Michelle Pfeiffer Returned To Hollywood After Disappearing For Years. Here's Why

Michelle Pfeiffer has been a well-known and prolific actress for 40 years, but she disappeared from acting for five years in 2013, much to the disappointment of her fans. In the latest issue of Town & Country, the Oscar-nominated actress and producer revealed she took a career hiatus to focus on her family after filming The Family with Robert De Niro. Pfeiffer has been married to writer and producer David E. Kelley, whose work includes Big Little Lies, since 1993. The couple have two children, Claudia and John Henry. 

"Before the kids were born, my work was my life — and it was in a good way," she told the magazine. "When they got into school it became even more complicated." She pointed out it was challenging for filmmakers to hire her because she could only take roles in the summer when her children were on vacation. "It was easier to get somebody else to do the part," she explained.

Before she knew it, she hadn't taken a role in five years and her kids were preparing to leave the nest. "I realized my daughter was looking at colleges, and I saw the writing on the wall," she said. "I thought, 'This is going to hit me really hard. It's time for me to get back into moviemaking.'"

Michelle Pfeiffer's latest role is as a 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite in French Exit, according to Deadline. She portrays Frances Price, who chooses to move to Paris with her adult son and their cat after losing their fortune. She is nominated for the role in the upcoming Golden Globes category for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress. She previously won a Golden Globe 30 years ago for her role in The Fabulous Baker Boys (via Golden Derby).

Pfeiffer is currently in Georgia filming her next role as Betty Ford in the Showtime series The First Lady, which will also star Aaron Eckhart as Gerald Ford and Viola Davis as Michelle Obama. The anthology series will show American leadership from the point of view of women in the White House.

It has also been announced that Pfeiffer will star as one of the leads in Turn of Mind, an upcoming movie in which "a retired surgeon suffering from Alzheimer's becomes a suspect in her friend's murder," according to IMDb.