Posts Tagged ‘Hairspray’

Most parents get on their kids’ cases about getting jobs and going towork, but for Michelle Pfeiffer, it was the opposite. The Hairspraystar took a self-imposed five-year break to focus on her family -husband David E. Kelley and children Claudia Rose, 14, and John Henry,12 – and pretty soon found herself being asked to go back to work, shesaid on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Honestly, I didn’t realize how much time was going by. I was having agreat time and then my kids started saying, ‘Hey mom, you going back towork soon?’ I said, ‘Yeah, isn’t it great? I’m here, I’m around. Isn’t itnice having me around?’ They said, ‘Yeah, but we really like visitingyou at work too.’ So anyway, I think they’re kind of happy that I’mback working.

When Michelle Pfeiffer signed up to play Velma von Tussle in Hairspray, she sat her and husband David E. Kelley’s children, Claudia Rose, 14, and John Henry, 12, down to discuss the character’s bigotry in order to prepare them for what they will eventually see on-screen. Off-screen, Michelle, 49, knows all too well about racism, having dealt with it firsthand when she adopted Claudia, who is of mixed-race.

I was shocked at the prejudice, voiced in some quarters, over my decision to adopt a mixed-race baby. It’s really surprising that people still put so much emphasis on it. None of us are pure anything. We’re all a mixture. Claudia is a beautiful child, and some of the most beautiful people I’ve seen in the world have been of mixed race.

As mother of both an adopted child and my own birth-child, there is absolutely no difference in the huge amount of love I feel for both my children. I always knew I wanted to adopt a child and also have one of my own. There is no difference at all.

Scheduling is everything for Michelle Pfeiffer. The Hairspraystar, 49, can’t stand to be away from her children, Claudia Rose, 14,and John Henry, 12, for more than two weeks at a time and always tries to shapeher work itinerary around them.

When I look at doing something and have to be away from the kids,if it’s at a time when they can’t come with me, like during the schoolyear, then I need to be able to come back and forth. I need to not beaway from my kids more than a week or two – that’s my limit.

I think it’s helped us as a family to be less distracted. Wewanted more land, and we wanted animals. We were looking for adifferent kind of lifestyle.

I think if you can raise kids to embody those two qualities, then they will have a rich and successful life.

In Touch has featured another quartet of celebrities hanging out withtheir children at home. In the spotlight this time are Rules ofEngagement star Patrick Warburton, Penelope Ann Miller from theupcoming Jessica Simpson flick Blonde Ambition, Kevin Sorbo and AshleyParker Angel.

Patrick, 42, who says kids hold a family together, is photographedwith his sons, Talon, 14, Shane, 8, and Gabriel, 6, in Talon’sjungle-themed bedroom, a decorating idea from the actor’s wife, Cathy.

My wife turned our oldest son Talon’s room into a jungle – andit’s every boy’s dream. Cathy found what was really important to eachchild and focused on that when decorating their bedrooms.

The couple also has a daughter, Lexie, 12, who’s not pictured.

Click below for Penelope Ann Miller , Kevin Sorbo and AshleyParker Angel!

Click to continue reading »

Michelle Pfeiffer has notoriously kept her family out of the publiceye, but she now proudly talks to Good Housekeeping in its July issue abouther and husband David E. Kelley’s children, Claudia Rose, 14, and JohnHenry, 12, who cannot wait for their mom to receive a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame this summer. The Hairspray star, 49, talks aboutraising teens, who the "bad cop" is in the household and adoptingClaudia just as she was starting to date David.

At one point, theinterviewer recalls a "great lesson" Michelle taught her years ago whenthe actress corrected her for calling Claudia her "adopted daughter"when she is just her daughter. Michelle acknowledges that she never didit again and applauds her for that.

Here are the highlights:

On raising teens: I know, can you believe it? To tell you the truth, I feel likeit’s more difficult to be working now that they’re older, even though Ihad actually thought it would be the other way around. When they’re babies, you just sort of throwthem in the car seat and they go where you go. I mean, I literally usedto bring Claudia everywhere. In restaurants, I used to just plop herdown on the table in her car seat — she was like a centerpiece! But nowthat they’re older, they have their routines and their schedules, andtheir interests and their friends. And I don’t really want to disruptthat, because I want them to have a sense of continuity and normalcy.

How they feel about her returning to work: They’re very encouraging, because they know it makes mehappy. And also, since I haven’t been working so much, it’s not as ifthey’ve spent the past years saying to me, ‘You’re always gone.’ Andnow that they really understand more about what I do, I think they’remore curious than ever. Because frankly, in the past, they could nothave been less interested. Most people in the world have seen more ofme on-screen than my kids have.

On Claudia: Boy, there’s nothing typical about my girl. She’s a force to bereckoned with, and an amazing human being. I wanted her to be a reallyindependent, outspoken young woman, and I sure got that! She’s alsovery creative and inquisitive. And what’s exciting about this age isthat she’s really coming into her own. She’s everything I’d hoped shewould be.

On becoming a mom: Well, one thing that’s great about having kids, especially given mycareer, is that it forces you out of your narcissism. I mean, I’m in acareer where my product is me. So it was nice to have something,someone, come along and take the focus off me. I really needed to givemyself some distractions from myself.

Click below for more!

Click to continue reading »