'''Michelle Pfeiffer''' (born April 29, 1958) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated American actress.
Early life
Born and raised in Santa Ana, Orange County, California (about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles) to Richard Pfeiffer and Donna Taverna, she is the second of four siblings: an older brother, Rick Pfeiffer, and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer (b. 1964, also an actress) and Lori Pfeiffer (b. 1965). Pfeiffer's paternal grandfather, William Pfeiffer, was of German ancestry,http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=judithworkman&id=I0268 while her maternal grandfather, Jacob Bernhard Taverna, was of Swiss descent, and her maternal grandmother, Delma Lillian Hill, was of Swedish descent.http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=samsloan&id=I12485
Pfeiffer attended Fountain Valley High School and graduated in 1976. She briefly pursued a career as a court reporter at Golden West Community College before dropping out in pursuit of a career in acting. She entered the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978, won, and entered the statewide competition for Miss California. Although unsuccessful in claiming the title, the young Pfeiffer won herself an agent and roles in TV commercials and cameos before making her mark in Hollywood.
Career
Pfeiffer's first major screen role was in the film sequel, ''
Grease 2''. However, it wasn't until 1983 when Pfeiffer starred with Al Pacino in Brian De Palma's gangster classic ''
Scarface'' that she caught the attention of Hollywood. Over the course of the 1980's and 1990's, Pfeiffer starred in a string of box-office and critical hits as ''
Ladyhawke'', ''
The Witches of Eastwick'', ''
Married to the Mob'', ''
Tequila Sunrise'', ''
The Russia House'', ''
Frankie and Johnny'', ''
Batman Returns'', ''
The Age of Innocence'', ''
Dangerous Minds'', and ''
One Fine Day''. She received the British Academy Award and also received her first Oscar nomination in 1988 as Best Supporting Actress in Stephen Frears's ''
Dangerous Liaisons''. Pfeiffer received her second Best Actress Academy Award nomination in 1992's ''
Love Field'', which also won Pfeiffer the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1993. Her role as chanteuse Susie Diamond in 1989's ''
The Fabulous Baker Boys'' continues to be a highlight of her career. Pfeiffer's performance gained another Academy Award nomination as Best Actress, as well as honors from the Hollywood Foreign Press, New York Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, and the National Society of Film Critics and Board of Review. Critics compared Pfeiffer's performance, much known for her scorching rendition of "Makin Whoopee" atop of a piano, as being in the ranks of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, and the young Katharine Hepburn. In her rave review of the film, Pauline Kael recalled Pfeiffer's performance
