Dedee Pfeiffer says being the younger sister of superstar Michelle Pfeiffer isabsolutely not to blame for her addiction struggles.
the Cybilli alum, who now appears in TVs Big Sky , opened up to Page Sixabout her 10-year hiatus from Hollywood, during which she was a high-functioning alcoholic before seeking treatment. She spoke about what heraddiction stemmed from – and what it did not.
“For me, it all revolved around my insecurity and then this undiagnosed traumaand addiction,” Dedee, 58, explained to the outlet. “I think people would loveto say that being Michelle Pfeiffer’s sister has anything to do with any of myissues, and — excuse me — I can tell you right now: no, no and no.”
“I think people would love to say that being Michelle Pfeiffer’s sister hasanything to do with any of my issues, and — excuse me — I can tell you rightnow: no, no and no,” DeDee, right, said. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images forNew Line Cinema)
She said of the The Fabulous Baker Boys, Married to the Mob and BatmanReturns star, who has long been hailed as one of the world’s most beautifulpeople, “She’s one of the most amazing, beautiful, smart, compassionate womenI know, and I’m lucky to say she’s my sister. Are you kidding me? That’s aplus, not a minus.”
DeDee said Michelle, 64, and their family actually played a key part of herrecovery. They approached her offering help. It led to DeDee’s admission thatshe knew she needed intervention but wasn’t sure where to start. She hadprivately considered anonymous helplines, but found herself “kneecapped withshame [and] embarrassment [and] failure because I couldn’t stop.”
She said, “I just didn’t know how to ask for help. I kept trying but Icouldn’t do it, which just makes you feel like s*** about yourself.” Once shegot it, “It saved my life.”
The single mother of two talked about the root of her addiction, saying thedisease runs in her family. She long struggled with it in different ways —first with addiction to food, then to love and then alcohol. While in in-patient rehab, she started digging into her untreated trauma. Part of herjourney was realizing she is worthy. Today, she has four years of sobriety.
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“I never felt comfortable in my own skin,” said DeDee, who followed her sisterinto showbiz in the ’80s. “I kept trying to fight for that seat at the tableuntil I realized somebody said, ‘If there’s no seat at the table, make yourown damn table.’ But when I was young, I was so busy trying to be whateverybody wanted me to be… And now I feel like I’m in a generation — at 58years old — [where] I finally can say, ‘This is who I am, and if you like it,great — if not, that’s OK, go sit at a different table,’ and I’m totally finewith that.”
She continued, “I decided, in this generation, I’m not going to die with mydisease. I’m going to show my boys and my family and my friends that you canchange. You can change a whole generation by stopping right now and makingthose decisions.”
In her 10 years away from Hollywood, Dedee also went back to school, earning amaster’s degree in social work from UCLA. Part of it saw her working withunhoused people via **** the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health,which she was challenging but a good reality check.
Dedee said she’s currently in a period of “rebirth,” sober and starring in herbrother-in-law David E. Kelley’s ABC series since 2020.
“When you’re active in your disease, you’re the identified problem,” she said.”The minute you go into recovery … the day you say I want to change, youbecome the identified possibility.”