Phoebe Cates starred in many movies, such as “Gremlins” and “Drop Dead Fred,” but she is best known for her famous pool scene in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” from 1982.
However, Phoebe Cates left Hollywood more than 20 years ago. Nowadays, she has a regular job that she really enjoys.
Phoebe Belle Cates was born on July 16, 1963, in New York City. When she was a young girl, she went to private schools and studied ballet at Juilliard.
Acting was a big part of Phoebe’s family. Her father, Joe Cates, was a producer and director, her uncle was the president of the Director’s Guild, her brother used to be an actor, and her sister, Valerie, worked in theater.
Phoebe wanted to be a dancer when she was younger, but she had to stop after a knee injury.
At 14, Phoebe Cates started modeling and did pretty well. She was even on the cover of Seventeen magazine four times. But she didn’t really enjoy it and wanted to try something new.
“It was just the same thing, over and over. After a while, I did it solely for the money,” Phoebe said about her short modeling career.
One night, at a party at New York’s famous Studio 54, she met her film agent. After that, she trained with Robert Ravan, who founded The Actors’ Circle in New York.
“I just knew that I didn’t want to go to college. I thought if I could get a few movie roles, it would be a great way to avoid college. Seriously, it’s true,” Phoebe told The Daily Item in 1985.
Phoebe also trained with Alice Spivack at the H.B. Studios. She made her acting debut in 1982, playing Sarah in “Paradise.” Less than a year later, she starred in “Experienced” and then “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” which featured the famous swimming pool scene.
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” was a big hit with teenagers and became an important part of pop culture. It’s especially famous for one scene that Rolling Stone magazine called “the most memorable bikini-drop in cinema history.”
As a friend of mine said, that scene made a lot of teenage boys’ hearts beat faster than they should have!
In 1982, Phoebe shared her thoughts on acting. “In this business, if a girl wants a career, she has to be willing to strip. If you’ve got a good body, then why not show it?” she said.
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” had an impressive cast, including future stars like Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Eric Stoltz, and Forest Whitaker.
Jennifer Jason Leigh reflected on the film, saying, “Well, it was a funny thing because we were all so young when we made it. Then it came out and was this big hit. You’d go to the theater, and people would say the lines along with it. People had obviously seen the movie over and over again,” she told The Daily News.
Later on, Phoebe continued working in theater and starred in “Private School” as Christine Ramsey in 1983. She also co-starred in Steven Spielberg’s “Gremlins” in 1984.
Phoebe met Kevin Kline, a well-known theater actor, while auditioning for the 1983 film “The Big Chill.” Although she didn’t get the role, she did meet her future husband.
Kevin was 16 years older than Phoebe, but they didn’t start dating until two years after they first met. Kevin hired Phoebe’s former assistant and asked for help to ask Phoebe out.
In 1989, Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline got married in New York City when she was 25 and he was 41. They had their first child, Owen Joseph, in 1991 and their daughter, Greta Simone, in 1994.
By 2017, the couple had been married for 27 years, and many people wondered how they stayed so happy together for so long. “We take care of the marriage,” Kline said.
Although Phoebe was successful, she decided to step away from acting after having their children. In the 1990s, she gradually left the entertainment industry.
In 1998, Phoebe told Playboy that she and her husband had agreed to alternate their acting jobs so that their children would always have one parent at home.
Kevin Kline mentioned that even when it was Phoebe Cates’ turn to work, she often chose to stay home with their children. Although she did some acting occasionally, she was more often seen with her husband at red-carpet events, as he continued acting regularly.
In 2005, Phoebe opened a store called Blue Tree near Carnegie Hall. The store sells fragrances, clothing, and gifts.
Phoebe dedicated herself to running the store full-time, often working there personally or searching for new products to sell. Today, you can visit her store at 1283 Madison Avenue in New York City, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where she also lives.
And just so you know, Phoebe still looks amazing!
What do you think of when you hear Phoebe Cates’ name? I always thought she was a pretty good actress, but the first things that come to mind are her shower scene in the cave in “Paradise” and the bikini scene in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
Veteran actress Kathy Bates diagnosed with a serious chronic health condition
Actress Kathy Bates been a mainstay in TV and movies for a long time. Having played big roles, she is just as scary in real life as she is on television.
The actress was diagnosed with a chronic illness, which required her to make some rather major changes.
In 1970, Kathy Bates relocated to New York in order to further her acting career. She recalls how, even though she was never very smart, she managed to make things work. “I was never an ingenue,” she asserts. “My entire career, I’ve solely played supporting roles. I was always thought to be too ugly, which was a big problem for me when I was younger. According to Bates, it was difficult because there wasn’t much work and you had to accept how other people perceived you.
Her broadway career truly took off when she played Stella May in Come Back To The Five And Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean in 1980. The actress was not given the opportunity to have a few roles that she portrayed converted for the big screen. She did, however, become well-known almost immediately after turning 42 thanks to her Academy Award–winning performance as a crazy fan in Misery.
Regarding the kinds of roles she was given, she stated, “You’re either young and glamorous and you’re going to get the lead, or it’s the opposite: you’re not attractive enough.” Therefore, you’re playing a buddy, a killer, a lesbian, a physician, or anything else,” she said. But the individual who gets to play the gorgeous, successful, and young role is not in a position of authority. On the other hand, a character might be strong without being a woman.
After starting to direct episodes, she went on to do so for TV series including Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue, Oz, and the hugely successful Six Feet Under.
The actress has experienced some personal health-related difficulties. She was diagnosed with cancer twice in her lifetime, in 2003 and 2012. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003.
Following her breast cancer surgery, actress Kathy Bates started discussing her diagnosis of lymphedema. She is the spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network.
She disclosed that she had lost eighty pounds over the course of the preceding few years. The actress had to wear compression sleeves to keep her arms from swelling. Her disease tends to flare up without them, so she makes sure to wear them whether she is flying or doing physically hard job.
“I have more confidence in my ability to live with LE if I can stop rushing, relax my shoulders, straighten my spine, breathe deeply, and focus on each little moment of completing a task,” the actress said. To control the illness, she has to continually remind herself to take it slow. It was the epidemic that forced me to slow down.
She advises everyone who is ill to continue living their life in spite of it. “When people aren’t aware about LE, going out in public while wearing a compression garment can occasionally be more painful than the illness itself,” the actress said. However, a sedentary lifestyle and prolonged confinement to your home can only make your physical and mental health issues worse.
She stressed the significance of allowing your condition not define who you are, something she actively works to do.
She is making sure to advocate for more money to support organizations that work to raise public awareness of lymphedema and for more research to be done on the condition.
Despite her diagnosis, actress Kathy Bates keeps working on projects she loves since it is her passion!
The actor is a master at living her illness-related life to the fullest, not merely surviving it.
Inform others about this post to motivate them to fight lymphedema.
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