Sweet Michelle's Selina/ Catwoman is certainly the best female character in any of the Batman movies (some say it's the best character in general). She is certainly the best looking actress that graced the franchise, alongside Nicole Kidman.

In a business that seems to turn on women once they reach middle age, Michelle Pfeiffer has continued to flourish both professionally and personally.

Hitting the big 4-0 in 1998 did nothing to break the Golden Globe winner's stride. Her schedule remains packed with film projects, and the marquee actress has added producer to her credits.

"I'm over 40," she told syndicated writer Cindy Pearlman. "Can you imagine? I didn't think Hollywood allows women all this good fortune when you hit that number."

Pfeiffer's good fortune has permeated her life away from the movies as well.

Her most prominent role during 1998 and early 1999 was that of the doting wife, as evidenced by her appearances alongside her husband, prolific TV writer and producer David E. Kelley, when he scooped up kudos for his hit shows "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice" at the Golden Globes and Emmys.

As it turns out, those awards ceremonies were rare nights on the town for the couple, who met on a blind date and prefer to spend their evenings at home with their son and adopted daughter.

Pfeiffer, in fact, has made several career moves to accommodate motherhood. She passed on the title role in "Evita," the bulk of which was shot on location, to stay close to her family. She packed up her spouse and kids and moved the clan to Illinois while filming "A Thousand Acres."

"I will only work 12 hours a day," the native Californian told Express. "I either have to be with (the children) when they wake up in the morning or be with them when it's time to put them to bed. I make this clear to the studios who want to hire me and then tell them to draw up a shooting schedule."

Her maternal instincts have produced other complications for Pfeiffer as both a moviegoer and an actress.

She walked out of a screening of "Ransom," the Mel Gibson picture about a mogul whose son is kidnapped, because such a scenario was too hard to fathom. She also struggled at the outset of "The Deep End of the Ocean," in which she portrayed a mother whose child vanishes from a hotel lobby.

"When I decided to do this movie, I had to allow myself to go beyond that point where as a mother you say, 'What if?'" she told Pearlman. "It was actually so unpleasant for those first few weeks of shooting that I really questioned why I chose to do this at all."