Biography for
Melanie Griffith More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

9 August 1957, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Melanie Richards Griffith

Height

5' 9¼" (1.76 m)

Mini Biography

Melanie Griffith was born on August 9, 1957, in New York City to model Tippi Hedren and advertising executive Peter Griffith. Her parents' marriage ended in 1961 and Tippi came to Los Angeles to get a new start. Tippi caught the eye of the great director Alfred Hitchcock, who gave her starring roles in The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964). Tippi married her then-agent Noel Marshall in 1964, and Melanie grew up with three stepbrothers (they divorced in 1982). Meanwhile, her father married Nanita Greene Samuels, with whom he had two children: Melanie's half-siblings Tracy Griffith and Clay A. Griffith.

Melanie also grew up with tigers and lions, as Tippi and Noel were raising them for the movie Roar (1981), in which the family later starred. Her career began as a model at just nine months old and she later appeared as an extra in Smith! (1969) and The Harrad Experiment (1973), where she fell in love with her mother's co-star, Don Johnson. She was only fourteen years old, while he was a twice-divorced 22-year-old. Tippi took a very liberal approach and allowed Melanie to move in with Don at a tender age. She skipped a grade and graduated from Hollywood Professional School when she was just sixteen. Even though Melanie didn't like modeling, she continued to do so to pay the bills. One day, she went to meet with director Arthur Penn for what she thought was a modeling assignment. It was actually an audition for his film Night Moves (1975), and Penn cast her as a runaway nymphet. She was terrified performing in front of the camera, but Penn took a paternal interest in her, and she, in turn, gave a riveting performance. Her racy nude scenes in the film immediately typecast in more nymphet roles, with her beautiful nude body a permanent fixture in these films. She married Johnson in 1976 when she was 18, but the union only lasted a few months, when her early movie success outshone his. She became addicted to drugs and alcohol, a fact known to film executives who refused to cast her in anymore films. She turned to acting in television, which is where she met her second husband, actor Steven Bauer on the set of the TV movie She's in the Army Now (1981) (TV). He helped her to overcome her addictions and got her to take acting classes with Stella Adler in New York. The classes paid off, as director Brian De Palma cast her as a porno actress in his murder mystery Body Double (1984). Her sexy, funny performance won her rave reviews and a Best Supporting Actress Award by the National Society of Film Critics. Jonathan Demme was so impressed with her performance that he cast her in Something Wild (1986) without even auditioning her. Melanie again got critical plaudits. The birth of her first child, Alexander, in 1985, didn't help to save her struggling marriage, and she and Bauer divorced in 1987. Melanie's career skyrocketed when Mike Nichols cast her in Working Girl (1988), a box office hit for which she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress and won the Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Comedy. However, her ongoing substance abuse problems had almost gotten her fired from the film, and Nichols pushed her into a rehabilitation clinic. En route to the clinic, she called Don Johnson for support, and they reconciled after her release from the clinic. She got pregnant in 1989 with their daughter Dakota Johnson, and they remarried that year.

Now sober, Melanie concentrated on her film career, but the two-year absence after "Working Girl" took a toll, especially since three younger actresses had breakout films: Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (1990), and 'Demi Moore' in Ghost (1990). She tried to compete with them, but the films she chose flopped badly, such as her re-teaming with director 'Brian De Palma' in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Even though she gave heartfelt performances in all her films, she was often miscast, with her breathy little-girl voice not helping matters in her starring roles as a spy in Shining Through (1992) and as a homicide detective going undercover in the Hassidic Jewish community in New York City in A Stranger Among Us (1992). She made a minor comeback as a desperate housewife in the Oscar-nominated Nobody's Fool (1994), which she followed with another decent hit Now and Then (1995). But her personal life was making headlines again when she left Johnson because of his own substance-abuse problems, reconciled with him when he became sober, only to leave him again, this time for Antonio Banderas, her married co-star from Two Much (1995). Both she and Banderas created a scandal in 1995 with their torrid romance, and the tabloids followed their every move, including her divorce from Johnson and his divorce from wife Ana Leza. Melanie became pregnant with her third child, and she and Banderas married in 1996. Their daughter Stella Banderas was born later that year, and the notorious couple were forgiven by the public and the media.

Once again, Melanie resurrected her career by getting strong reviews for her performance as a heroin addict on the run in the crime drama Another Day in Paradise (1998). She also acted in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998) with Leonardo DiCaprio, then the made-for-cable movie RKO 281 (1999) (TV), in which she played actress Marion Davies, a part that garnered her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Greenmoon Productions, the production company that she formed with Banderas, produced several flops, such as her starring vehicle Crazy in Alabama (1999) (directed by Banderas). She became dependent to pain killers and returned to rehab in 2000. She experienced a great loss in 2001, when her father died at age 67.

After starring in the little-seen independent films Cecil B. DeMented (2000), Along for the Ride (2000), and Tempo (2003), Melanie turned to the Broadway stage in 2003 and emerged with a rave review from the New York Times theater critic, and also packed houses for her turn as the murderess "Roxie" in the musical "Chicago". It renewed her confidence, as she had never sang, danced or been on the Broadway stage before. In 2005, she surprised viewers by playing a sexy mom to the title characters on the TV series "Twins" (2005). However, the series was canceled after one season. Her career took another blow when her next attempt at a TV series, "Viva Laughlin" (2007) with Hugh Jackman, was canceled after two episodes. Melanie would not act again for the remainder of the decade. In 2009, she was back in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. She stayed for three months, and was treated for skin cancer in December that year.

Melanie has had many obstacles in her life, but she has overcome them thanks to the support of her husband Antonio Banderas, her three children, and mother Tippi Hedren. Banderas and Griffith are involved in many charities, including raising funds for Tippi's Shambala preserve, a refuge for wild animals.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ramstep

Spouse

Antonio Banderas	(14 May 1996 - present) 1 child
Don Johnson	(26 June 1989 - February 1996) (divorced) 1 child
Steven Bauer	(8 September 1981 - 1987) (divorced) 1 child
Don Johnson	(8 January 1976 - July 1976) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Little girl voice

Platinum blonde hair

Voluptuous figure

Sparkling blue eyes

Trivia

Her mother, Tippi Hedren, recently stated that the miniature doll of Hedren given to Melanie by Alfred Hitchcock was not intended to be a prank by the director. He merely wanted to give Melanie a beautiful doll with her mother's image, but it happened that the doll was in a wooden box. When Melanie received the gift, she freaked out and became upset thinking that it was indeed meant to be her mother in a coffin.

Born at 11:49pm-EDT

Has 3 children, each by a different father: Alexander Bauer (b. 22 August 1985) with Steven Bauer, Dakota Johnson (b. 4 October 1989) with Don Johnson and Stella Banderas (b. 24 September 1996) with Antonio Banderas.

Older half-sister of Tracy Griffith and Clay A. Griffith.

Daughter of Peter Griffith and Tippi Hedren.

14 November 2000 - checked into a Marina Del Rey, California hospital to help her scale back on the use of painkillers she had been prescribed for a neck injury.

In 1980, she went to a movie and dinner with Ricci Martin (son of Dean Martin). Upon leaving La Dome, a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, a car ran through the crosswalk and hit Melanie. The front of the car struck her hip in mid-stride, whiplashing her head back into the windshield. As the car screeched to a stop, Melanie catapulted more than a dozen feet forward to the curbside, hitting with great force. Melanie was rushed to a hospital. To this day, Melanie still experiences pain from that accident.

Real-life daughters Dakota Johnson and Stella Banderas appear as her character's daughters in the 1999 film Crazy in Alabama (1999) directed by her husband Antonio Banderas.

Claims that it was love at first sight when she met her husband Antonio Banderas on the set of Two Much (1995) in 1995.

She was unable to star in The Sheltering Sky (1990) and As Good as It Gets (1997) because of pregnancies.

She has three homes: Los Angeles, Aspen and Marbella, Spain.

Coincidentally, she bears the same first name as her mother Tippi Hedren's character, Melanie Daniels, in The Birds (1963).

Was eighteen when she married Don Johnson for the first time. He was eight years older than she, and they met on the set of her mother's film The Harrad Experiment (1973) when she was 14.

In 2002, she told Larry King that her best films are: Night Moves (1975), Something Wild (1986), Working Girl (1988) and Nobody's Fool (1994).

She turned down femme-fatale roles in hit films that went to Anjelica Huston in The Grifters (1990), 'Geena Davis' in _Thelma and Louise (1991)_, and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992), because they were dark and edgy, and instead accepted the femme fatale role in the comedy misfire The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990).

Her son, Alexander Bauer, is the godson of Warren Beatty.

Her father is English and her mother is half Swedish, 1/4 German and 1/4 Norwegian.

Goes through two boyfriends in Working Girl (1988). As the film begins, she is in a relationship with Alec Baldwin, but at the end, she is in a relationship with Harrison Ford. Both Baldwin and Ford have played Jack Ryan in adaptations of the Tom Clancy novels.

First "Miss Golden Globe" to win a Golden Globe herself

Joanne Woodward told a 17-year-old Melanie on the set of The Drowning Pool (1975) that her goals were to marry a movie star (Paul Newman); have beautiful babies (she had three); and win an Oscar (which she did in 1958). Melanie said that she adopted the goals for herself by marrying a movie star (Antonio Banderas); have beautiful babies (she also had 3); but has expressed frustration that she hasn't won an Oscar even though she was nominated in 1989.

She and her daughter Dakota Johnson are the only mother-daughter- couple to be "Miss Golden Globe"

While in Washington, D.C. addressing the senate on Arts funding, she fell asleep twice during a speech by her host Michigan Senator Spencer Abraham. She apologized citing jet-lag as her reason for snoozing.

Her French dubbing voice Dorothée Jemma is also the French dubbing voice of Sheryl Lee and Jennifer Aniston.

Melanie said that fans sometimes confuse her with actress Meg Ryan, whom she admires. She would sign Meg Ryan's name so as not to disappoint the fans. Ryan said the same thing happened to her where fans thought she was Melanie.

Checked into the Cirque Lodge in Utah for rehab treatments [August 24, 2009]. Same place where Kirsten Dunst and Lindsay Lohan spent time in recent years.

Ex-stepdaughter of Nanita Greene Samuels, Noel Marshall, and Luis Barrenechea.

Stepdaughter of Martin Dinnes and Debra Griffith.

Underwent surgery for the early stages of skin cancer in December 2009.

Her mother was 22 while her father was only 18 when they married in 1952.

Daughter-in-law of Ana Banderas and Jose Banderas.

Sister-in-law of Francisco Banderas.

Has been a heavy smoker since her teens.

Friends with Demi Moore since Now and Then (1995).

Friends with actresses Daryl Hannah, Brooke Shields, Salma Hayek, and Sharon Stone.

Personal Quotes

[about her work with James Woods] It's kind of like being pregnant. You know, you go through the initial joy of it. Then you go through wanting it to be over. And then you're finished with it and you forget how bad it was.

There's a bit of a stripper in every woman.

I don't walk around with fear. I walk around with strength. I believe in cause and effect.

I don't think I'm beautiful. When I look in the mirror, I just see me - and, I'm pretty used to me.

Antonio [husband Antonio Banderas] is the best. He is compassionate and humble.

Angelina Jolie may get him [husband Antonio Banderas] in bed for eight hours on a movie set, but I get him in bed every day.

[on being typed as a sex symbol] I hope not! I don't want to be -- I've done enough parts like that. I can't say I won't do more, but I really want to do a variety of roles.

I would just like to be able to give to people through acting. If I can entertain people by being somebody else and allow somebody to feel something, then that makes me feel good.

I like smoking! I mean, God, I quit everything else, can't I smoke?

Salary

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)	$1,000,000
Milk Money (1994)	$2,000,000

Where Are They Now

Will make her Broadway debut this summer (2003) playing the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago at The Ambassador theatre in New York City.

(December 2009) Underwent surgery for skin cancer.

(May 2012) Melanie will return to the theater in the World Premiere of Scott Caan's play 'No Way Around But Through', playing at the Falcon Theatre in Los Angeles, California from June 1st - July 8th, 2012.