She was one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood during the s and s, and her performances have earned her numerous accolades , including a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award , as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Pfeiffer began her acting career with minor television and film appearances, and secured her first lead role in Grease 2 Her breakthrough role as Elvira Hancock in Scarface propelled her into mainstream success, which continued with performances in The Witches of Eastwick and Tequila Sunrise Pfeiffer received her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations for Married to the Mob Cemented as one of the highest-paid actresses of the s, Pfeiffer starred in The Russia House and Frankie and Johnny She also produced several of her own features through her company Via Rosa Productions, including Dangerous Minds Reducing her workload to prioritize her family, Pfeiffer acted sporadically throughout the s, starring in What Lies Beneath , White Oleander , Hairspray , and Stardust both Following another hiatus, Pfeiffer returned to prominence in with performances in Where Is Kyra?
Pfeiffer attended Fountain Valley High School , graduating in After a short stint training to be a court stenographer , she pursued an acting career. Pfeiffer made her acting debut in , in a one-episode appearance of Fantasy Island. She subsequently played supporting roles in Falling in Love Again with Susannah York and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen , none of which met with much critical or box office success. She appeared in a television commercial for Lux soap , [ 14 ] and took acting lessons at the Beverly Hills Playhouse , [ 15 ] before appearing in three television movies — Callie and Son , with Lindsay Wagner , The Children Nobody Wanted and Splendor in the Grass.
Pfeiffer obtained her first starring film role as the female lead in Grease 2 , [ 16 ] the sequel to the smash-hit musical film Grease Nobody wanted to hire her.
Director Brian De Palma , having seen Grease 2 , refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface , but relented at the insistence of Martin Bregman , the film's producer. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot. For the role of Angela de Marco, she donned a curly brunette wig and a Brooklyn accent, [ 3 ] and received her first Golden Globe Award nomination as Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy , beginning a six-year streak of consecutive Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes.
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. She underwent intense voice training for the role for four months, and performed all of her character's vocals. Critic Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in 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".
