Michelle Pfeiffer shares birthday message for Viola Davis and Gillian Anderson

Michelle Pfeiffer is celebrating two ladies under the sign of Leo this weekend.

On Sunday, August 11, Scarface Actress, 66, posted a picture of herself and her The First Lady Co-stars Gillian Anderson and Viola Davis in honor of their birthdays, which were close together. “Happy birthday to two of my favorite First Ladies,” Pfeiffer wrote in a post on her Instagram Stories.

Anderson’s 56th birthday was on Friday, August 9, while Davis turned 59 on Sunday, August 11.

The three actresses played First Ladies Michelle Obama (Davis), Betty Ford (Pfeiffer) and Eleanor Roosevelt (Anderson) in the 2012 historical drama series. The First Lady focused on the political and personal lives of women married to presidents of the United States and how they experienced their time in the White House.

After ten episodes, the Emmy-nominated series was not renewed for a second season.

Pfeiffer, who will be Yellowstone Prequel series The Madisonwas so keen to portray Ford – who died in 2011 at the age of 93 – that she signed on to the series without even reading the script.

“I knew – like most people – that she was very famous for the Betty Ford Clinic, which in turn saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” Pfeiffer said in an interview with Today.

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“And of course her drug problems,” she continued. “That was a really interesting story in and of itself. And I felt really important.”

Pfeiffer added: “When Susanne Bier – the director I really wanted to work with – called, she just said, ‘I’m working on a project about the First Ladies and I want you to play Betty Ford.’ And I said, ‘I’m in.'”

The fascination and interest in the respective First Ladies of the stars was palpable on both sides. In conversation with The Wall Street Journal In April 2022, the actresses told the publication about the commonality they found between Roosevelt, Ford and Obama.

“For me, it’s agency,” Davis said at the time. “The ability to make decisions and know who you are.”

Pfeiffer noted that all first ladies have “fought to be heard” while at the same time “coping with living under a microscope.”

She said: “And I think they are all finding their voice and using that along with their public profile to encourage other women to do the same.”

Anderson, meanwhile, praised the all-female press corps that Roosevelt created during the Great Depression, which spoke daily to the American people and reminded them to stay positive.

“And people listened to them, trusted them and believed them,” Anderson said, adding, “It was unprecedented at the time.”