It wasn't so long ago that Michelle Pfeiffer made us wish we looked that good in black PVC as the original Cat Woman in Batman. In the years after The Witches Of Eastwick, Dangerous Liaisons and The Fabulous Baker Boys, the actress put the silver screen behind her to concentrate on raising her kids.
Now the 53 year old is back, starring alongside Johnny Depp in upcoming film Dark Shadows. But she has regrets for her hapless teenaged self who used to work at a check-out before she won a pageant and bagged an agent.
"I wish I had known at 18 the importance of education," said Pfeiffer. "Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention — and I also regret that I did not have teachers who were more interested in me. When I became a mother, I realized I had not taken enough advantage of my education and came to appreciate how important it really is."
The actress then struggled with fame and her sexualized persona. The lowest moment came when she learned that via a radio show her then-husband, TV producer David E. Kelley had left her for Ally McBeal actress Calista Flockhart, while her whole family was in the car!
But the biggest turning point for Pfeiffer was becoming a mother. "If you had told me when I was 18 that I could survive on three hours' sleep a night, I'd have never believed it. You just cope."
When it came to her own children, now 18 and 17, she advised anything a career in anything but showbusiness.
"I would say: 'Be a doctor, or something else'. The value of a good education has never left me."
Do agree with Pfeiffer's statements about motherhood? Can moms really survive on three hours' sleep?
Printer-friendly version