Michelle Phillips is the last surviving member of the Mamas and the Papas, the pop quartet that put Southern California folk-rock on the map before Crosby, Stills and Nash turned it into an institution.
Born Holly Michelle Gilliam, Michelle Phillips was by her own admission, the typical California girl personified - "the original Marcia Brady," she's called herself. She married folk singer John Phillips and began writing songs with him, and they later joined with Denny Doherty and Cass Elliott to form the Mamas and the Papas. Their first album, 1966's If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, was so titled because producer Lou Adler had been amazed by what he saw and heard from them. It featured the hit single "California Dreamin', which Michelle and John wrote together. They would also co-write the group's 1967 hit "Creque Alley," an autobiographical look at the quartet's beginnings.
Most of the Mamas and the Papas' hits featured lead vocals from Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot, but Michelle got a lead vocal of her own with the group's cover of the Shirelles' "Dedicated to the One I Love," which was perfect for her soft voice. (Another Crosby Stills and Nash connection: A lyric from "Dedicated to the One I Love," "The darkest hour is just before dawn," prompted David Crosby to write "Long Time Gone" in the aftermath of Robert Kennedy's assassination.)
After the Mamas and the Papas' breakup, Michelle Philips turned to an acting career, playing John Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette, in the 1973 film Dillinger and later getting a part in the 1975 Warren Beatty movie Shampoo. She would still record the occasional single, buts he's never recorded a full solo album. Her acting work in the eighties was centered on television movies, guest appearances on series, and, primarily, the role of Anne Matheson on the CBS prime-time serial "Knots Landing." It would be her daughter Chynna who would become the big singing star in the Phillips family, along with Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson's daughters, in the early-nineties group Wilson Phillips.
Though she hasn't appeared in a movie since the Norwegian film Betrayal in 2009, Michelle Phillips is still very much Hollywood royalty, be it on the concert stage or on the sound stage.
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