A willowy blonde singer and songwriter, best-known as one of the founders of the mellow 1960s pop group The Mamas and the Papas, Michelle Phillips went on to have a secondary career as an actress. appearing prominently in primetime serials. Born Holly Michelle Gilliam in Long Beach, CA, she originally intended to pursue a career as a model but in 1962 met and married musician John Phillips. They first joined the singing group The Journeymen and later re-formed the group as the New Journeymen when Denny Doherty joined. By the mid-60s, with the addition of Cass Elliott, the Mamas and the Papas were born. Almost immediately, the group had a Number One hit with "Monday, Monday". Their appearance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival was filmed and included in the 1968 documentary "Monterey Pop". By that time, internal strains had begun to cause rifts within the group and as it dissolved so did her marriage to Phillips.The newly divorced Phillips landed her first film role in Dennis Hopper's all-but-unwatchable "The Last Movie" (1970) set in the jungles of Peru. Although she spent eight days married to Hopper, Phillips hardly made an impression in her debut. She fared somewhat better as the moll to Warren Oates' "Dillinger" (1973) and slowly began to make inroads as a guest performer on the small screen. Phillips looked smashing as the lesbian Natasha Rambova holding power over "Valentino" (1977) in Ken Russell's extravagant biopic and held her own opposite James Mason in "Bloodline" (1979). She later portrayed the mother of gymnast Mitch Gaylord in the underperforming "American Anthem" (1986) and was relegated to forgettable fare in the 90s (i.e., "Scissors" 1991; "Army of One" 1993).
But the small screen proved more receptive and Phillips earned, if not superstardom, status as a working actor. Among her early roles were as love interest to Robert Forster and daughter to Melvyn Douglas in the faux-Eastwood TV offering "The Death Squad" (ABC, 1974) and the female lead in "The California Kid" (ABC, 1974). In 1977, she was featured in the NBC miniseries "Aspen" and the following year lent her allure to the role of the sexual plaything daughter of a fading movie star (Tony Curtis) in "The Users" (ABC). Phillips has been tagged by executive producer Jay Bernstein for several "Mickey Spillane" TV-movies, including "Murder Me, Murder You" (CBS, 1983), and "Murder Takes All" (CBS, 1989). By the mid-80s. the actress landed her first recurring role on a series as Elizabeth Bradshaw Cabot, a nemesis for manager James Brolin in "Hotel" (ABC). But it was her stint as the conniving vixen and perpetual loser Anne Mathison on the CBS serial "Knots Landing" that solidified her reputation. She originated the part in 1987 and returned to it from 1990 to 1993, reprising the role in the reunion movie "Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac" (CBS, 1997). Phillips had less luck in her subsequent series, both of which were short-lived ("Second Chances" CBS, 1993-94, and "Malibu Shores" NBC, 1996). More recently, she was seen in the recurring role of mother to Valerie Malone (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) on Fox's "Beverly Hills, 90210".
Profession(s):
Actor, singer, songwriter, model
Sometimes Credited As:
Holly Michelle Gilliam
Family
daughter:Gilliam Chynna Phillips (born on February 12, 1968; father, John Phillips; married actor William Baldwin in 1995)
father:Gardner Burnett Gilliam
husband:Grainger Hines (father of Phillips' son)
husband:John Phillips (married in 1962; divorced in 1970; died March 19, 2001)
husband:Dennis Hopper (married for eight days in 1970)
husband:Robert Burch (divorced)
husband:Steven Zax (married in Mexico in March 2000)
mother:Joyce Leon Gilliam
son:Austin Devereaux Hines (father, Grainger Hines)
step-daughter:Mackenzie Phillips
Companion(s)
Denny Doherty
, Companion
, ```..member of The Mamas and the Papas; Phillips' affair with him caused her to be asked to leave the group
Warren Beatty
, Companion
Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Villainess, Prime Time "Knots Landing" 1991
Grammy Best Contemporary (Rock & Roll) Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental "Monday, Monday" 1966
1997 Reprised role of Anne Matheson on "Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac" (CBS)
1996 Co-starred in the short-lived NBC primetime serial "Malibu Shores"
1990 - 1993 Reprised role of Anne Matheson on "Knots Landing"
1987 Created role of Anne Matheson on the CBS primetime soap "Knots Landing"
1986 Had recurring role on the ABC series "Hotel"
1977 Co-starred in the NBC miniseries "Aspen"
1977 Played Natasha Rambova in Ken Russell's film biography "Valentino"
1974 TV-movie debut, "The Death Squad" (ABC)
1973 Played Billie Frechette, the title character's girlfriend, in "Dillinger"
1973 Made TV episodic debut on "Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law" (ABC)
1971 Feature acting debut in Dennis Hopper's experimental film, "The Last Movie"
1967 Appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival; film debut in "Monterey Pop"
1966 Co-founded the pop group The Mamas and The Papas (date approximate)
1966 Co-wrote The Mamas and The Papas hit, "California Dreamin'" with husabnd (date approximate)
1966 Had first Number 1 hit with the Grammy-winning song "Monday, Monday"
1962 Met and married John Phillips; joined singing group The Journeymen, co-founded by Phillips
Moved to NYC to pursue career as a model
Joined with Denny Doherty to form The New Journeymen
Returned to series TV on "Second Chances" (CBS)
Made appearances as Abby Malone, the mother of Valerie (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), on "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox)
