Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates | |
---|---|
Born | Phoebe Belle Cates July 16, 1963 New York City, U.S. |
Other names | Phoebe Cates Kline |
Alma mater | Professional Children's School Juilliard School |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1982–1994, 2001, 2015 (voice only) |
Known for | Fast Times at Ridgemont High Gremlins Gremlins 2: The New Batch Private School Drop Dead Fred Princess Caraboo Paradise |
Spouse | |
Children | Owen Kline Greta Kline |
Relatives | Gilbert Cates (uncle), Gil Cates Jr. (cousin) |
Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963)[1] is an American former actress, known primarily for her roles in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Gremlins (1984), Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Princess Caraboo (1994).
Early life
Cates was born on July 16, 1963, in New York City,[2] to a family of television and Broadway production insiders. She is the daughter of Lily and Joseph Cates (originally Joseph Katz),[3] who was a major Broadway producer and a pioneering figure in television, and who helped create The $64,000 Question.[4][5] Her uncle, Gilbert Cates, produced numerous television specials, often in partnership with Cates's father, as well as several annual Academy Awards shows. Her father was Jewish and her mother was Catholic.[6] Cates is of Eurasian[7] or mixed European and Asian descent. Her mother was born in Shanghai, China[8] to a family of Chinese-Filipino heritage. Cates's father is American and from Manhattan.[3][9][10][11]
Cates attended the Professional Children's School and the Juilliard School.[12][13] At age ten, she started modeling, appearing in Seventeen and other teen-oriented magazines. A few years later, she wanted to become a dancer, and eventually received a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, but quit after a knee injury at age 14.[13] She then began a short, successful career as a model.[14] She said that she disliked the industry: "It was just the same thing, over and over. After a while, I did it solely for the money."[13]
Career
As a teen model, Cates appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine four times, first in the April 1979 issue. She appeared within the magazine as well, on the editorial pages in 1979 and 1980.[15]
Dissatisfied with modeling, Cates decided to pursue acting. She was offered her first part in the movie Paradise (1982) after a screen test in New York. She was uncertain about the nudity the role required, but her father encouraged her to take the job.[13]
Paradise was filmed in Israel from March to May 1981.
Later that year, Cates starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), featuring what Rolling Stone has described as "the most memorable bikini-drop in cinema history".[18] She said that she had "the most fun" filming that movie.[14]
The next year, Cates was in the comedy Private School (1983), co-starring Matthew Modine and Betsy Russell, and where she sang on two songs of the film's soundtrack: "Just One Touch" and "How Do I Let You Know".
In 1984, Cates starred in the TV mini-series
In the summer of 1984, Cates co-starred in the box office hit Gremlins for executive producer Steven Spielberg, the highest-grossing film of her career. She reprised her role of Kate Beringer in the sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
In June 1984, Cates made her stage debut in the
In 1988, Cates told an interviewer, "There are simply not that many good parts in film", but that theater had "tons of good women's roles...I think of theater as what I like to do most...I've only felt happy as an actress for about two years. I rarely watch my film work."[28]
Cates continued to appear steadily in films through the early 1990s, usually in supporting roles or in ensemble casts. These include Date with an Angel (1987), Bright Lights, Big City (1988), Heart of Dixie (1989), Shag (1989), Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993) (the latter three also featuring Bridget Fonda). The films suffered from mixed to poor reviews and failed to make an impact at the box office.[29]
Cates was set to play Steve Martin's daughter in the successful comedy Father of the Bride (1991), but her pregnancy with her first child forced her to drop out.[30]
In 1994, Cates starred in the fact-based comedy-drama Princess Caraboo (1994) with her husband Kevin Kline. It was Cates' last film before she shifted her focus away from acting to raising her children, Owen and Greta.[29]
In 2001, Cates briefly returned to acting for one film, The Anniversary Party (2001), as a favor to her best friend and former Fast Times at Ridgemont High castmate Jennifer Jason Leigh, who directed it.[31]
In 2015, Cates provided the voice of her Gremlins character Kate Beringer for the video game Lego Dimensions.[32]
Personal life
In the early 1980s, Cates shared an apartment in Greenwich Village with her then-boyfriend Stavros Merjos. She met him in 1979 after she went to her first night at Studio 54 with family friend Andy Warhol.[13]
In 1983, during her audition for a role (awarded to
In 2005, Cates opened a boutique, Blue Tree, on New York's Madison Avenue.[35]
Filmography
Film and television
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Paradise | Sarah | |
1982 | Fast Times at Ridgemont High | Linda Barrett | |
1983 | Private School | Christine Ramsey | |
1983 | Baby Sister | Annie Burroughs | TV movie |
1984 | Lace | Elizabeth "Lili" Lace | Miniseries |
1984 | Gremlins | Kate Beringer | |
1985 | Lace II
|
Elizabeth "Lili" Lace | Miniseries |
1987 | Date with an Angel | Patricia "Patty" Winston | |
1988 | Bright Lights, Big City | Amanda Conway | |
1989 | Shag | Carson McBride | |
1989 | Heart of Dixie | Aiken Reed | |
1990 | I Love You to Death | Joey's Girl at Disco | Uncredited |
1990 | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Kate Beringer | |
1990 | Largo Desolato | Young Philosophy Student | TV movie |
1991 | Drop Dead Fred | Elizabeth "Lizzie" Cronin | |
1993 | Bodies, Rest & Motion | Carol | |
1993 | My Life's in Turnaround | Self | |
1994 | Princess Caraboo | Princess Caraboo/Mary Baker | |
2001 | The Anniversary Party | Sophia Gold |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Lego Dimensions | Kate Beringer | Voice |
References
- ^ "Famous birthdays for July 16: Alexandra Shipp, Will Ferrell". United Press International. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
Actor Phoebe Cates in 1963 (age 56)
- ^ "Phoebe Cates". TCM. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Robert McGill Jr. (October 12, 1998). "Joseph Cates, 74, a Producer Of Innovative Specials for TV". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (June 3, 2005). "Heiress Is Identified as Victim in Case Against Arts Patron". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ "American Greed: Fraudster of the Opera | Frozen Assets: The Ice Capers". Cnbc.com. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ "Reclining with Kevin | Irish America". December 2000.
- S2CID 147291754.
Due to her dark looks, she enjoyed particular prominence in South East Asia ... Few people in those pre-Internet days, however, knew that Cates's estranged mother was of Chinese Filipino descent. Cates's South East Asian heritage was not featured in 1994 publicity or criticism for the film ... Cates's Caraboo, her last major film role, contributes in no small part to her current celebration as an icon of Eurasian identity.
- ^ "ABC7 Eyewitness News - WABC-TV New York". Archived from the original on April 18, 2015.
- ^ Villasanta, Boy (June 23, 2010). "Pinoys who made it in Hollywood". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-313-31532-9. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
- S2CID 147291754.
- ^ "Yahoo movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hammer, Josh (June 14, 1982). "Paradise Star Phoebe Cates Hangs Her Own Film with a One-Word Review—'rip-Off'". People.com. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0-671-63493-3
- ^ "70 Years of Seventeen!". February 2013.
- ^ "Paradise, An Awakening in the Desert". The New York Times. May 10, 1982. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- Beck, Marilyn (March 17, 1982). "Hollywood: Nude scenes too much for Aames." The Orange County Register. p C3
- ^ Rolling Stone staff (November 21, 2006). "Escape Your Family: Sneak Upstairs!". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 15, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ a b "'Lace' miniseries is soap-opera tangle" by Associated Press, Star-News, February 24, 1984. p. 5C
- ^ a b "Angela Lansbury leads 'Lace' cast" by Julianne Hastings, Stars and Stripes, March 7, 1984. p. 12.
- ^ TV Guide April 17–23, 1993. pg. 96
- ^ Rich, Frank (June 15, 1984). "STAGE: ROZOV'S 'NEST OF THE WOOD GROUSE'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "The Nest of the Wood Grouse Show Information". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ Phoebe Cates & Tim Roth "Bodies, Rest, & Motion" 4/3/93 - Bobbie Wygant Archive. September 13, 2021. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Rich, Frank (April 22, 1986). "New York Times-Stage: 'Rich Relations'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
- ^ Mosel, Tad (December 10, 1980). "THEATER; In Search of the Untouched Moments of Life". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "The Tenth Man Broadway Original Cast". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ Kogan, Rick (October 23, 1988). "BARD CHOICES". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Cartwright, Lexie (October 27, 2019). "Why Phoebe Cates vanished from the spotlight at the height of her fame". nzherald.co.nz.
- ^ Susman, Gary (December 19, 2016). "15 Things You Never Knew About Steve Martin's 'Father of the Bride'". Moviefone. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- Looper.
- ^ Schmidt, Sara (March 26, 2017). "Where is the Gremlins cast today?". Screen Rant. p. 4. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ "About Blue Tree". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (March 5, 2014). "Frankie Cosmos". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- ^ "ABC News (June 1, 2006): Perfect Gifts, According to Phoebe Cates: Former Teen Starlet Owns Upper East Side Gift Store (Archive)". Abcnews.go.com. June 1, 2006. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
External links
- Phoebe Cates at IMDb
- Blue Tree Cates's New York boutique's website
- Phoebe Cates at AllMovie
- Phoebe Cates at Rotten Tomatoes