Michelle Pfeiffer is 55 years old. Did I just blow your mind? Here’s a question, and I’m honestly looking for your thoughts: has she had any work done? I’m not sure. My guess would be that she hasn’t had any surgery, but maybe some Botox and fillers here and there, nothing overzealous. The secret, I believe, is knowing when to stop and having realistic goals. If you’re 55 years old, you shouldn’t try to look 30. You should try to look like a well-preserved 43. Which is exactly what Michelle looks like – like a still-beautiful 40-something.
Anyway, Michelle is promoting her new movie with Robert DeNiro called The Family. She’s married to DeNiro, a mobster, and they go into Witness Protection… in France. The movie actually looks really stupid (Emma Roberts is in it!!), but it’s nice to see Michelle work with DeNiro. To promote the movie, she covers the October issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. Some interview highlights:
She didn’t mean to take time off: “I didn’t decide to take that time off. It just sort of happened. When the kids were small I used to take them with me on location. But as they got older I didn’t want to pull them out of school, and the idea of traveling to make a movie became harder and harder. I started putting caveats on everything — like I’ll do a movie only at a certain time of year, or in a certain location — and I negotiated myself out of work. If I was going to do something that took me away from my kids, it had to matter. Moms often think, ‘Oh, I should be home when the kids are babies.’ But I think they need you more when they’re a little older.”
She’s a painter too: “I was so busy with my kids, which was incredibly creative and improvisational and certainly challenging. But I’m a real homebody. I’m happy puttering around the house and doing my own thing, even if it’s isolating. When the kids were in school I painted, mostly portraits. Both painting and acting are about paying attention to detail and seeing things in a different way. I got so immersed in painting that I didn’t read scripts or return my agent’s calls. I probably would have done more movies had I not taken up painting. Of course, once my kids got older they started saying, ‘Mom, aren’t you going back to work soon?’ They missed the craft services table [laughs]. We don’t keep junk food at home.”
She still thinks she’s about to get fired: “I still think I’m going to be fired in the first week of every new job I take. Always. In fact, before I even start a movie I’ll try to get myself fired or think of a reason I should quit. I guess it’s fear of failure. I tend to choose parts that are a stretch for me. It’s like I’ll throw myself into the deep end and think I’m going to drown for a very long time.”
Aging in the industry: “Having to watch yourself age on a giant movie screen is simply not natural. It can wreak havoc on your psyche. My dermatologist said to me once, ‘You know that 10X magnifying mirror that you have in the bathroom? Throw it away.’ It was the best advice anybody ever gave me. Of course, now my eyes are weaker and I can’t see to put my makeup on without that mirror! But once you get over a certain hump there actually is less pressure. You can begin to look great for your age. You don’t have to look young anymore. I’ve moved over to that other side — I’m 55, which is a little too close to 60, but looking great for my age is okay now.”
She’s become a vegan: “A few years ago I saw a special on CNN, ‘The Last Heart Attack,’ about how to prevent heart disease. I’m not really at risk for that but my father died of cancer and my mother has advanced-stage dementia. And I have people close to me battling cancer. Seeing both of my parents suffer has made me think a lot about longevity and quality of life. And while it’s open to debate, if there’s any chance we can prevent a lot of chronic illnesses by the way we eat, why not try it? So I cut out meat and dairy and after two months my cholesterol shot down 83 points. I also try to exercise five days a week — I run, do free weights. But I haven’t always been healthy. When I was in my 20s I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. I lived on Marlboro Lights and Coca-Cola.”
Sacrifices: “The toughest thing for me has been balancing being a working mom. I learned early on that you can have it all but you can’t do it all. I sacrificed some things in my work to be a better parent — but I also sacrificed some parenting in order to do what I love.”
Empty-nesters now that their kids are in college: “My husband and I sit around and talk about what we want to do and where we want to live. I’ll say, “Honey, should we take up golf? Do you want to play golf together?” And he’ll say, “Golf? I don’t know. That takes so much time.” Then I’ll say, “Maybe we should plant a vineyard. Why don’t we make wine?” Besides working a little more, I don’t know what we’ll do. It’s scary, but it’s also exciting to think about. Once I get past the shock of having an empty nest, I’m going to be really happy with my newfound freedom.”
Man, I always forget how much I like Michelle. She’s a cool lady, isn’t she? She seems… pragmatic, realistic, classy, honest, refreshing and very much like a cool, hands-on mom. As much as we hear from the current generation of celebrity moms, Michelle actually DID go away and raise her kids away from the spotlight and she was able to still work here and there and retain some mystique. Personally, I welcome her back to the Hollywood table. I hope she works more now that her kids are grown.
Photos courtesy of WENN, LHJ.
100% positive she has had a facelift and her eyes done. And why not?? That is much better then getting fillers and botox which just make you look weird. She looks fantastic!
A lift is WAY more drastic. My mother is on the older side of 55 and wants a lift, and our dermatologist keeps telling her to hold off for as long as she can.
Sometime in the late 90’s I got a nosejob. I remember my surgeon casually bringing up that It was known in his field that Michelle Pfieffer was having mini-facelifts done every few years so she wouldn’t look like a dramatic shar-pei getting all her skin pulled back at once ( a la Maria Osmond). Whatever she did, if she did it, it looks great
Yesss because she still looks like herself. Loved that movie she and Clooney did together One fine day – they had chemistry.
She’s had works done, in the first picture she doesn’t even look like Michelle Pfeiffer.
I think she now looks like Christie Brinkley, which is a good thing. But she doesn’t look like herself.
omg YES she has had work done but she started early, with little things never went too far or scary. She went the route of Christie Brinkley – who also started very early, got little things done far apart.
When you don’t get a whole new face like Madonna in one fell swoop at 45, it looks much better. So don;t wait until you are 45-55 to get something done – especially major and your face will age / settle and it will look natural as you get older.
But you will get older and I think both Michelle and Christie were just trying to look good not 25 when they were 35 or 45 or 55 — just trying to keep up with things instead.
But yes she has work done and has done for years and years. Someone who probably hasnt? Look at Jamie Lee Curtis — that is aging without any work most likely and she looks it and there is nothing wrong with that either.
JAMIE LEE CURTIS
“I’ve done it all and it doesn’t work.”
Per an article in the Huffington Post.
Her hand gives it away–looks so much older than her face…
I suppose it depends on the skill of the plastic surgeon and variables like the patient’s bone structure and skin elasticity, but generally speaking a small surgical tweak here and there probably produces better results than loading up on botox and fillers.
I think Michelle definitely had her eyes done awhile ago and probably some other work, but it was well done and she was out of the spotlight so everything had time to settle.
She looks great, and I love her comments. She chose spending time with her kids and doing what she wanted to do over chasing more fame. I find that admirable, though I missed her graceful presence. I hope she continues to do more acting now that her kids are grown.
Well the fact that she married a man that has more money than god also allowed her to choose to stay with the kids and take occasional acting jobs.
I am sure the blowout with Fischer Stevens sucked and was very painful, but she got a waaaaaaay better lifestyle by upgrading to David Kelly.
@Ok,
She made quite a bit of money on her own, I think, but of course it really helps to have a supportive partner (financially and otherwise).
I know this is not a realistic choice for most people, but it was for her and she still stayed true to herself instead of playing the fame game or letting the opinions of others dictate her path. I respect that. She was entering that stage where good roles for women start to dwindle, but she still could have pushed it if she craved the spotlight. But she opted to go with what was most important to her. I only wish more people had her options.
I actually think that she does look her age but she looks drop dead gorgeous and natural. I am seeing forehead lines so I am not sure if she botoxes. Maybe a little cheek filler for fullness?
Exactly. She looks like a gorgeous 55-year old. Because there is no reason why a 55-year old couldn’t look gorgeous. “For” any age.
As for speculation on procedures, she may or may not have had them, but I am only a few years younger than her, never had any procedures – don’t even use expensive creams (or any creams regularly), just my own concoctions – and have zero wrinkles or blemishes.
My mom’s skin at her age was also radiant, with no procedures, so it may be genetic.
Oh, and I smoke!
I’m curious- what are your own concoctions? If you don’t mind sharing…
You can look good without face lifts. I’m 51 and don’t have any lines I didn’t have when I was 20. I had a skin problem when I turned 18 (stress I think) and covered my face since that time with makeup whenever I went out of the house. It came good at about 35, but I still followed the same routine anyway. The great side effect of that was no sun, so no wrinkles and I’m reaping the benefit now.
The secrets are no sun, great skincare (not necessarily the most expensive, mine is based on aloe vera) and no smoking. People think no sun means no laying in the sun, but it actually means sunblock even if you only go out for 10 minutes to visit the shops. It’s the little bit, little bit, little bit of sun every day that’s a skin killer. It adds up over the years.
I’m not pretty, unfortunately never was, but I know at least I look 10 years younger than I am, and it’s because of these things. Start young! You’ll be glad you did when you’re 50.
I would love to read a thread like this one day where a woman doesn’t feel the need to brag all over the place about her genetic superiority. It would be really rather refreshing.
What Mel is not telling us is that she is 30 years old. Fess up Meg !!!
(Just teasing)
I am the poster child for what not to do, skincare wise: go to sleep with makeup, sun oneself shamelessly without protection, excessive astringent usage and fidgeting. But I am still usually given about 5 years younger than my age (32 shortly).
Recently I have began using Botox and I love it. All those celebs with weird faces – that’s not botox. If done properly, it doesnt change a single thing about your face, you just cant scrunch your forehead (which I used to do excessively due to stress). It make me think fillers, or non-surgical ‘lifts.’
I agree with Anna: I have botox shots about once every ten months on my forehead, with the goal of eradicating only the worst stress related lines. The results have been awesome. I do not look “ironed out,” and my facial expressions are the same. I just look relaxed and refreshed.
Moderation is the key. I think where people get in trouble is when they try to erase every single line on their face, or mess with the lines around the eyes, or think that they can look perpetually 25. It’s a crazy goal. Nobody looks good when they try to do that.
My only other big secret is using sunblock religiously. Beyond that, I have really good genes and high collagen levels run in my family. My mother is eighty, but looks closer to 60.
Totally. She’s a very beautiful woman who clearly has some good genes; it’s perfectly plausible that she might just REALLY look like this at 55.
My mom is 53 and has almost zero wrinkles, no sag. And she’s used drugstore skincare for most of her life. She said she tanned (and burned) as a teen but she is very fair and has stayed completely out of the sun for decades, so, that’s probably a huge factor.
Agree Ana and Mel.
+2
I’m with you on this!
It was a big loss to movies when she stopped working so much. One of the last combinations of true Hollywood glamour and talent.
I think she’s had work done. I think her eyes around the time of WHAT LIES BENEATH.
Agree, she’s fantastic!
She was quite good in People like us and clearly had fun in Dark Shadows. Nice to see her back to work.
Meryl Streep kind of did the same thing and started working more once the kids were older.
She looks great. But, the Botox she’s had is very obvious. Does anyone in Hollywood age gracefully?!! 🙁
I have always liked Michelle! She has always seemed so down to earth and “normal”. I wish other stars would be happy with looking good for their age and not resort to so much plastic surgery…they hardly ever look better, and usually look worse…
I think she is still pretty, but her eyes look weird, so she must have had too much done. Too bad. The last photo hardly resembles her.
GORGEOUS!
i still don’t see the benefits of botox,it always ends up looking lumpy,shiny and bloaty.its definately not for the better, has anyone seen courtney cox,melanie griffith lately?
I’m 36 and just had my first botox. I had what is called “baby botox,” so it’s half a dose and I only got it between my eyebrows to stop me from furrowing/frowning my brows so much. I’m not trying to look younger (I love my age AND, believe it or not, I am enjoying aging!) or even better–just to train myself not to walk around with a furrowed brow all the time so I don’t get really deep lines where I don’t necessarily have to have them (you know, because I’m the one causing them with my constant brown furrowing and not the natural process of aging). The results have been amazing. I can move every muscle in my face except to furrow deeply between the eyes (I still have some lines on my forehead and I like them just fine!), so the area of space I am unable to move on my face comprises about one inch, and because the dose was small I can actually move it just a little tiny bit. I have a severe anxiety disorder and I worry and frown a lot–even when I feel neutral in mood I’m furrowing my brow. But the botox I got looks natural–no one I know has so much as suspected and when I tell them they’re surprised. I’m not shiny at all, or lumpy (or bloaty–eeew). I think we get so used to Hollywood botox that we assume that’s what botox is. It’s what botox *can* be, but not necessarily what it is. I don’t want to ever risk frozen-face or overdo it in any way, so I will (if I do it again at all) get it twice a year only.
I went to a really great plastic surgeon in Boston who is known for being very conservative on the botox. It was a little more expensive than I was expecting, but I’m really happy with the results. And I’m a tree-hugging, witchcraft-practicing, sandal-wearing yoga hippie. I debated it for five years or so before just doing it. I’m glad I did. Just another perspective on botox and “real people.”
I am 48 and do the same botox as you except i started it for chronic migraines. It is the only thing that worked after several rounds of different meds, herbal treatments, accupuncture etc. Now i can go 6 to 8 months before i need to do another set. I also dont mind not getting that deep furrow inbetween my brows!
Botox sadly gets a bad rap due to the overuse in hollywood. I even hesitated to use it myself but was really desperate for relief. I am so glad i did.
I’ve seen something on tv, about plastic surgery, and they were following a German lady, who wanted to get fillers (ialuronic I think) on her forhead, just like you did, and on the lines around her mouth. The surgeon explained very well that you can get botox and fillers to look the best you’re supposed to look at your age, not to look like a 20 something, because it is impossible. He gave to the German lady the injections, and the result was good: you could tell she had something done because her face looked refreshed, but not plastic or overdone at all.
I don’t understand the cheek-filler obsession. I mean, I do understand that people don’t like what happens to their skin as they age and lose that facial fat. But the fillers look SO unnatural. How is that better? To have creepy face?
I feel like Botox was running amok about 7 years ago, but right now, the biggest scourge is cheek fillers. Sigh.
I completely agree. They are so obvious. They make the eyes look pressured and actually emphasize lines under the eyes. In that last picture of Michelle in the red dress she clearly has cheek fillers.
Michelle has always been a beautiful woman. I see no evidence of any work being done, save for perhaps a chemical peel or other topical treatment. She has wrinkles in her forehead, under her eyes, crows feet and laugh lines. Her eyelids have some gravity action going on and her teeth are not unnaturally white. She looks drop-dead gorgeous.
She looks like she has had work done but who really cares? She looks good and not “over-worked”. I have always loved her. She is so sensual. She looks great for 55.
Michelle already looked mature when she was young. The impact of aging isn’t that huge on her. So right now she looks just as great as when she appeared on Scarface. Same thing with Susan Sarandon.
meh, ‘still pretty’ ‘for your age’. Bullshit. When will women just look great because they look great?
I’ll get on board with that sentiment.
Yes!
Amen!!
You know.. I said she looks great for her age and I didn’t mean she would look bad if she was any other age. Honestly I don’t know why I said that. It wasn’t meant as offense. I think she looks great. Period! Thanks for that.
Sorry but she does not look like a woman in her 40’s, especially in that top picture. That picture is pretty much an advertisement for why you should choose your face over your body and consume some fats now and then. Compare her to Susan Sarandon, who’s over a decade older. They’ve both had a little work done, nothing extreme though so they’re aging quite naturally compared to most of their peers. Susan still looks vibrant and strong and sexy while Michelle is starting to look frail and tired.
All these actresses who go nuts with plastic surgery, they wouldn’t need it if they’d just gain 10-15lbs.
Emma Roberts is not in the film, Dianna Argon is. I’m excited to see it because her and DeNiro are together on screen. This is the first time in a long time I plan to see a DeNiro film in the theatre.
I think she has had work done for sure, but unlike Nicole Kidman she looks great, not like some hideous plastic surgery monstrosity.
She seems to have some work done, but not overboard. You cannot turn yourself back into a 25 year old, no matter how hard you try, so why not embrace it? Helen Mirren, we need more of you.
YES it is the miracle of well done plastic surgery…i’ll never forget i went to my esthetician’s office for dermabrasion and i kept looking at her glowing complexion, marvelling, convinced she had had nothing more than a chemical peel, and if she had said that to me, i would’ve believed it, but she was honest and told me that she had had MINI LIFT and i was BLOWN AWAY. The surgeon who gave her that mini-lift is a GENIUS ARTIST.
I think it’s fabulous that she was honest because now you know what she had done and you can decide if that’s for you. You also know that some surgeons truly are artists. A good friend of mine had an eye lift about 13 years ago and she still looks fabulous today.
feel like sharing the name of the surgeon? 🙂
I also have seen the nose job pics and rumours and I do think she had it tweaked. I tend to agree she has had small procedures done, her jawline in particular is very taught for a woman her age (and yes I know some women age great naturally, my own mother is one, but the jowls eventually do go on virtually everyone). Her eyes don’t look pulled to me though, and I don’t think she abuses botox either. Her cheeks are a bit fuller than when she was younger (her cheekbones were sharp enough to cut ice in Scarface – but that could’ve been the coke and cigarettes phase), maybe she just gained a bit of weight. I do think she looks different, but not in a scary, unnatural way.
Michelle looks great & she’s had tasteful work. She is also very petite – not short, but tiny bone structure. Sarandon had a very different body type.
Dianna Agron is in the movie, not Emma Roberts
She didn’t say she became vegan. She said she cut out meat and dairy. That’s not vegan. She’d also have to cut out eggs ( and not wear leather or silk, etc.)
Also, she certainly has has plastic surgery. That nose is not her own. It’s many versions later and pared down to almost nothing. Not to mention the multiple, obvious mini-face lifts she’s has over the years. It’s really great work, but work nonetheless. I suspect she’s done something with her eyes over the years, too. And botox, of course (but that’s not surgery anyway), and probably some light fillers. That said, I loved her comments on aging. Very honest.
I use the sunbeam massager on my face three times a week so I don’t have to have work done.
This is the third movie she’s been in where she played a mobster’s wife
What is the sunbeam massager??? Yes, she does play the mob wives well though, no? She has chosen very good roles (Dark Shadows, that movie where Harrison Ford was her husband and trying to kill her).
Love her!
The Family does not have Emma Roberts in it, the daughter is the chick from Glee . . . Dianna Agron. Just FYI.
I’ve always liked her because she was so truthful about quitting school and working as a cashier and knowing she wanted more. She came from a blue collar family and never hid that and I think it servered her well. I do think she has had a little something done because something is different but not in a bad way. I hope to see her in more movies because darn it, she has talent!
She’s so real! Love her.
Michelle and the Jolie are my top 2 eternal and fascinating beauties~I think that those 2 women are the most beautiful in the world.
It’s pretty well known in the business she has definitely had work done. But she has been very subtle and pragmatic about it- which is why she looks so amazing.
i know many women in a certain age bracket who adhere to the same philosophy…slow and steady wins the race- but don’t expect to look like a teenager…expect to look refreshed and not tired. BUT to still look your age- just a great version of your age.
you’re not 25 anymore…no need to look it.
She’s beautiful but she’s full of botox and fillers! It’s pretty obvious.
i remember a few yrs ago, she denied having work done
i dont mind that people have it but i think lying about it and attributing your unlined face to yoga and kale is somehow not responsible
I have always thought she is beautiful and seems like a cool person. but I think she looks her age. she doesn’t look like a woman in her 40s at all. and I also think she would look better if she gained 15 or so lbs. I think her face is looking a little sunken and frail. being skinny like that when 50+ is not a good thing for your face and ages you for sure.
I will never understand older women who choose the body before the face. You just end up looking like a scrawny frail old lady and even older than your actual age.
I love her so much. She’s so beautiful, talented and classy. She is one of my forever girl crushes.
Shit, she looks better than goop and she is 15 years older.
Love her. I seem to recall an early interview with her, when she was still with Peter Horton, where she said she was vegan. I remember because it was the first tme I heard the word. If that’s true, what a testament to the power of raw foods, she looks fabulous
Yes, she has definitely had work done. My friend’s mother has the same cosmetic surgeon who Michelle went to for a brow lift and eye lift 7 years ago. I think it’s very skillful, subtle looking plastic surgery, but I think it’s very obvious she’s had some. She definitely “maintains” her looks through minor cosmetic “tweaking” and lifting every half decade or so, and, I’d imagine, with far more frequent uses of Botox and Restalyne. I like her, but it annoys me to read that she claims to never have had any work done. How stupid do these celebrities think that people are?
She’s awesome. I’m so glad she’s acting again! And she’s a walking billboard for good plastic surgery.
Yep!
She had a ton of plastic surgery when she was young. Nose job, cheek implants, her chin restructured. Massive work so I seriously doubt she’s suddenly decided not to do something big.
Gorgeous woman! Awesome actress, wife and mother. Hollywood needs more of her.
Have always loved her. To the point, made earlier, that her (older-looking) hands give her away: I respectfully disagree. I am a woman in my 40s. Never had any work done. People think I’m 10 years younger than I am but I confess, my hands show my age. Alas. Loved her–just absolutely loved her–as Ellen Olenska!!