Editing Michelle Pfeiffer (section)

===Late 1970s and 1980s===
[[File:Michelle Pfeiffer - Studio Portrait (1979).jpg|thumb|upright|Pfeiffer in 1979]]

Pfeiffer made her acting debut in 1978, in a one-episode appearance of ''[[Fantasy Island]]''.<ref name="Egan">{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Tim |author-link=Timothy Egan |date=August 6, 1995 |title=Michelle Pfeiffer, Sensuous to Sensible |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/06/movies/michelle-pfeiffer-sensuous-to-sensible.html?pagewanted=4&src=pm |access-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903235841/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/06/movies/michelle-pfeiffer-sensuous-to-sensible.html?pagewanted=4&src=pm |archive-date=September 3, 2020}}</ref> Other roles on television series followed, including ''[[Delta House]]'', ''[[CHiPs]]'', ''[[Enos (TV series)|Enos]]'' and ''[[B.A.D. Cats]]'', as well as in the made-for-CBS film ''The Solitary Man'' (1979).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dev.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/151595%7C0/Michelle-Pfeiffer#life-events |title=Michelle Pfeiffer Live Events |website=TCM |access-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128120609/http://dev.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/151595%7C0/Michelle-Pfeiffer#life-events |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 film)|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)|Lux soap]],<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Weekly Review |magazine=Weekly Review |publisher=Weekly Review Ltd |year=1983 |issue=1186 |page=96}}</ref> and took acting lessons at the [[Beverly Hills Playhouse]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhplayhouse.com/michelle-pfeiffer |title=Alumni videos: Beverly Hills Playhouse |website=Beverly Hills Playhouse |access-date=July 10, 2011 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123054900/https://www.bhplayhouse.com/michelle-pfeiffer |url-status=dead }}</ref> before appearing in three 1981 television movies – ''Callie and Son'', with [[Lindsay Wagner]], ''[[The Children Nobody Wanted]]'' and ''[[Splendor in the Grass (1981 film)|Splendor in the Grass]]''.

Pfeiffer obtained her first starring film role as the female lead in ''[[Grease 2]]'' (1982),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brantley |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Brantley |date=February 1989 |title=The Enigma Next Door |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1989/2/the-enigma-next-door |access-date=April 26, 2024 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> the sequel to the smash-hit musical film ''[[Grease (film)|Grease]]'' (1978).<ref name="thompson"/> 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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pfeiffertheface.com/Bio_013.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118134913/http://www.pfeiffertheface.com/Bio_013.htm|url-status=dead|title=The Genesis of ''Grease 2''|website=pfeiffertheface.com|archive-date=January 18, 2010}}</ref> The film was a critical and commercial failure but Pfeiffer's performance was noted as a standout.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanford |first=James |date=July 5, 2007 |title=Michelle Pfeiffer fans, rejoice: She's this year's comeback kid |url=https://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2007/07/michelle_pfeiffer_fans_rejoice.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406160106/https://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2007/07/michelle_pfeiffer_fans_rejoice.html |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=[[MLive.com]]}}</ref> ''[[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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9d02efdb143bf932a25755c0a964948260|title=''Grease 2'' (1982): More Grease|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 11, 1982|access-date=April 25, 2011|archive-date=January 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108072705/https://www.nytimes.com/reviews/movies|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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."<ref name="thompson">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Douglas |title=Pfeiffer: Beyond the Age of Innocence |publisher=Warner Futura |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-7515-1030-0}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Egan"/>

Director [[Brian De Palma]], having seen ''Grease 2'', refused to audition Pfeiffer for ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' (1983), but relented at the insistence of [[Martin Bregman]], the film's producer. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife [[Elvira Hancock]].<ref name="talk">{{cite web|title=Michelle Pfeiffer Biography|url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/michelle_pfeiffer_biog/4|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926071520/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/michelle_pfeiffer_biog/4|archive-date=September 26, 2008|access-date=October 23, 2008|website=[[TalkTalk Group|Talk Talk]]|publisher=Tiscali UK Limited trading|quote=Michelle, renowned as the most beautiful actress in the world ...}}</ref> The film was considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained a large [[cult following]] in subsequent years.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oek-PyR-70UC&q=scarface%20violent&pg=PA162 |title=New forms of consumption: consumers, culture, and commodification |first=Mark |last=Gottdiener |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8476-9570-6 |date=2000}}</ref> 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 ..."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951028-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022232016/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951028-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 22, 2007 |title=Say Good Night to the Bad Guy |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|first=Richard |last=Corlis |date=December 5, 1983 |access-date=October 23, 2008}}</ref> while [[Dominick Dunne]], in an article for ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' titled "Blonde Ambition", wrote, "[s]he is on the verge of stardom. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Vanity Fair |first=Dominick |last=Dunne |title=Blonde Ambition|year=1984|volume=47|number=3 |page=58}}</ref>

[[File:Michelle Pfeiffer 01.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Pfeiffer in 1985]]

Following ''Scarface'', she played Diana in [[John Landis]]' comedy ''[[Into the Night (1985 film)|Into the Night]]'' (1985), with [[Jeff Goldblum]]; Isabeau d'Anjou in [[Richard Donner]]'s fantasy film ''[[Ladyhawke (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 [[The Witches of Eastwick (film)|adaptation]] of [[John Updike]]'s novel ''[[The Witches of Eastwick]]'', with [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Cher]], and [[Susan Sarandon]]. The film received positive reviews and grossed over $63.7&nbsp;million domestically, equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|63.766510|1987|r=0}}}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars,{{inflation-fn|US}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=witchesofeastwick.htm |title=The Witches of Eastwick |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=April 27, 2011}}.</ref> becoming one of her earliest critical and commercial successes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All Michelle Pfeiffer Movies, Ranked By Tomatometer|url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-michelle-pfeiffer-movies-ranked/|access-date=February 18, 2012|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref><ref name="Marx-2023">{{Cite web |last=Marx |first=Rebecca Flint |title=Michelle Pfeiffer – Biography by Rebecca Flint Marx |url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/p56469 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228064103/https://www.allmovie.com/artist/p56469 |archive-date=February 28, 2023 |access-date=August 8, 2021 |website=[[AllMovie]]}}</ref> Praising their comedic timing, [[Roger Ebert]] wrote that Pfeiffer and her female co-stars each "have a delicious good time with their roles",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|date=June 12, 1987|title=The Witches of Eastwick|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-witches-of-eastwick-1987|access-date=November 19, 2020|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref> while the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' film critic [[Sheila Benson]] said Pfeiffer makes her character "a warm, irresistible character."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Benson|first=Sheila|author-link=Sheila Benson|date=June 12, 1987|title=Movie Review: 'Witches' Curse Goes to the Devil|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-12-ca-4000-story.html|access-date=November 19, 2020|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

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,<ref name="yahoo">{{cite web |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800016613/bio |title=Michelle Pfeiffer biography |website=Yahoo Movies |publisher=Yahoo! |access-date=April 27, 2011}}</ref> and received her first [[Golden Globe Award]] nomination as [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]], beginning a six-year streak of consecutive Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-awards-and-nominations/michelle-pfeiffer/?ipp=15&startingItem=31 |title=Michelle Pfeiffer – awards and nominations |website=MSN Movies |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |access-date=April 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923122344/http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-awards-and-nominations/michelle-pfeiffer/?ipp=15&startingItem=31 |archive-date=September 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/29761 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521180439/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/member/29761 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 21, 2006 |title=Michelle Pfeiffer |website=Golden Globe Awards |publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association |access-date=July 11, 2011 }}</ref> Pfeiffer then appeared as chic restaurateuse Jo Ann Vallenari in ''[[Tequila Sunrise (film)|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfeiffertheface.com/M_1988_CT.htm |title=Tequila Sunrise: Michelle Pfeiffer |website=Pfeiffertheface.com |access-date=October 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101171617/http://www.pfeiffertheface.com/M_1988_CT.htm |archive-date=November 1, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At Demme's personal recommendation,<ref name="thompson"/> Pfeiffer joined the cast of [[Stephen Frears]]'s ''[[Dangerous Liaisons]]'' (1988), with [[Glenn Close]] and [[John Malkovich]], playing Madame Marie de Tourvel, the virtuous victim of seduction. 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."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/dangerousliaisonsrhinson_a0a8d4.htm |title=Dangerous Liaisons |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= January 13, 1989 |access-date=October 23, 2008}}</ref> She won the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1989 |title=Past winners and nominees – Film nominations 1989 |website=British Academy of Film and Television Arts |access-date=April 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525123102/http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1989 |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref> and received a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |title=61st Academy Awards winners |website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=April 28, 2011}}</ref>

Pfeiffer then accepted the role of [[Susie Diamond]], a hard-edged former call girl turned lounge singer, in ''[[The Fabulous Baker Boys]]'' (1989), which also starred [[Jeff Bridges]] and [[Beau Bridges]] as the eponymous Baker Boys. She underwent intense voice training for the role for four months, and performed all of her character's vocals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/features/150-greatest-movie-performances-of-all-time-1/146-michelle-pfeiffer-susie-diamond-the-fabulous-baker-boys-1989 |title=150 Greatest movie performances of all time |website=TotalFilm.com |access-date=April 28, 2011}}</ref> The film was a modest success, grossing $18.4&nbsp;million in the US and Canada (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|18.428904|1989|r=0}}}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fabulousbakerboys.htm |title=The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) |website=Box Office Mojo |publisher=Future Publishing Limited |access-date=April 28, 2011}}</ref> Her portrayal of Susie, however, drew unanimous acclaim from critics. Critic [[Roger Ebert]] compared her to [[Rita Hayworth]] in ''[[Gilda (film)|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".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19891013/REVIEWS/910130303/1023 |title=''The Fabulous Baker Boys''|first=Roger |last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=October 23, 2008 |date=October 13, 1989 |archive-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507135632/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-fabulous-baker-boys-1989 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the 1989–1990 awards season, Pfeiffer won as Best Actress at the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globes]], the [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actress|National Board of Review]], the [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|National Society of Film Critics]], the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|New York Film Critics Circle]], the [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] and the [[Chicago Film Critics Association]]. Pfeiffer's performance as Susie is considered to be the most critically acclaimed of her career.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/02/the-roles-of-a-lifetime-michelle-pfeiffer.html|title=The Roles of a Lifetime: Michelle Pfeiffer|last1=Gorman|first1=Allison|last2=Gorman|first2=Anna|date=February 2, 2015|website=Paste|access-date=May 17, 2018|archive-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127064653/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/02/the-roles-of-a-lifetime-michelle-pfeiffer.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Haskell |first=Robert |date=February 7, 2019 |title=Michelle Pfeiffer is Back (as if She Ever Left) |url=https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/michelle-pfeiffer-march-feature |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402173812/https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/michelle-pfeiffer-march-feature |archive-date=April 2, 2019 |access-date=February 17, 2019 |website=[[InStyle]] |quote=The Fabulous Baker Boys — in which she gave her most widely lauded performance, as the lounge singer Susie Diamond}}</ref> The scene in which her character seductively performs "[[Makin' Whoopee]]" atop a grand piano is considered to be a memorable scene in modern cinema.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nathan|first=Ian|date=January 1, 2020|title=The Fabulous Baker Boys Review|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/fabulous-baker-boys-review/|access-date=June 2, 2021|website=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=West|first=Rachel|date=April 29, 2018|title=Michelle Pfeiffer's 10 Best Roles|url=https://etcanada.com/photos/321985/michelle-pfeiffers-10-best-roles/#image-321989|access-date=June 2, 2021|website=[[Entertainment Tonight Canada]]|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406160105/https://etcanada.com/photos/321985/michelle-pfeiffers-10-best-roles/#image-321989|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Graham-2010">{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Jane |date=October 16, 2010 |title=The Fabulous Baker Boys: No 24 best romantic film of all time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/16/fabulous-baker-boys-romance-film |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010213505/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/16/fabulous-baker-boys-romance-film |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |access-date=June 2, 2021 |website=[[The Guardian]] |quote=this is Pfeiffer's movie, the one that made her the biggest female film star in the world}}</ref><ref name="Barlow-2009">{{Cite web|date=June 29, 2009|title=Michelle Pfeiffer: ageless beauty|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/michelle-pfeiffer-ageless-beauty-20090629-d28b.html|access-date=June 22, 2021|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|quote=When Michelle Pfeiffer purred the words to while sprawled across a grand piano in 1989's s, the scene went down in history as one of cinema's sexiest moments.}}</ref>