Cates was born Phoebe Belle Katz in New York City, New York, the daughter of Lily and director and producer Joseph Cates (originally "Joseph Katz"). Her uncle is producer/director Gilbert Cates and her stepfather was Marshall Naify, a horse breeder. Cates' maternal grandfather was of Chinese Filipino descent, and her father as well as her maternal grandmother were of Russian Jewish origin. Cates Read more...

Cates achieved icon status in 1982 for her popular girl role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, particularly the topless scene in which she sheds her bikini top in a slow-motion fantasy sequence as Fast Times became a 1980s cult classic. That year, in the romance film Paradise, and in contrast to the coyness of Brooke Shields in the similarly themed The Blue Lagoon, Cates displayed copious nudity, Read more...

Cates is estranged from her mother. In 1989, Cates married actor Kevin Kline, whom she had originally met while auditioning for the part that Meg Tilly ultimately won in The Big Chill. Kline and Cates make their home in New York City and have two children, Owen Kline, born in 1991 (who, in 2005, received rave reviews for his performance in The Squid and the Whale), and Greta Kline, born in 1994. Read more...