Phoebe Cates starred in several popular films in the 1980s, including Gremlins and Go to Hell, Fred , but she is best known for her unforgettable topless scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). After leaving Hollywood over two decades ago, Cates now enjoys a fulfilling 9-to-5 job.
Phoebe Belle Cates was born on July 16, 1963, in New York City. She attended private schools as a child and took ballet lessons at the Juilliard School. Acting runs in her family; her father, Joe Cates, was a producer and director, and her uncle was president of the directors’ union. Both her brother and sister were involved in the arts.
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Phoebe initially devoted herself to dancing, but had to give this up due to a knee injury. At 14, she began modeling and graced the cover of Seventeen magazine several times. However, modeling did not fulfill her and she tried acting instead.
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“I did it for the money”, she said, looking back on her modeling career. Phoebe eventually met her film agent at a party at Studio 54 and trained with Robert Ravan, the founder of The Actors’ Circle. “I just knew I didn’t want to go to college. Making a few films seemed like a good way to escape that”, she said in an interview in 1985.
Cates made her acting debut in 1982 in Paradise and quickly gained recognition with her role in The Woods , which became a cultural phenomenon particularly because of its iconic pool scene.
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The film featured a talented cast, including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Forest Whitaker. Leigh recalled: “We were so young when we made it and then it became a huge hit. It was surreal to hear the audience quote those lines”. In 1982, Phoebe candidly stated: “If a girl wants to get ahead in this business, she has to be willing to take her clothes off”.
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Following her success, Cates starred in “American College” (1983) and “Gremlins” (1984). While auditioning for “The Big Chill”, she met actor Kevin Kline. A few years later, the two began dating and eventually married in 1989.
The couple had their son Owen in 1991 and their daughter Greta in 1994. As they celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary in 2017, Kline commented on their strong marriage, saying: “We take care of the marriage”.
Despite her thriving career, Cates decided to retire from acting after starting a family because she wanted to make sure one parent would always be there for the children. In a 1998 Playboy interview, she explained that they agreed to alternate acting jobs.
In 2005, Cates opened Blue Tree, a boutique near Carnegie Hall that sells a variety of items, including clothing and gifts. Today, she actively works out of her shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And yes, Phoebe Cates is still in great shape!