How Michelle Pfeiffer's Absence From Hollywood Was Totally Misconstrued

Michelle Pfeiffer may seemingly disappear from the entertainment industry from time to time, which is why director Darren Aronofsky asked about her apparent return to acting while the two chatted for Interview in May 2017. In response, Pfeiffer — who shares two children, daughter Claudia and son John Henry, with her husband, David E. Kelley — explained, "Well, the first thing that comes to mind is I'm an empty nester now."

"I've never lost my love for acting," Pfeiffer noted while explaining that although she's happy when she's working on a project, she would only take on certain gigs which wouldn't require her to be away from her family for too long. She continued, "I got so picky that I was unhirable. And then ... I don't know, time just went on."

As for Pfeiffer's return to Hollywood, her kids have definitely been behind her in the past. The star told Good Housekeeping back in 2007, "They're very encouraging, because they know it makes me happy. And also, since I haven't been working so much, it's not as if they've spent the past years saying to me, 'You're always gone.'" While Pfeiffer clearly had her reasons for taking a break or two over the years, she recently clarified that some people thought her absence meant something very different.

There's no doubt that Michelle Pfeiffer is a successful star. The actor has appeared in plenty of popular movies over the years, such as 1983's "Scarface," 1992's "Batman Returns," and 2001's "I Am Sam," just to name a few. With those kind of credits on her résumé, it's easy to understand why she's so famous. At the same time, being a celebrity isn't something that she's comfortable with. In 2019, she wrote for InStyle (via the Daily Mail), "Stardom looks right on some people, but it wouldn't on me ... Innately, I still feel that way. Honestly, I'm not sure it's something that anybody ever settles into, because it's not normal."

That fame is also partly why she stepped back from Hollywood for a time. In a new interview in late April, she explained to The Hollywood Reporter that it was difficult to deal with what comes along with celebrity when her children were young, recalling, "There were cameras right in their little faces, and it traumatized them."

So, Pfeiffer spent more time with her family and less time in front of any kind of camera. However, after a span, she said, "I would start to hear that I had retired, and I'd be like, 'Wait, no.'" Her fans are surely glad to hear that she had no intention of leaving her career behind permanently. At least, not yet and hopefully not for a long time.