Phoebe Cates has appeared in numerous films, including Monster and Drop Dead Fred, but most people remember her for her iconic topless scene in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
However, the former actress turned her back on Hollywood more than two decades ago and now lives a completely different life, working a 9-to-5 job that she truly enjoys.
Phoebe Belle Cates was born on July 16, 1963, in New York City. She attended public schools and then studied ballet at Juilliard.
Her attraction to the arts was no accident: her father, Joe Cates, was a producer and director, and her uncle was president of the Directors Guild.
If you remember her, chances are you had a bit of a crush on her. But why did Phoebe disappear from the spotlight? She wasn’t the only one in her family involved in the theater world: her sister Valerie also worked in the theater, and her brother was also an actor. Phoebe started dancing at a young age, but a knee injury put an end to that dream.
At the age of 14, she started modeling and appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine four times. Still, she felt that this wasn’t fulfilling, and she sought new paths. “It was always the same. At one point, I was just doing it for the money,” she said of her short modeling career.
She met a film agent at a Studio 54 party and then studied acting with Robert Ravanne. She made her debut in the 1982 film Paradise and has since become a student of Alice Spivack at H.B. Studios. This was followed by The Experiment and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which featured the scene that Rolling Stone described as “the most memorable bikini scene in film history.”
That same year, Phoebe said, “To be successful, a woman has to be willing to take her clothes off. If you look good, why not show it off?”
She later starred in Private School (1983) and appeared in Steven Spielberg’s The Goonies (1984). At the audition for The Big Chill, she met Kevin Kline, the renowned actor, with whom she began a romantic relationship two years later.
Kline first hired Phoebe’s assistant, then asked for the maid’s help to get closer to her.
The couple married in 1989 and had a son, Owen Joseph, in 1991. When they announced in 2017 that they had been married for 27 years, many people wondered: what is their secret? Kline’s answer was simple: “We take care of our marriage.”
After the birth of their children, Phoebe decided to retire from acting and focus on her family. In a 1998 interview, she revealed that she and Kevin had agreed to take turns with their careers so that one parent would always be home with the children. Phoebe’s choice was clear: she stayed home.
In 2005, a new chapter began in her life when she opened her boutique, Blue Tree, near Carnegie Hall, where she sells clothing, gifts, and perfumes. The store is located at 1283 Madison Avenue—the same address where Phoebe still lives today. And anyone who meets her agrees: she still looks fantastic!
