Iconic '80s Actor Phoebe Cates Is Nearly Unrecognizable Decades Later
The 1980s left such a lasting mark on pop culture that it's hard to believe how many decades have since passed. We're still witnessing fashion trends based on what people found attractive in the '80s, and we're still enamored with icons of the era, like Phoebe Cates. Having risen to fame in 1982 with the role of Linda Barrett in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Cates became an instant success at just 19, and her stunning natural beauty set her apart from the crowd just as much as her acting prowess. Fast-forward to the late 2010s, and though she was still gorgeous, she was rocking a very different look.
A series of follow-up roles came after "Fast Times;" she played Christine in 1983's "Private School" and Kate Beringer in 1984's "Gremlins." By the time the '90s rolled around, Cates' career had slowed, though she did do the 1990 "Gremlins" sequel, and she later reprised her role as Kate Beringer in the 2015 video game "Lego Dimensions." But then she seemed to withdraw from the spotlight.
Vinnie Zuffante & Kevin Mazur/Getty
One of the few public appearances that Cates made after stepping back from Hollywood was at the 2017 Tony Awards. Comparing her look there and a 1986 pic that showed her with a waved bob, it's clear that Cates has maintained her beauty despite majorly switching up her style. In the late 2010s, the most drastic difference was her hair, which was no longer short. Cates went with a sophisticated updo for the Tonys, and her makeup was also more red-carpet ready than most of her laidback '80s looks. Now, she was rocking heavier eye makeup and dewy skin with more obvious blush. Slightly more manicured brows were also a sign that she was keeping up with modern trends.
Phoebe Cates withdrew from Hollywood, but she still kept her A-lister looks
In 2009, Phoebe Cates ventured out for the Academy Awards, and again, she was sporting quite a different look from what she had in the '80s. This time, her shiny black hair was parted to the side, and she had it in another elegant updo that was a long way from the more relaxed 'dos of her youth. Along with her movie star short hair cropped into a rom-com bob, Cates also once rocked an edgy shag with an eye-grazing fringe (which happens to be one of the best bang styles for round faces).
"Phoebe Cates was one of the best things of the 80's," a YouTube commenter wrote under a video of Cates' 1984 appearance on "The David Letterman Show," filmed when she was just 21 years old. Others took to Facebook to reminisce about Cates' star power in the '80s, and also to comment on how she's maintained her beauty ever since. "She's beautiful before and still beautiful," one fan wrote. In his introduction speech, Letterman told his studio audience that Cates was considered one of the most beautiful women in America at the time, so it does come as a surprise that she all but disappeared from Tinseltown.
After meeting Kevin Kline at an audition in 1982 and marrying the "Fish Called Wanda" actor in 1989, Cates largely left acting behind to raise the couple's two kids in New York City. "We have agreed to alternate so that we're never working at the same time," Kline explained to Playboy in 1998, adding that Cates chose "to stay with the children" rather than continue to pursue her stardom.