Michelle Pfeiffer made the switch to always look at the bright side of life. She has made many decisions to help her be happy; from raising her family to taking an attitude of gratitude. She truly has a lot to be grateful for since returning to the silver screen on June 26 th in Cheri as a ravishing Parisian courtesan who takes a naïve young man half her age – rising British star Rupert Friend — into her boudoir to teach him a thing or two about women. But of course, he learns all too well and turns out to be her perfect match.
He doesn’t want to grow up and she doesn’t want to grow old and together they defy all of society’s rules.
Michelle is the consummate artist that has intrigued audiences for three decades. “Having done this for 30 years,” Michelle acknowledges,” I still get excited to get up at 4.30 in the morning, so you know, that says a lot. For me, she continues, “getting comfortable with being famous was hard - that whole side of it, the loss of anonymity, the loss of privacy. Giving up that part of your life and not having control of it, it is still hard to deal with but somewhere along the line I made the switch and was able to look at the bright side rather than the dark side all the time. Now I look at everything I have and think how lucky I am.”
As a child growing up in California, Michelle admits she was the school bully; the one other kids would come to if they wanted someone beaten up. She never considered herself attractive, and said she was always the biggest girl in her class. No one seemed to see her acting potential when she was young. She was a rebellious little girl, and by her own admissions, strong willed, stubborn and dramatic. She remembers how she used to mouth off to her mother all the time, although making sure to stay out of her father’s earshot. Her mother would often write off her behavior with a remarkably suitable phrase, “Here’s my little actress.” But acting did not come easy to Pfeiffer. She had to dig deep to bring it forth and we all know, what she did … worked.
The public first took notice of Michelle in the 1982 film Grease II, sequel to the 1978 mega-blockbuster Grease and a short time later a casting director was looking for a fresh face to play Al Pacino’s drugaddicted wife in Brian DePalma’s Scarface. Pfeiffer got the role. Later on, she received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Madame De Tourvel in Dangerous Liasons. She followed that in 1989 with her second Oscar nomination, as best actress, for her work as lounge singer Suzie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys and in 1992 she was nominated a third time for the little seen film Love Field.
Pfeiffer married David Kelly, the creator of Picket Fences and Chicago Hope in 1993. It was no surprise to friends and family when Michelle and David married because Pfeiffer was ready for a family. Claudia Rose Kelley was adopted early in their marriage and nine months later, on August 5, 1994, their first biological child, John Henry Kelley, was born. Pfeiffer continues to balance her personal and private life, making family her number one priority.
In jest, she says, “Like all parents, my husband and I just do the best we can, hold our breath and hope we’ve set aside enough money for our kid’s therapy.”
The release of Cheri last month reunites Pfeiffer with her Dangerous Liaisons director, Stephen Frears. The film is based on the book by French author Collette. This is the latest film in Pfeiffer’s Hollywood comeback, after she took a few years out to spend time with her family. Since her return, she has already appeared in Hairspray and Stardust.
But Michelle has walked right back into the argument about women and age with this new film and every interview seems to head in that direction.
“It’s every interview,” she laughs. “But I expected that. I’ve been getting that age thing since I was 35. Now I am 51 and I still hear it. Age is always an issue for women. Not for Tom Cruise, though. It’s a funny thing.”
Well, one thing’s for sure, Pfeiffer manages to look as beautiful as ever and brings her best to each of her roles. It’s summertime… so an attitude of gratitude is easy. Enjoy your July and remember to look on the bright side. Life is good!
