Michelle Pfeiffer Biography

Born on Apr. 29, 1958 in Santa Ana, CA, Pfeiffer was raised by her demanding father, Richard, a heating-and-air conditioning contractor, and her mother, Donna, a homemaker. Pfeiffer often described herself as being "out of control" in her youth, wrecking her first car (a '65 Mustang), skipping classes from Fountain Valley High School (though she maintained a solid B average) to hang out with surfers at Huntington Beach, and failing at bagging groceries for a local supermarket. After high school, Pfeiffer studied to be a courtroom stenographer and entered a beauty pageant, emerging as Miss Orange County in 1978. As a result, she landed a bit part on the hit 1970s show, "Fantasy Island" (ABC, 1977-1984), then at 20-years-old, she landed her first regular series role, playing a buxom college undergrad named Bombshell in the short-lived "Animal House" rip-off, "Delta House" (ABC, 1978-79). Without really trying, Pfeiffer had launched her acting career.

After a couple more small roles on television and in film - notably the police drama "B.A.D. Cats" (ABC, 1980-81) and the teen comedy "Falling in Love Again" (1980) - Pfeiffer began taking her newfound career seriously.  Michelle Pfeiffe personal life, however, remained as chaotic as ever. While taking acting classes in Los Angeles, the insecure actress was lured by a seemingly friendly couple that operated a vegetarian cult where, according to Pfeiffer, "[S]ome brainwashing did go on." Michelle Pfeiffer was rescued by fellow actor and classmate Peter Horton, whom she married in 1981. 
Even decades after her induction in the veggie cult, Pfeiffer refused to elaborate on the details of what happened. Meanwhile, she pursued her career in earnest, landing roles in long-forgotten features like "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen" (1981) and the ill-advised "Grease 2" (1982). But Pfeiffer's fortunes turned when she was cast opposite Al Pacino in Brian De Palma's giddily violent "Scarface," making a memorable impression as the jaded, cokehead mistress of a Cuban refugee (Pacino)-turned-imperial drug lord. Though not onscreen for very long, Pfeiffer nonetheless made her mark with critics and audiences, giving the still-fledgling actress the opportunity to play bigger and better parts.

Pfeiffer continued her upward trajectory in the early-1980s, landing starring roles as a female jewelry smuggler on the lam in "Into the Night" (1985) and as the female lead in a film about the American Revolution that suffers the Hollywood treatment, much to the dismay of the author of the source material (Alan Alda), in "Sweet Liberty" (1986).  Michelle Pfeiffe next career milestone turned out to be "The Witches of Eastwick" (1987), a fantastical black comedy about three women (Cher, Susan Sarandon and Pfeiffer) whose friendship is almost torn apart when they are seduced one-by-one by Satan, himself (Jack Nicholson). Michelle Pfeiffer next found herself between two lifelong friends - one a supposedly retired drug dealer (Mel Gibson); the other a celebrity cop (Kurt Russell) - in Robert Towne's underappreciated crime drama, "Tequila Sunrise" (1988). Also that year, Pfeiffer received her first Academy Award nomination for "Dangerous Liaisons," getting the nod for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as a highly moral and married woman who is the romantic target of the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich). Around this time, Pfeiffer became separated from husband Peter Horton. They later divorced in 1990.