Phoebe Cates (born July 16, 1963) is an American film
actress who, by her description, has retired from acting
to be a full-time mother.
She is the daughter of Jewish American
director Joseph Cates and his Filipina wife of mixed
Chinese and Russian Jewish descent (accounting for
her 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 the goddaughter of actress Joan
Crawford.
Cates'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 achieved icon status in the early
1980's for her role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High,
in which she stripped off the top of her bikini in
a slow-motion fantasy scene.
That same year, in the movie Paradise,
and in contrast to the coyness of Brooke Shields in
the similarly themed and more popular The Blue Lagoon,
Cates appeared nude in several scenes, although she
was said to have used a body double in some of the
close-ups. In a People magazine article, Cates 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.
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 slated to be in Father of the
Bride, but became pregnant and couldn't take the role.
Kline and Cates make their home in
New York City and have two children, Owen and Greta.
They all appeared in Cates' most recent film, The
Anniversary Party.
Selected filmography
Paradise (1982)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Private School (1983)
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)
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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