Here was an actress that was both beautiful, intelligent and edgy. At least in her roles she was. I didn’t realize, that she was married to David E Kelley, who would one day make it huge as a writer for the Ally McBeal show, and a few others such as Boston Public and Chicago Hope. At the time, I knew Michelle mostly for her role as Al Pachino’s coked out trophy wife in the classic movie Scarface. That movie was a career maker for both of them I might add.

But, she was so brilliant in that role, at the time it was hard to consider her in anything else. Although Michelle has had a very eclectic career starring as a smoky lounge singer in The Fabulous Baker Boys and stretching even further to fit into catwomans skin tight leather suit in one of the Batman movies. That was a real Jekyll and Hyde role for here, where she played basically two very different characters in one movie.

She also seemed to be one of the few actresses of her time, who managed to make it big, get critical acclaim, and be taken seriously without self destructing. She didn’t seem to get caught up in any serious alcohol and drug addictions. Rarely if ever made it to the cover of those trashy Hollywood tabloids. Plus, managed to stay married to the same guy for decades. Wow, how often does that ever happen anymore. Far too many actors seem to need to get caught naked doing something incredibly stupid before their career takes off.

Nope, not for Michelle. She seems to be one of those actresses who managed to get by on her talents and hard work. Being beautiful and smart helps a lot in the business of Hollywood. I think the one thing that separated her from the rest of the crash and burn celebrities that we see today, is that she understood the difference between being an actress, and being a celebrity.