Pfeiffer, Michelle (1958– )

US actor. One of the major Hollywood female stars of the late 1980s and 1990s, she is known for her delicate beauty and dramatic flair. She has avoided being typecast, starring in a range of roles including a prim French woman in the period drama adaptation Dangerous Liaisons (1988); a piano singer in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989); a frumpy, lonely waitress in Frankie and Johnny (1991), in which she played a frumpy, lonely waitress; Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992); and an exotic countess in the period drama adaptation The Age of Innocence (1993).

She made her feature film debut with a supporting role in the romantic drama Falling in Love Again (1980) and landed the starring role in Grease 2 (1982) two years later. A supporting role in Brian de Palma's classic crime film Scarface (1983) widened her appeal. Other films include Married to the Mob and Tequila Sunrise (both 1988), The Russia House (1990), Love Field (1992), Wolf (1994), What Lies Beneath (2000), I Am Sam (2002), White Oleander (2002), Hairspray and Stardust (both 2007).