Michelle Phillips
Encyclopedia
Michelle Phillips is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas
, and is the last surviving original member of the group.
, the daughter of Joyce Leon (née
Poole), an accountant, and Gardner Burnett Gilliam, a merchant marine. She grew up partly in Mexico City
, where her father was attending college on the GI Bill. She met John Phillips
while he was touring California with his band the Journeymen. He divorced his then-wife and married Michelle on December 31, 1962, when she was 18. In 1968, she gave birth to their daughter, Chynna Phillips
, vocalist of the 1990s pop trio Wilson Phillips
. The couple divorced in 1970.
" and "California Dreamin'
". The band broke up in 1968. During 1970, Phillips sang backup vocals on a Leonard Cohen
tour. That year, Phillips married actor Dennis Hopper
. The marriage lasted eight days.
In 1973, Phillips recorded vocals as a cheerleader along with Darlene Love
, for the Cheech & Chong single "Basketball Jones" which peaked at No.15 on the Billboard singles chart. In 1975 Phillips signed a solo recording contract with A&M Records
and released a promo single, "Aloha Louie", that she wrote with ex-husband John Phillips. Phillips released her first solo single in 1976, "No Love Today", on the Mother, Jugs & Speed
movie soundtrack. On August 24, 1976, Phillips sang "No Love Today" on The Mike Douglas Show. In 1977, Phillips released her debut solo album, Victim of Romance
, produced by Jack Nitzsche
for A&M Records
. Her first two solo singles from the album failed to make the U.S. music charts. That year she sang backup vocals with former stepdaughter actress Mackenzie Phillips
on "Zulu Warrior", for her ex-husband's second solo album, Pay Pack & Follow, which was released in 2001. "Zulu Warrior" is in the September 2008 release, Pussycat, which has the 1977 mix of the song.
In 1979, she recorded the song "Forever" for the movie soundtrack of California Dreaming
, a surf film that had nothing to do with her old band. In late 1987, Phillips sang backup vocals on Belinda Carlisle
's number one hit, "Heaven Is a Place on Earth
", as well as on the Carlisle LP, Heaven on Earth.
On January 12, 1998, Phillips was inducted in New York City
to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
, with her bandmates. For the first time in over two decades Michelle performed California Dreamin live with Denny Doherty
and John Phillips. She was later inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
in 2000 (for The Mamas & the Papas) where she performed live with Denny Doherty, without John, who died in March 2001.
On March 29, 2001, Phillips was among the performers at The Roxy Theatre
in Hollywood, California, for a John Phillips memorial tribute. Michelle performed live with Scott McKenzie
and Denny Doherty
on two numbers. Non-performers who also attended included Lou Adler
, The Mamas & the Papas' original record producer, among the three hundred other invited guests.
as John Dillinger
's girlfriend, Billie Frechette. In 1974 she was featured in The California Kid
with Martin Sheen
. In 1977, she played Rudolph Valentino
's second wife Natacha Rambova
in Ken Russell
's film Valentino. Phillips also played the mermaid
princess Nyah in three episodes of Fantasy Island
.
She has made guest appearances on programs such as Spin City
and Star Trek: The Next Generation
(where she appeared in the episode "We'll Always Have Paris" as a former love-interest of Captain Picard). She had a guest role on the television series The Magnificent Seven, where she played Maude Standish, the mother of one of the Seven. Phillips' most recent serious acting job has been a recurring role on the WB
drama 7th Heaven
as Lily Jackson, sister of family matriarch Annie Jackson Camden (Catherine Hicks
). She played Laura Collins in the 1996 television movie No One Would Tell
.
Phillips starred for several seasons on Knots Landing
as Anne W. Matheson Sumner, playing the mother of future Desperate Housewives
star Nicollette Sheridan
(a role which Phillips returned to for the 1997 TV movie Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac
). In the mid-1990s she played Abby Malone, mother of Valerie (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210
.
She appeared at the TV Land
awards in April 2009 for the 30th year celebration of Knots Landing.
In 1986, she wrote an autobiography, California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas, released just weeks after her former husband John Phillips' autobiography Papa John. In it Phillips describes such events as the first meeting between her and fellow Mama, Cass Elliot
, winning 17 straight shoots at a crap table in the Bahamas when the band was broke and could not afford plane fare back to the United States, and how her writing credit on "California Dreamin'
", which still nets her royalties, was "the best wake-up call" she ever had (she was asleep in a New York Hotel room when her then husband John Phillips woke her up to help him finish a new song he was writing).
She is mother of singer Chynna Phillips
, Austin Hines, and Aron Wilson.
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
, and is the last surviving original member of the group.
Early life
Phillips was born Holly Michelle Gilliam in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, the daughter of Joyce Leon (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Poole), an accountant, and Gardner Burnett Gilliam, a merchant marine. She grew up partly in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where her father was attending college on the GI Bill. She met John Phillips
John Phillips (musician)
John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
while he was touring California with his band the Journeymen. He divorced his then-wife and married Michelle on December 31, 1962, when she was 18. In 1968, she gave birth to their daughter, Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips is an American singer and actress, known for being a member of Wilson Phillips. She is also known for being the daughter of The Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and the half-sister of Mackenzie Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Phillips , Tamerlane...
, vocalist of the 1990s pop trio Wilson Phillips
Wilson Phillips
-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Other charted songs:-Awards and nominations:...
. The couple divorced in 1970.
Musical career
While a member of The Mamas & the Papas, Phillips co-wrote some of the band's hits, including "Creeque AlleyCreeque Alley
"Creeque Alley" is an autobiographical hit single written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas in 1967, narrating the story about how the group was formed. The title of the song is derived from the place Creque or Crequi Alley, home to a club in the Virgin Islands where...
" and "California Dreamin'
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
". The band broke up in 1968. During 1970, Phillips sang backup vocals on a Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
tour. That year, Phillips married actor Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
. The marriage lasted eight days.
In 1973, Phillips recorded vocals as a cheerleader along with Darlene Love
Darlene Love
Darlene Love is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a #1 American single in 1962, and was part of the Phil Spector stable that produced a celebrated Christmas album in 1963....
, for the Cheech & Chong single "Basketball Jones" which peaked at No.15 on the Billboard singles chart. In 1975 Phillips signed a solo recording contract with A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
and released a promo single, "Aloha Louie", that she wrote with ex-husband John Phillips. Phillips released her first solo single in 1976, "No Love Today", on the Mother, Jugs & Speed
Mother, Jugs & Speed
Mother, Jugs & Speed is a 1976 black comedy film directed by Peter Yates. It stars Bill Cosby , Raquel Welch , Harvey Keitel , and Larry Hagman as employees of an independent ambulance service trying to survive in Los Angeles.-Plot:...
movie soundtrack. On August 24, 1976, Phillips sang "No Love Today" on The Mike Douglas Show. In 1977, Phillips released her debut solo album, Victim of Romance
Victim of Romance
Victim of Romance is singer and songwriter Michelle Phillips' first and only solo album, and was released in February 1977 . The record was unsuccessful and Phillips then favored her acting career....
, produced by Jack Nitzsche
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
for A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. Her first two solo singles from the album failed to make the U.S. music charts. That year she sang backup vocals with former stepdaughter actress Mackenzie Phillips
Mackenzie Phillips
Mackenzie Phillips is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in American Graffiti and as rebellious teenager Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time...
on "Zulu Warrior", for her ex-husband's second solo album, Pay Pack & Follow, which was released in 2001. "Zulu Warrior" is in the September 2008 release, Pussycat, which has the 1977 mix of the song.
In 1979, she recorded the song "Forever" for the movie soundtrack of California Dreaming
California Dreaming (1979 film)
California Dreaming is a 1979 film starring Glynnis O'Connor, Dennis Christopher and Tanya Roberts.-Plot:A young man named T.T. moves from Chicago to California for the summer. He quickly becomes adapted to the new pace of life, learning several lessons along the way....
, a surf film that had nothing to do with her old band. In late 1987, Phillips sang backup vocals on Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
's number one hit, "Heaven Is a Place on Earth
Heaven is a Place on Earth
"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" is the title of a song recorded by Belinda Carlisle, the lead singer of The Go-Go's. Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, and interpolating the aria "Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh'" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio, it hit number one on the...
", as well as on the Carlisle LP, Heaven on Earth.
On January 12, 1998, Phillips was inducted in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
, with her bandmates. For the first time in over two decades Michelle performed California Dreamin live with Denny Doherty
Denny Doherty
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was most widely known as a founding member of the 1960s musical group The Mamas & the Papas.-Early career:...
and John Phillips. She was later inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum....
in 2000 (for The Mamas & the Papas) where she performed live with Denny Doherty, without John, who died in March 2001.
On March 29, 2001, Phillips was among the performers at The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is a famous nightclub, on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. The Roxy is owned by Lou Adler and Adler's son, Nic, who operates the club.- History :...
in Hollywood, California, for a John Phillips memorial tribute. Michelle performed live with Scott McKenzie
Scott McKenzie
Scott McKenzie is an American singer. He is best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, "San Francisco ".-Life and career:...
and Denny Doherty
Denny Doherty
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was most widely known as a founding member of the 1960s musical group The Mamas & the Papas.-Early career:...
on two numbers. Non-performers who also attended included Lou Adler
Lou Adler
Lou Adler is an American record producer, manager, and director.-Life and career:Adler was born in Chicago, Illinois in December 1933, and raised in East Los Angeles. In 1964, Adler founded and co-owned Dunhill Records. He was President of the label as well as the chief record producer from 1964...
, The Mamas & the Papas' original record producer, among the three hundred other invited guests.
Acting career
Phillips began acting in the 1970s and continues to act in movies and in television. She was introduced in 1973's DillingerDillinger (1973 film)
Dillinger is a 1973 gangster film about the life and criminal exploits of notorious bank robber John Dillinger.It stars Warren Oates as Dillinger and Ben Johnson as his pursuer, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis. The film, narrated by Purvis, chronicles the last few years of Dillinger's life as the FBI and...
as John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
's girlfriend, Billie Frechette. In 1974 she was featured in The California Kid
The California Kid
The California Kid is a 1974 TV Movie starring Martin Sheen, Vic Morrow, Nick Nolte, Michelle Phillips, Gary Morgan, and Janit Baldwin.-Plot:...
with Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
. In 1977, she played Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
's second wife Natacha Rambova
Natacha Rambova
Natacha Rambova was an American silent film costume and set designer, artistic director, screenwriter, producer and occasional actress. Later in life she worked as a mildly successful fashion designer and Egyptologist....
in Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's film Valentino. Phillips also played the mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
princess Nyah in three episodes of Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
.
She has made guest appearances on programs such as Spin City
Spin City
Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
and Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
(where she appeared in the episode "We'll Always Have Paris" as a former love-interest of Captain Picard). She had a guest role on the television series The Magnificent Seven, where she played Maude Standish, the mother of one of the Seven. Phillips' most recent serious acting job has been a recurring role on the WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
drama 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
as Lily Jackson, sister of family matriarch Annie Jackson Camden (Catherine Hicks
Catherine Hicks
Catherine Mary Hicks is an American stage, film, television actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Annie Camden on the long-running television series 7th Heaven and as Karen Barclay in Child's Play.-Personal life:...
). She played Laura Collins in the 1996 television movie No One Would Tell
No One Would Tell
No One Would Tell is a 1996 television film directed by Noel Nosseck from an original script by Steven Loring. The film is based on the true story of Jamie Fuller, a 16-year-old high school student who murdered his 14-year-old girlfriend Amy Carnevale on August 23, 1991...
.
Phillips starred for several seasons on Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
as Anne W. Matheson Sumner, playing the mother of future Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
star Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
(a role which Phillips returned to for the 1997 TV movie Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac
Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac
Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac was a miniseries that served as a reunion show for the primetime soap opera Knots Landing. It aired in two two-hour parts on May 7 and May 9, 1997....
). In the mid-1990s she played Abby Malone, mother of Valerie (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
.
She appeared at the TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
awards in April 2009 for the 30th year celebration of Knots Landing.
Personal life
She has been married to- Steven Zax (2000–present)
- Grainger HinesGrainger HinesGrainger Hines, born in Greenwood, South Carolina, is an American actor, writer, producer, and director. He starred in numerous television shows. "True Blood", Boston Legal, Nip/Tuck, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Las Vegas, Saving Grace, Ghost Whisperer, In the Heat of the Night, Airwolf, Star Trek: The...
(divorced) 2 children - Robert Burch (21 May 1978 - 1980) (divorced)
- Dennis HopperDennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
(31 October 1970 - 8 November 1970) (divorced after 8 days) - John PhillipsJohn Phillips (musician)John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
(31 December 1962 - 1970) (divorced) 1 child
In 1986, she wrote an autobiography, California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas, released just weeks after her former husband John Phillips' autobiography Papa John. In it Phillips describes such events as the first meeting between her and fellow Mama, Cass Elliot
Cass Elliot
Cass Elliot , born Ellen Naomi Cohen and also known as Mama Cass, was an American singer and member of The Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot was found dead in her room in London, England, from an apparent heart attack after two weeks of sold-out...
, winning 17 straight shoots at a crap table in the Bahamas when the band was broke and could not afford plane fare back to the United States, and how her writing credit on "California Dreamin'
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
", which still nets her royalties, was "the best wake-up call" she ever had (she was asleep in a New York Hotel room when her then husband John Phillips woke her up to help him finish a new song he was writing).
She is mother of singer Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips is an American singer and actress, known for being a member of Wilson Phillips. She is also known for being the daughter of The Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and the half-sister of Mackenzie Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Phillips , Tamerlane...
, Austin Hines, and Aron Wilson.