has collaborated
throughout her career;[163] Martin Scorsese described Pfeiffer as "an actress who could
portray inner conflict with her eyes and face better than any other film star of her
generation",[139] while Jonathan Demme declared "It's hard for me to imagine anyone
who, on a level of quality, would have an edge on her."[163] Pfeiffer has been described
as difficult to work with at times,[164] particularly by Robert Towne, who directed her in
Tequila Sunrise; Towne famously dubbed Pfeiffer "the most difficult actress in
Hollywood".[165][164][166] On this designation, Pfeiffer admitted that she can seem
difficult at times but it mostly "depends on whom you talk to".[142] Pfeiffer also refuses
to watch her own work, describing herself as "a perfectionist, and there's nothing perfect
in what I do”.[167]

Media image
Pfeiffer has long been called one of the most beautiful actresses in
Hollywood,[143][168][169][170] a designation that The Daily Telegraph's Mick Brown
considers to be both "a defining characteristic in her acting career" and "a curse".[139]
Pfeiffer initially struggled to convince casting agents and directors to take her seriously
as an actress because they doubted that she was more than merely a pretty face.[139]
Pfeiffer's acting abilities continued to be overshadowed by her beauty even several
years after her breakout performance in Scarface,[171] responding by actively pursuing
roles in which being a blond actress was not a requirement.[141] The Daily Beast's
Elizabeth Kaye recognized Pfeiffer as one of Hollywood's rare "beautiful women" who
trust that it is indeed possible to be both physically beautiful and serious.[143] Kaye
believes that the actress achieves this feat by "grafting the sensibility of a modern
woman onto the glamour of a '30s icon";[143] Rolling Stones' Gerri Hirshey agreed that
Pfeiffer's roles combine "Nineties guts and Thirties glamour".[141] For Interview
magazine, Peter Stone described Pfeiffer as a "Blond, sultry, and ethereal" woman with
an "unforgettable" face.[142] Nisha Lilia Diu, another The Daily Telegraph contributor,
opined, "It's not that she looks younger than she is – she doesn't particularly – it's the
symmetry of her bone structure, the flashing aquamarine eyes and those lips, the top one
so much fuller than the bottom. It's the kind of beauty you find yourself involuntarily
taking a moment to marvel at mid-conversation."[165] At least two of Pfeiffer's films,
Stardust (2007) and Chéri (2009), in which she plays a 5,000 year old witch obsessed
with beauty and a courtesan fading into obscurity, respectively, explore themes of
beautiful women struggling with the idea of aging.[165] Pfeiffer personally identified
with the topic of "our obsession with youth and the ludicrous degrees to which women
will go to reclaim it" portrayed in the films.[165] Pfeiffer claims to not want to appear
younger than she is and has yet to undergo plastic surgery, although she admits she
would "never say never" to the procedure,[165] explaining, "I'm all for a little something
here and there."[169] However, she has voiced her disapproval of actors who surgically
modify their appearance beyond recognition.[169] Dismissing the claim that she is "drop
dead gorgeous", insisting that she is only "conventionally pretty".[163] Pfeiffer has been
famously self-deprecating about her own appearance, comparing herself to Howard the
Duck.[141]

Encyclopædia Britannica writes that the actress is "noted for her beauty and air of
vulnerability".[172] Pfeiffer has also been regularly called one of the most beautiful
women in the world.[173][18] Ranking the actress among history's most beautiful, talented
and famous actresses, Glamour dubbed Pfeiffer "Possibly the most perfect face on the
silver screen".[174] The same magazine ranked Pfeiffer among the greatest style icons of
the 1980s, calling her "the go-to girl in the 80s for the major studios" and "one of our
all-time favourite movie goddesses".[175] Vogue contributor Alice Newbold considers
her "ash-blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and porcelain skin" to be her trademark
features, traits she has maintained throughout her career.[176] Harper's Bazaar ranked
Pfeiffer the fourth most glamorous "beauty icon" of the 1980s.[177] Complex ranked
Pfeiffer 49th on their list of "The 80 Hottest Women of the '80s".[178] During the 1990s,
Pfeiffer attracted significant comment in the media for her beauty; in 1990, she
appeared on the cover of People magazine's first 50 Most Beautiful People in the World
issue. She was again featured on the cover of the annual issue in 1999, having made the
"Most Beautiful" list a record six times during the decade (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993,
1996, 1999). Pfeiffer is the first celebrity to have appeared on the cover of the annual
issue twice, and the only person to be featured on the cover twice during the 1990s.[179]
Men's Health ranked Pfeiffer the 45th on their list of "The Hottest Woman of All
Time".[180]

Famous for being very "press-shy" and private, much like the characters she portrays
on-screen.[142][181] Pfeiffer is notorious for disliking interviews, referring to herself in
2017 as "the worst interviewee that ever was";[171] her interviews often feature
discussions about how much she dislikes being interviewed because the process makes
her nervous.[141][142] Pfeiffer revealed that there was a time when attending interviews to
promote her films would make her very agitated and uncomfortable, but she has always
"mastered the art" of maintaining a composed, polite demeanor when performing such
responsibilities.[139] However, she maintains that "I still don't believe – and I never will
– that it's the actors' responsibility to sell a film."[141] Pfeiffer always discards old scripts
in which she has written extensive notes about her characters, nor does she retain film
reviews, magazine clippings or covers about her work or performances.[141] Culture
commentators noted that in 2014, Pfeiffer, who was not promoting any movies at the
time, had become a "pop-music muse" and was mentioned by name in the lyrics of two
separate songs moving up the charts at that time: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson and
Bruno Mars and "Riptide" by Vance Joy.[182][183]

Pfeiffer is mentioned in Vance Joy's 2013 song, "Riptide" ("I swear she's destined for
the screen, closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").[184] Joy told
reporters that the Pfeiffer film moment which led him to include her name in his song
was her portrayal of Selina Kyle in Batman Returns. He said, "She comes back to her
apartment after being thrown out the window by Christopher Walken and she goes
mental. Her apartment's all pink and beautiful, and kind of creepy and infantile, then she
just smashes it all up and spray paints stuff and transforms into Catwoman. It's this
really kind of sexual scene; it's amazing."[182] Pfeiffer is also mentioned in Mark Ronson
and Bruno Mars's 2014 song, "Uptown Funk" ("This hit, That ice cold, Michelle
Pfeiffer, That white gold").[185] In an interview, Ronson told a reporter his favorite
Pfeiffer movie was "The Fabulous Baker Boys. I also liked her in Scarface and Tequila
Sunrise. She was such a babe."[186] Hip hop vocalist Mahawam released the song
"Michelle Pfeiffer" in 2019.[187]

Australian cricketers speak of "getting a Michelle" when they take five wickets in an
innings. In cricketing parlance, this is referred to as a "five for", a near-homophone for
"Pfeiffer", which resulted in the nickname "Michelle".[188]

Personal life

Pfeiffer and her husband, David E. Kelley, at the 47th Emmy Awards in 1994
While taking acting classes in Los Angeles, Pfeiffer was taken in by a seemingly
friendly couple who ran a metaphysics and vegetarian cult. They helped her to cease
drinking, smoking, and doing drugs, and over time the couple took control of her entire
life. Much of her money went to the group. "I was brainwashed ... I gave them an
enormous amount of money." Pfeiffer, insecure, felt that she could no longer live
without them.

At an acting class taught by Milton Katselas in Los Angeles, she met fellow budding
actor, Peter Horton, and they began dating. Pfeiffer and Horton married in Santa Monica
in 1981, and it was on their honeymoon that she discovered she had won the lead role in
Grease 2.[189] Horton directed Pfeiffer in a 1985 ABC TV special, One Too Many, in
which she played the high school girlfriend of an alcoholic student (Val Kilmer);[190]
and in 1987, the real-life couple played an on-screen couple in the 'Hospital' segment of
John Landis's comedy skit compilation, Amazon Women on the Moon. However, they
decided to separate in 1988, and were divorced two years later; Horton later blamed the
split on their devotion to their work rather than on their marriage.[18]

After her marriage to Horton, Pfeiffer had a three-year relationship with actor/producer
Fisher Stevens. They met when Pfeiffer was starring in the New York Shakespeare
Festival production of Twelfth Night, in which Stevens played the role of Sir Andrew
Aguecheek.[191] Pfeiffer was also involved in an affair with John Malkovich, her co-star
in Dangerous Liaisons, who at the time was married to Glenne
Headly.[192][193][194][195][196][197]

In 1993, Pfeiffer married television writer and producer David E. Kelley.[198] She made
a brief uncredited cameo appearance in one episode of Kelley's television series Picket
Fences and played the title character in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, for which
Kelley wrote the screenplay.[199] Pfeiffer had entered into private adoption proceedings
before she met Kelley.[200] In March 1993, she adopted a newborn daughter, Claudia
Rose,[201] who was christened on Pfeiffer and Kelley's wedding day.[202] In 1994,
Pfeiffer gave birth to a son.[203]

Other ventures
Product and endorsements

In 2005, Pfeiffer served as the face of Giorgio Armani's spring campaign; the designer
has often dressed her for public appearances.[204] In the March 2019 issue of InStyle
magazine, she announced her intention to launch a collection of fine fragrances called
Henry Rose.[167] The line launched in April, 2019.[205]

Philanthropy

Having been a smoker for 10 years, and having a niece who suffered from leukemia for
10 years, Pfeiffer decided to support the American Cancer Society.[206] Her charity work
includes as well her support for the Humane Society.[18] In 2016 she also attended the
Healthy Child Healthy World's L.A. Gala for people who lead the organizations for
children's environmental health and protect those most vulnerable.[207] In December that
same year, Pfeiffer, who is a vegan, joined the board of directors for Environmental
Working Group, an advocacy group based in Washington. D.C.[208]

Filmography