Before she became one of the defining faces and voices of The Mamas & the Papas, Michelle Phillips was a California teenager whose striking looks and free-spirited personality seemed perfectly suited to the emerging 1960s counterculture. Born Holly Michelle Gilliam in 1944, she met and married musician John Phillips while still a teenager, eventually joining him, Denny Doherty, and Cass Elliot to form The Mamas & the Papas in 1965. At just 21 when the group broke through, Michelle contributed the shimmering harmonies that helped define songs such as “California Dreamin’” and “Monday, Monday,” and co-wrote “California Dreamin’” with John. With her long blond hair and effortlessly bohemian style, she also became a visual symbol of the sun-drenched California folk-rock scene—an image that contrasted with the complicated relationships and turmoil unfolding within one of the decade’s most famous groups.
