Cuttings from the press 2005

Wild Child

Dedee Pfeiffer

On Hollywood, Motherhood, Playboy, Tom Cruise, Howard Stern And Of Course Being Wild!.

Known in some circles as the "wild Pfeiffer," hardworking actress Dedee Pfeiffer, 44, is well known for living life on the edge. An edgy lifestyle that includes numerous tattoos and piercings, and a provoctive nude layout in Playboy magazine. Of course, it's impossible not to note that Dedee is also known for being the little sis of Hollywood's most revered actress, Michelle Pfeiffer.

An accomplished actress in her own right, Dedee is best known for her portrayal as Cybill Shepherd's older daughter on the award-winning CBS comedy series "Cybill," and as the devoted wife Sheri on the WB's romantic-comedy series "For Your Love."

Born and raised in Orange County, California, Dedee trained with renowned drama coach Roy London. She landed her first professional acting job playing a hooker in the film "Into The Night," and has worked steadily ever since.

Dedee's extensive work in feature films include roles in Joe Schumacher's "Falling Down," with Michael Douglas; "Mi Familia," with Jimmy Smits; "Red Surf," with George Clooney; "The All Nighter," with Joan Cusack; and "Up Close and Personal," with Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer ... just to name a few.

Most recently, Dedee appeared in "A Killer Within" and has a pivotal role in the independent film "Hoboken Hollow." Dedee's television credits include guest star appearances on hit shows including "CSI," "Friends," "Ellen," "Seinfeld," and "Wings." These days, Dedee is starring in the TNT crime drama "Wanted" (airs Sundays at 10 p.m.) where she plays Lucinda Rose, the estranged wife of Conrad Rose, played by Gary Cole.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Dedee Pfeiffer about her new role as a mom, the pluses and minuses to being Michelle's little sister, and her true feelings on Tom Cruise's ongoing meltdown.

Chaunce Hayden: So how's motherhood been treating you?

Dedee Pfeiffer: Everybody who interviews me has a hard time with me being a mom! (Laughs) I guess it just seems wild because I'm not really the mom type.

Speaking of wild, just how wild are you?

I'm very wild. I'm wild at heart and spirit. It's funny you mention that, because I actually thought I was just going to pop this kid out and put him on my back like a monkey and continue on with my life. I thought it would be like a little hiccup. I was so seriously wrong! I changed and my husband changed. When you have a child and you see this little person come out of you, you realize the most important thing you'll ever do in your entire life is raise a human being. All of a sudden I realized how precious life was.

It's been three years since your child was born. Do you sense any of your wild former self coming back?

In the beginning, I did lose myself in being a mom. I lost my mojo. I lost everything, in the sense that I just wanted to be a good mom. But what I discovered is that although I really take pride in being a damn good mom, I wasn't giving my son the best in me by doing that. The best you can do for your child is show them who you really are. So I've rediscovered who I am as a wild child, and how I can exist while at the same time being a mother. I can't be selfish anymore, but I do try to make time for myself.

You once said, "I was always the wild Pfeiffer."

Absolutely!

Just how wild are we talking about?

There were times when I was reckless, which isn't good. Especially in my twenties, when I thought I was immortal like a vampire! I just didn't think I was ever going to die. I was going to live life at its fullest, at all costs. Take no prisoners!

Allow me to be an armchair psychiatrist for a moment. Do you think you were the "wild Pfeiffer," as you put it, because of all the attention your sister, Michelle, got as a beautiful and successful actress?

I see where you're going with that, and you're not too far off. If you want this to be a therapy session, let's go for it. This is going to sound a little crazy, but Michelle and I are like fruit. We're from the same family, but we're as similar as apples and oranges. We've always been that way. She's just very conservative, very safe, and very shy. She's gorgeous and has her own way of going about her work. I, on the other hand, am very daring and very courageous. I have the piercings and the tattoos. I've had this fearless attitude toward life. I was a fat child. Until one day I lost my baby fat, and somebody actually called me pretty. I thought, "Oh my God!" I was always the friendly, outgoing Pfeiffer. So when I came into my beauty, I just thought I was funky. I was the funky Pfeiffer. Michelle and my other sister Lori, who are both drop-dead gorgeous, could walk into a room and heads would just turn. I was never that kind of woman. I knew I couldn't compete with that. But I have the kind of personality that if the room isn't going, I'll get it going. I'm very self-deprecating and very approachable.

Were you ever resentful of Michelle's success and beauty?

I once had an acting coach tell me that I'll never be as beautiful as Michelle. That really crushed me. But he also said that I have a sexuality about me that's off the charts. But when you're young, you don't care about sexuality. You don't even know what the word means. All I heard was that I'm never going to be as beautiful as Michelle. On some level, that was devastating. I didn't even understand what he was talking about. I was too busy being hurt and crushed.

Is it safe to assume that wasn't the only time you were compared to Michelle?

I was told by agents that they wouldn't represent me because I was too chubby. I had to deal with a lot of knocks. I was kind of shoved down and pushed down a lot. Meanwhile my sister just keeps rising because (yells) SHE'S MORE BEAUTIFUL! (Laughs)

I can't imagine what that must be like.

Oh, I've had some pretty brutal things happen to me. It devastated me. But my dad used to be a boxer in North Dakota before they had rules and referees, and he taught me the phrase, "Get back up!"

What fails to kill me only serves to make me stronger.

Absolutely. You have to sink or swim.

Did the constant scrutiny affect your relationship with Michelle?

No, not at all. Actually, we're really close because of it. We've always been brutally honest with each other. I always tell her what people say to me. People have tried to get close to me just to get a script to her or to meet her. I've even had guys date me just to say they've dated Michelle Pfeiffer's sister. It's made me get the attitude that I have. It's made me get a job illegally at eighteen as a cocktail waitress at a female mud-wrestling club. But they paid ten bucks an hour. I was a survivor and I had really expensive acting classes at the time and I had a cat that needed tuna. Plus I had to feed myself.

Looking back, are you satisfied with your career as an actress?

I've had surges in my career where I thought I was off and running. But then it goes dead. People will come up to me and say, "Where did you go? Have you been on hiatus?" And I'll go "No, I've been auditioning! But I can't get arrested, man!" Now with the TV show I'm on, "Wanted," people will say, "Oh, she's making a comeback, just like Teri Hatcher." But the truth is I never went anywhere! But if you want to say I'm having a rebirth, that's fine. Call it what you will. I'm just really grateful I got the gig.

Shall we end the psycho therapy session and talk about your new TV show, "Wanted"?

Actually, I'd rather finish the therapy session.

Okay, continue. When you look into the mirror, what do you see?

(Laughs) Physically I see, Ouch!

Really?

You do my hair and make-up and I will demand your attention when I walk into the room. But I need a lot of help from great hair and make-up people. However, in the morning, I'm not anything that's going to stop traffic, and I'm aware of that. But instead of beating myself up, I just make sure I wear clothes that are really flattering and maybe some hair extensions and false eyelashes as well. We all need a little help. Some of us just need a little more help than others. You just have to embrace who you are and what you're not to truly get to a happy place in your life. I know what I am and what I'm not.

I read that you like to curse. Pretend I'm James Lipton for a moment, and tell me your favorite swear word.

I can swear quicker than a New Yorker! I'm really a curser. But I had to stop it because of my son. My favorite used to be "What the f--k is that!" But I had to stop that because of my son, because he mimics everything I say. Now I just say, "What the bleep is that!"

You did a very provocative nude layout for Playboy three years ago. You said you did it because your career needed a facelift. Did it work, in your opinion?

No, it backfired. It's true at the time I felt my career needed a facelift, and scandals seemed to be the new thing. Everyone was getting huge publicity because of scandals. I felt like I needed to punch somebody out to boost my career. But I'm not violent. I'm crazy, but I'm not going to go punch anybody. That's how Playboy came about. I thought it was a great idea because it's so me and so not Michelle! I was always very sexual. On a scale from 1 to 10, I've always been a 10 on the sexual meter. But I was always told to suppress it and hide it because people wanted to mold me into the same kind of person that Michelle was.

Which is?

Very safe and very calm. I was afraid of being sexual because I was afraid it would be a poor reflection on Michelle. So when I finally decided to do Playboy, I wanted to really DO playboy!

So you posed nude together with a male who happened to also be African-American.

At the time I was doing "For Your Love," which was about an interracial relationship, and my husband is Latin. I look around me and I see a world with beautiful colors. I see the world as a palette. I'm not colorblind. The color of your skin or what you look like just doesn't matter to me. I wanted to make a statement.

Why do you think your controversial nude layout in Playboy backfired?

I wasn't able to do any press for it. By the time the issue came out, which was a year or two later, I was married and pregnant. But I was told to hide my pregnancy because I was still auditioning. My agent didn't want me to come out and say that I was pregnant, and it was starting to show. I didn't look fat, but I certainly didn't look like I looked in Playboy. So if you didn't know I was pregnant, you would think I had gained a few pounds. In fact, I was supposed to go on Howard Stern, but I turned him down. He really ragged on me for that.

Were you afraid that Stern would make fun of your extra pounds?

I'm not afraid of Howard Stern. I'm not afraid of anybody. But I told my agent that you can't put me on Howard Stern and not let me talk about being pregnant. If he knew I was pregnant, he would think I'm a hot-looking MILF. And I really did look hot when I was pregnant. But if I can't tell Howard the truth, he's going to call me fat. And if he does, I'll reach over and strangle him. I'll punch him in the nose! I mean it! I would have seen that as an insult against my child. It was stupid, stupid advice I got from my representation at the time. They just didn't want anyone in Hollywood to know I was pregnant. So Howard really badmouthed me. It's too bad he handled it that way, because if I had gone on his show, he damn well would have remembered me. So Playboy quietly kind of came and went.

What did Playboy pay you?

It was a nice chunk of change, but not enough to set me up for life.

Over a million?

Oh, God no! I wish! It's funny, everybody thinks because of my sister I'm rich. (Laughs) She's rich! I'm not!

This is a little personal, but considering who your sister is and who your brother-in-law is, doesn't that open a lot of doors for you in terms of acting jobs?

No. No. Maybe in the beginning, out of curiosity. People would call me in just to see a younger, cheaper version of Michelle. I was considered the Target version of Barneys. But after they met me, they would be taken aback because we're not similar. We have some similarities, but my whole aura and style is different. My energy is different and my approach to acting is different. The first thing I notice on auditions is the look of disappointment. I can hear them go, "Oh, we didn't get the younger, cheaper version of Michelle." That's the first thing they have to get over. Then they have to re-look at me for who I am. I have many more hurdles to get over than the average person who just walks in off the street. I'm in major therapy! I have a beautiful therapist!

True or false. In high school you didn't make the cheerleading team, so you hated the other cheerleaders.

Yeah. Clearly I'm into pain and suffering. My father was a really strong German man, and he instilled a very strong work ethic into all his children. He taught us that nothing is going to be handed to us. I'll carry that with me until I die. If you want something, you have to earn it. Nobody is going to hand it to you. No free rides.

Does it bother you that Paris Hilton is getting movie deals and millions of dollars seemingly because of a sex tape scandal?

The industry keeps taking major turns. I've been acting for over two decades, and it still shocks me why things happen and why people get roles. I did it the old-fashioned way. I studied acting for two years before I even stepped foot in a casting director's office. Even right now I think I'm still learning. Meanwhile, here's a girl who screws a guy on tape and she gets her own reality show. Or if you happen to be the biggest bitch on a reality show, and all of a sudden you have your own situation comedy show. Meanwhile they say no to me.

How does that make you feel?

It's unbelievably frustrating to all of us who have studied our craft and spent money on headshots just to try and stay in the game. Meanwhile, all I had to do was go f--k some married guy on video and then pretend I didn't know it was going to be shown on the Internet. Whoops!

So when can we expect a scandalous sex video starring Michelle Pfeiffer's little sister?

I'll tell you straight up! My husband and I did a [sex] video four years ago when we first met, and I know he's got a copy of it! I always think if he gets really mad at me or wants a divorce, he'll put it on the Internet. If that does happen, I'll say "Thank you!"

Care to share any details of what we hopefully can look forward to one day?

First of all, I'm really hot in it! I'm awesome! Paris, step aside!

Do you ever break it out of the vault and watch it?

Every once in a while we'll watch it. I like to watch it because I looked amazing back then. That was before I had my kid.

I don't think I could enjoy watching myself have sex.

It's a little freaky. You just have to make sure the lighting is right. If you have really awful lighting, it will scare ya!

Poor Colin Farrell is currently trying to stop his ex-girlfriend from releasing their sex video on the Internet. Should we feel sorry for him?

If you're going to let somebody videotape you having sex, you're taking a chance. So no, I don't feel sorry for him. Like I said, my husband has a copy of us, and if he ever wants to get me, he can. And you know what I say to that? Thank you for the instant career! I mean, look at Hugh Grant! He got a blow job from a prostitute and it made him bigger than ever. He cheated on Elizabeth Hurley, who nobody knew before she started to date him. All of a sudden we feel sorry for her because Hugh is messing around with a hooker and she's got a career! She went from a model to a big Hollywood star! That, to me, is not earning your career. It goes against everything my dad taught us. I think instant fame is very dangerous. People who rise fast usually fall even faster.

You never read about your sister in the tabloids. How has she managed to stay so squeaky clean?

She's viciously private over herself and her family life. (Laughs) And she never goes out! She lives in an area where people don't bother her.

I think the celebrities who get into trouble with the paparazzi are usually looking for trouble to begin with.

I think it's both. Some people have gone overboard and have violated people's space. There should be some respect and boundaries. But also there are some celebrities out there who are searching for and crave the attention.

If you wanted to, could you write a book about inside Hollywood that would shock the world?

Absolutely! And guess what, none of it has anything to do with Michelle! (Laughs) I've worked with a lot of people. Although I don't know the kind of dirt you would think I would know. My sister and I never talk shop. Our family is so big that catching up on what everyone is doing usually takes up all our conversation.

Do you think Tom Cruise is really in a relationship with Katie Holmes?

(Laughs) I have to be careful how I answer that! Oh boy. I think the whole thing smells a little funky.

Most would agree with you.

It just feels funky to me. It doesn't feel real or natural. Either it's a huge publicity stunt, or he's really just lost his mind and he's really in love with her. He may literally be crazy in love. Either he's been this way all along and his other publicists have kept it hidden, or he's really in a lovesick crisis. It's one or the other.

As a new mom, any comment on what Tom Cruise has to say to Brooke Shields regarding her postpartum depression?

I'm with Brooke all the way. He has no idea what it's like to be pregnant, and he has no idea what postpartum depression is like. My mother suffered from it, I've suffered from it, and hundreds of thousands of other women do daily. He has no idea what that is like. He's not an expert on anti-depressants. He's just not. I'm sorry. I think what he's said is very irresponsible. How can he judge Brooke? He has no idea what it's like to be a woman and how her chemicals can go awry. He doesn't know those feelings that aren't "right" feelings after just having a baby. I've met Brooke a few times, and I just think she is the most gentle, sweet, kind, loving being I've ever met. If she had complications, God bless her for doing whatever it took to get her shit together so she could raise her daughter in a healthy manner. Whatever it took. For Tom Cruise to judge her is out of line. When it comes to a woman's hormones, you better be really careful what comments you spew because it's out of line and not fair. For a man without a female hormone in his body to comment on what it's like to carry another person inside of you and the responsibility that goes along with it is just stupid. He doesn't know what he's talking about. It would be like me trying to talk to him about his penis. I wouldn't have a clue. I'm very serious about that. How can any religion judge another person for trying to help themselves. She could have just sat there in denial like a lot of women do. Then who do you blame? She's helped a lot of women who might not have known where to turn to for help.

So do comments like that help or hurt Tom Cruise's career?

He'll probably be more powerful than ever. Because he's being talked about even more than the Brad/Angelina Jolie romance. Tom has put himself on the map tenfold. If he couldn't get any bigger then he was ... he just did! He's playing the game and he seems to be winning. God bless you Tom, just ease up on Brooke!

Not to change the subject, but before I let you go I have to ask you this. Do you find that when you give your last name over the phone, people are prone to going out of their way to assist you? Like dinner reservations, for instance?

Yep! They do! It's funny. I'll call for a reservation and they'll say, "Oh sorry, we're booked till 11 p.m. What's your name?" So I'll say, "Dedee Pfeiffer." And I'm not joking! They'll say, "Please hold. Beep beep beep. Oh, we just had a cancellation!" I know just what they're thinking. "She said Dedee Pfeiffer. But there's always the possibility she'll bring her sister."

Does that bother you?

You know what I say? I got in!

Copyright Steppin Out magazine 20050810 -- By Chauncé Hayden, Photos by Collin Stark