Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates at 81st Annual Academy Awards on February 22, 2009
Born	Phoebe Belle Cates (1963-07-16) July 16, 1963 (age 53) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Model, actress, entrepreneur
Years active	1982–1994, 2001 (acting)
Spouse(s)	Kevin Kline (m. 1989)
Children	2: including Greta Simone Kline

Phoebe Cates Kline (born Phoebe Belle Cates; July 16, 1963), better known as Phoebe Cates, is an American retired film actress, model and singer. She is known for her roles in several 1980s films, most notably Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins.

Cates was born in New York City, to a family of television and Broadway production insiders. She is the daughter of Lily and Joseph Cates (originally "Joseph Katz"), who was a major Broadway producer and a pioneering figure in television, and who helped create The $64,000 Question. Her late uncle, Gilbert Cates, produced numerous television specials, often in partnership with Cates's father, as well as several annual Academy Awards shows. Her father and maternal grandmother were Russian Jews, and her maternal grandfather was Chinese-Filipino. Cates' mother was born in Shanghai, China.

Cates attended the Hewitt School, the Professional Children's School and the Juilliard School. When she was ten, she wanted to become a dancer. She eventually got a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, but after suffering a serious knee injury at age 15, she gave up her dancing career. She next began a career as a professional model, which was short-lived, although successful. Cates, however, did not like the industry: "It was just the same thing, over and over. After a while I did it solely for the money."

After ending her modeling career, Cates decided to begin acting. Although her father was an actor as well, he was not enthusiastic about his daughter's new acting career. Cates's acting debut was at age 18 in Paradise, in which she played Sarah and did several full nude scenes in the movie, which had a plot similar to The Blue Lagoon. She also sang the film's main theme song, and recorded an album of the same name. In a 1982 interview, she recalled having trouble with the change of career, because as a model, she had to be conscious of the camera, whereas in front of the movie camera, she could not. Cates later regretted being in the movie and said, "What I learned was never to do a movie like that again." According to her co-star Willie Aames, "She will have nothing to do with the film. She's really upset about it. She won't do any promotion with me."