Background

Ethnicity: Tilly's father, Harry Chan, a car salesman, was of Chinese descent. Her mother, Patricia Ann Tilly, a Canadian teacher and actress, had Irish, Finnish, and possibly First Nations, ancestry.

Jennifer Tilly was born on September 16, 1958, in Los Angeles, California, the United States, to Harry Chan, a used car salesman, and Patricia (née Tilly), a Canadian schoolteacher and former stage actress. The second of the four children in her family, Jennifer was hugely inspired by her mother and often accompanied her to her theater performances. As her family spent what little money they had on the ballet, theater and movies, Tilly grew to love and respect the acting art. Her sister is actress Meg Tilly.

Jennifer’s parents separated when she was 5 years old. Her mother took all the four children with her to Canada where Jennifer spent most of her childhood. She raised on rural Texada Island, British Columbia, by her mother and stepfather, John Ward.

Education

Although she was very artistic as a kid, Jennifer was never the studious type. This made her a frequent subject of bullying during her school days in Canada.

She attended the Belmont High School, along with two of her younger sisters, and although they were initially called “the three musketeers,” as a joke, it gradually led to severe name-calling and verbal abuse.

She started drifting toward theater during her high school days, and that led her to actively participate in plays as an extra, with her mother’s help. Her mother motivated all her children to learn to love art. This made Jennifer push herself toward performing arts, while her younger sister Rebecca went on to become a popular post-impressionist painter.

In order to further hone her acting skills, she studied theater and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from Stephens College in Missouri. She plunged into acting immediately after that.

Career

Soon after graduation, Tilly arrived in New York to become a part of the thriving theater scene there. She avoided going to Los Angeles for a long time, but when theater failed to provide her sufficient bread and butter, she had to move to Los Angeles to seek her fortune. Her first few years were spent developing her art on the stage while paying the bills with odd jobs.

Tilly made her TV debut in the short-lived series Boone, and her film debut the following year in No Small Affair. She then appeared in a number of small roles in Inside Out, Johnny Be Good, and High Spirits.

She spent the 1980s playing roles that did not utilize the gorgeously good actor that she was. However, she kept working in the hope of finding better roles someday. There was a time when she felt that she had “sold herself out” to the glitzy world of Hollywood and that she was better off doing theater back in New York.

However, the year 1989 witnessed her appearing in The Fabulous Baker Boys. She portrayed the role of a failing singer in the film. The director later said that he had written the role keeping Jennifer in mind. This was a huge compliment, and it meant that the minor roles that she had come to despise were actually getting her noticed.

After her remarkable role in The Fabulous Baker Boys, her career experienced a steep climb. In one of her most memorable appearances, she starred in Woody Allen’s satirical comedy-drama film Bullets over Broadway. To be a part of a film by the master director was in itself a massive breakthrough for her career.

She received an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actress for her role as a bad and failing actor in Bullets over Broadway. However, she lost the award to Dianne Weist, who also happened to be her co-star in the same film.

Soon, Jennifer got acquainted with better directors and signed with the Wachowski's for the film Bound in 1996, in which she played a lesbian. The sexually charged film was a hit with the film festivals and Jennifer became a hot, young actor who got offered more roles from some of the biggest directors of that time.

She was hell-bent on choosing her roles with caution. In 1997, she turned to comedy with Jim Carrey's Liar Liar. The film achieved massive international success, and Jennifer’s character, Samantha Cole, became a cult figure.

In 2000, Dancing at Blue Iguana followed, in which she essayed the role of a stripper and a part-time dominatrix. The film was a success, and Jennifer’s performance received accolades.

She then appeared in a number of popular films such as the Child’s Play movie series. She debuted in the fourth installment of the franchise and portrayed serial killer Tiffany Ray. Tilly has appeared in all the subsequent installments, namely, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and the latest sequel, Cult of Chucky.

Throughout the years, Tilly has continued to balance a film career with television and theater. On the small screen she has starred in Key West, and Heads, for which she earned a Gemini Award nomination for Best Actress. She has also worked on the series Shaping Up and has had recurring roles on Hill Street Blues, The Garry Shandling Show, and appearances on Moonlighting, Cheers, and Dream On. She also voices the character Bonnie Swanson on the popular animated series Family Guy. In 2012, her voice once again made it to the big screen with the re-release Monsters, Inc. 3D - she provided the voice for Celia in the original 2001 film.

She had a starring role on the sitcom Out of Practice, which starred Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing. The series was canceled in May 2006. About this time, Tilly started dividing her time between her film career and professional poker. By the end of 2008, she returned to her film and television career. In 2009, Tilly made her Chinese film debut in the Christina Yao film Empire of Silver playing Mrs. Landdeck.

In 2012, she returned to Broadway in Don't Dress for Dinner, garnering an Audience Choice Award nomination for her portrayal of mistress Suzanne. In 2013, she starred in the Wallace Shawn/Andre Gregory collaboration Grasses of a Thousand Colors which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009 and then moved to the Joseph Papp Theater in 2013. She regularly appeared in the comedy revue Celebrity Autobiography.

In September 2012, Tilly is going to appear in Eric Balfour's feature film directorial debut Walk to Vegas.

Apart from being an actor, Jennifer also happens to be a highly competent poker player.

In 2005, Jennifer won the Ladies’ No-Limit Texas Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker. She bested 600 other players, winning $158,335 (which is still her biggest win to date). In September of the same year, she won the third World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, winning $25,000. At this point in her poker career, she had only cashed twice in major poker events, finishing first both times! In a television interview that same year, she stated that at that point in her career she was more interested in pursuing a poker career than acting.

Although she has continued to cash in major events, she has only had one other six-figure payout. In July 2010, Tilly won a $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at the 6th Bellagio Cup, winning $124,455.

After failing to achieve the same level of success as she experienced in 2005, Tilly announced her retirement from poker as a career in 2008. In January 2010, she resumed her poker career, was nominated for PokerListing's spirit of poker living legend award 2014, and as of June 2017, Tilly's live tournament winnings exceeded $992,000.

Achievements

• 

  Tilly came to prominence when she received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Olive Neal in Woody Allen's 1994 film Bullets over Broadway. She earned further acclaim, as well as Saturn Award and MTV Award nominations, for her performance in the Wachowskis' 1996 neo-noir thriller Bound.
  
  Tilly was the recipient of a Theatre World Award in 1993 for her performance in the Off-Broadway play One Shoe Off. Tilly is also a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner, the first celebrity to win a World Series tournament.
  
  

Works

More photos

• movie

  • The Cat's Meow

    (From acclaimed director Peter Bogdanovich comes an extrao...)

    2001
  • The Doors

    (Jim Morrison, one of the most sensual figures in the hist...)

    1991
  • Far From Home

    (A teenage girl and her father driving cross-country becom...)

    1989
  • Moving Violations

    (A charming smartass, a spacey rocket scientist, a nebbish...)

    195
  • Bullets Over Broadway

    (American black comedy-crime film directed by Woody Allen,...)

    1994
  • Edie and Pen

    (In this delightfully witty, romantic gem, young idealisti...)

    1996
  • High Spirits

    (When a castle-turned-hotel owned by Peter Plunkett falls ...)

    1988
  • Sister Mary Explains It All

    (For her annual Christmas lecture this year, stern and big...)

    2001
  • The Getaway

    (Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger star in updated 1972 film a...)

    1994
  • The Deal

    (A down-and-out film producer agrees to make his nephew's ...)

    2008
  • Curse of Chucky

    (He's back! From the filmmakers that brought you Chucky co...)

    2013
  • Saint Ralph

    (Saint Ralph is the unlikely story of Ralph Walker, a nint...)

    2004
  • A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits

    (Tessa (Sofia Carson) is forced to assist her evil stepsis...)

    2016
  • House Arrest

    (A group of children, desperate to keep their various pare...)

    1996
  • Bailey's Billions

    (Sweet and savvy talking golden retriever, Bailey, is one ...)

    2005
  • Let It Ride

    (Joe Pytka's comedy stars Richard Dreyfuss as Trotter, a c...)

    1989
  • Civilization of Maxwell Bright

    (Patrick Warburton (TV's Less Than Perfect and Seinfeld) i...)

    2005
  • Goosed

    (After a woman is informed by a psychic that the man of he...)

    1999
  • Home On The Range

    (When a greedy outlaw schemes to take over the farm, a col...)

    2004
  • Bound

    (Corky, a lesbian ex con hired to work in an apartment as ...)

    1996
  • Johnny Be Good

    (A comedy about a star high-school jock and how every majo...)

    1988
  • Cult of Chucky

    (Confined to an asylum for the criminally insane, Nica Pie...)

    2017
  • Ray Meets Helen

    (In bizarre, unrelated turns of events, Ray and Helen each...)

    2017
  • The Secret Lives Of Dorks

    (When cheerleader Carrie realizes that dorky Payton's crus...)

    2013
  • An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong

    (Meet the 2009 American Girl 'Girl of the Year' in this fe...)

    2009
  • Made in Romania

    ("Made In Romania" is the comedic story of a young produce...)

    2010
  • No Small Affair

    (A romantic comedy about a sixteen-year-old photographer (...)

    1984
  • Relax It's Just Sex

    (This snappy ambisexual and poly-racial romantic comedy st...)

    1998
  • Love on the Side

    (When a big-city blonde bombshell rolls into the small tow...)

    2004
  • The Crew

    (The Crew is a riotous caper involving four retired mobste...)

    2000
  • Seed of Chucky

    (The killer doll is back! The all-new film is the fifth in...)

    2004
  • Bart Got a Room

    (While Danny's father and mother independently search for ...)

    2008
  • Tideland

    (To escape her unhappy life in a remote part of Texas, nin...)

    2005
  • Bella Mafia

    (Lynda La Plante (who also created Widows) scripted this T...)

    1997
  • Amelia's 25th

    (It's struggling actress Amelia Cruz's 25th birthday and a...)

    2013
  • The Fabulous Baker Boys

    (Two lounge lizards find their careers revitalized and the...)

    1989
  • American Strays

    (The film is three stories about one story, featuring an e...)

    1996
  • Liar Liar

    (A fast-talking attorney discovers he can't tell a lie for...)

    1997
  • Dancing At The Blue Iguana

    (The setting's a flashy San Fernando Valley strip club whe...)

    2000
  • Bruno

    ("Bruno, " directed by Shirley MacLaine, is a delightful c...)

    2000
  • Made In America

    (A young black woman discovers that her father was a sperm...)

    1993
  • El Padrino

    (Kilo's childhood is spent on the streets of East Los Ange...)

    2004
  • 30 Beats

    (A group of New Yorkers' lives intertwine though a series ...)

    2012
  • Music From Another Room

    (A man's search for his one true love, whose birth he assi...)

    1998
  • Play It To The Bone

    (Two worn-out, over-the-hill prizefighters jump at one las...)

    1999
  • He's My Girl

    (Reggie dresses in drag as Regina to accompany a pal on a ...)

    1987
  • Monsters, Inc.

    (Lovable Sulley and Mike Wazowski are the top scare team a...)

    2001
  • Bride of Chucky

    (Chucky's doll body is rescued by his fiance and he comes ...)

    1998
  • The Haunted Mansion

    (A workaholic real-estate agent drags his family to a Haun...)

    2003
  • Lil' Pimp

    (Based upon the animated made-for-internet comedy series. ...)

    2005
  • Inconceivable

    (A satirical drama about the test-tube baby industry.)

    2008
  • At Home with the Webbers

    (The Webbers are your average American family... so averag...)

    1994
  • Embrace of the Vampire

    (Alyssa Milano in her most revealing role. A sensuous but ...)

    1995
  • Unity

    (A study in the duality of man. Even after thousands and t...)

    2015

• TV series

  • Out of Practice

    (For a family made up of physicians, the Barnes clan sure ...)

    2005
  • Family Guy

    (Peter Griffin is the father of this not-quite-so-average ...)

    1999

Religion

Jennifer Tilly was raised in a Christian family. Nowadays she doesn't attend church, but she remains spiritual.

Politics

Tilly is mostly non-political. She usually never talks about her political views. It's known, that she supported Obama, especially his intentions of legislation for online poker.

Views

Jennifer Tilly is a supporter of Project Angel Food. Project Angel Food is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in Los Angeles County which provides free meals for people too sick to shop and cook for themselves.

Quotations: "That Hollywood thing, where everybody hugs and kisses everybody else - I always stiffen. It's an assumed familiarity. It's phony."

"If I was like some of the characters I played, I'd probably be dead by now."

Personality

Tilly is an avid lover of fashion and has more than 400 pairs of shoes. She is also an animal lover, who has a cat. She named her cat "Corky" after her character's love interest in Bound.

Interests

• poker

• Politicians

  Barack Obama

• Writers

  Harriet Love's Guide to Vintage Chic by Harriet Love

• Artists

  Bunny Mellon, Faberge

• Sport & Clubs

  baseball

• Music & Bands

  Mariah Carey, Edith Piaf

Connections

Tilly was married to Sam Simon, developer and producer of The Simpsons, from 1984 until 1991. She has been in a relationship with professional poker player Phil Laak since 2004.

Father:

Harry Chan

Mother:

Patricia Ward

Ex-husband:

Sam Simon

Sister:

Meg Tilly

Sister:

Rebecca Tilly

Brother:

Steve Tilly

Boyfriend :

Phil Laak

colleague:

Demi Moore

colleague:

Alec Baldwin

colleague:

Hugh Laurie

colleague:

Antonio Banderas

colleague:

Kirsten Dunst

Acquaintance:

Quentin Tarantino

Tilly told about meeting Tarantino for the first time: " The first time I met Quentin Tarantino was so funny. He said, "Jennifer, there's something I've always wanted to ask you." And I'm thinking, "Which of my distinguished movies is he going to ask about?". He goes, "Moving Violations (1985)! How did you do that scene in the anti-gravity chamber?". I thought he was making fun of me, but then I realized he was serious. My friend who was with me said, "How come I've never heard you mention 'Moving Violations'?". So I brushed it off and said, "Well, it was like my first movie." Quentin went, "No, no, no, the first movie you ever did was No Small Affair (1984), with Jon Cryer and Demi Moore." And I'm thinking, "If you weren't Quentin Tarantino, I'd think you were a stalker"."

Acquaintance:

Madonna Ciccone

Tilly said about Madonna: "We went to a club once. The doorman opened the rope for me but closed it on Madonna - he didn't recognize her. She wouldn't have gotten in, but I put in a good word for her."

References

• Jennifer Tilly