Why Michelle Pfeiffer Will Never Play a Real Person Again After The First Lady Role

Michelle Pfeiffer, who plays Betty Ford in Showtime's The First Lady, says it will be her last portrayal of a real person. Find out why here!

By Jillian Fabiano Apr 19, 2022 4:15 PMTags

Betty Ford will be Michelle Pfeiffer's last first lady.

Pfeiffer stars as the title character—wife of 38th President Gerald Ford—in Showtime's new series The First Lady, and in a recent interview, the 63-year-old revealed that she will never portray a real person again. Why? Because "it's very weighty and it's with you all the time."

She has previously played real people—including Ruth Madoff in The Wizard of Lies and LouAnne Johnson in Dangerous Minds—but this series marked a turning point for her.

"I said I would never do it again," Pfeiffer told Entertainment Weekly. "Every choice you make, and you just want to honor the person that you're playing and you want to be as authentic as possible, knowing that there will be times where you're not and you can't be. I'm never doing it again."

Which doesn't mean she wasn't proud to honor the First Lady's legacy.

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2022 TV Transformations

"I didn't know half of the contribution that Betty Ford made," she said. "Of course, like most people, I knew of her struggle with alcohol abuse and drug addiction, and her founding the Betty Ford clinic, but that's really kind of the extent of it."

She continued, "And I mean, as if that isn't enough, there's so much more to her. I'm really honored that I was given the opportunity to share that story with everyone."

Murray Close/SHOWTIME

But while Pfeiffer may not want to play a First Lady on-screen, would she want to be one in real life?

In an exclusive interview with E! News, the actress revealed that she's "not interested," but would consider being the "President, maybe."

The First Lady—also starring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt—follows the three First Ladies as they undertake the role of being the most important lady in the land.

Watch Pfeiffer star as First Lady Betty Ford on Showtime.

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