Phoebe Cates

About Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Belle Cates Kline is an American former actress, known primarily for her roles in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Gremlins (1984), Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Princess Caraboo (1994).

As a teen model, Cates appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine four times, first in the April 1979 issue. She appeared within the magazine as well, on the editorial pages in 1979 and 1980.

Dissatisfied with modeling, Cates decided to pursue acting. She was offered her first part in the movie Paradise (1982) after a screen test in New York. She was uncertain about the nudity the role required, but her father encouraged her to take the job. Later that year, Cates starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), featuring what Rolling Stone has described as "the most memorable bikini-drop in cinema history".

Cates was in the comedy Private School (1983), co-starring Matthew Modine and Betsy Russell, and where she sang on two songs of the film's soundtrack: "Just One Touch" and "How Do I Let You Know".

In 1984, Cates starred in the TV mini-series Lace, based on a novel by Shirley Conran. She played the role of Lili "to get away from a sameness in her movie portrayals". Later that year, Cates co-starred in the box office hit Gremlins for executive producer Steven Spielberg, the highest-grossing film of her career. She reprised her role of Kate Beringer in the sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. She also made her stage debut in June of 1984, in the Off-Broadway play The Nest of the Wood Grouse, a comedy by Soviet writer Viktor Rozov, at the Joseph Papp Public Theater.

Cates continued to appear steadily in films through the early 1990s, usually in supporting roles or in ensemble casts. These include Date with an Angel (1987), Bright Lights, Big City (1988), Heart of Dixie (1989), Shag (1989), Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993) (the latter three also featuring Bridget Fonda).

Cates stepped away from acting in 2001. In 2015, she provided the voice of her Gremlins character Kate Beringer for the video game Lego Dimensions.

Cates is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Chinese, and Filipina descent. She is married to actor Kevin Kline, who she's been married to since 1989.