Phoebe Cates
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Phoebe Cates (born July 16, 1963) is an American film actress who, by her description, has retired from acting to become a full-time mother.
She is the daughter of director Joseph Cates and his Filipina wife of mixed Chinese and Spanish descent, accounting for her uniquely exotic appearance. She is also the niece of Gilbert Cates, also a director. She is a native of New York City, where she attended the Children's professional Acting School. She is also the god-daughter of actress Joan Crawford.
Phoebe's birth name was Phoebe Belle Katz. She followed in the steps of her father and uncle, in changing her surname for professional reasons.
She became famous in the early 1980's for her role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in which she stripped the top of her bathing suit in a slow-motion fantasy scene that was playing in the mind of Judge Reinhold's character. [1] (http://www.celebritymoviearchive.com/tour/movie.php/3508)
That same year, in the movie Paradise, and in contrast to the coyness of Brooke Shields in the similar-themed and more famous The Blue Lagoon, Phoebe appeared totally nude in several scenes. In a contemporary article in People magazine, Phoebe said she had expressed reservations about this situation to her father, who advised her to play it in whatever way she felt was artistically honest. [2] (http://www.celebritymoviearchive.com/tour/movie.php/2192)
Her later roles were more modest and largely oriented toward younger audiences. Her face made the covers of teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16, Teen Beat and others.
In 1989 she married actor Kevin Kline, whom she had originally met while auditioning for the part that Meg Tilly ultimately won in The Big Chill. In 1991 she was going to participate in Father of the Bride, but became pregnant and could not act in the movie. The couple make their home in New York City and have two children, Owen (who has himself acted in two films, including Cates' last film, The Anniversary Party), and Greta.
Selected filmography
- Paradise (1982)
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
- Lace (1984, TV)
- Gremlins (1984)
- Date with an Angel (1987)
- Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
- Shag (1989)
- I Love You to Death (1990)
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
- Drop Dead Fred (1991)
- Bodies, Rest and Motion (1993)
- Princess Caraboo (1994)
- The Anniversary Party (2001)