Jennifer Tilly Biography
Summary
"Jennifer Tilly" (born September 16, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress and a World Series of Poker bracelet winner.
Biography
Early life
Tilly was born "Jennifer E. Chan" in Harbor City, Los Angeles, California. She is the second of four children of Harry Chan, a Chinese American used car salesman, and Patricia Tilly, a schoolteacher and former stage actress. Following her parents' divorce when she was young, she was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Ward, in rural British Columbia, Canada. Her sister is actress Meg Tilly. Tilly began her acting career in her teenage years through a theatre program at Stephens College in Missouri.
Career
Tilly had small roles in TV shows and movies beginning in 1983. She had a recurring guest role on "Hill Street Blues" as Gina Srignoli, a mobster's widow who becomes romantically involved with detective Henry Goldblume.
Tilly's breakthrough film role was as a singing waitress in "The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989) in a part that was specially written for her by Steve Kloves. That same year, she played a small part in the cult classic horse racing movie, "Let it Ride" with Richard Dreyfuss and Teri Garr, that Tilly later said 'should have done better.'
She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a hopelessly bad actress in Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994). In 1994, she also had a small role in the "The Getaway" with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. Tilly was ranked #23 in "Celebrity Sleuth" '25 Sexiest Women of 1995.'
Tilly appeared in "Bound", which revolves around a lesbian relationship her character has with Gina Gershon. She played Samantha Cole in the 1997 Jim Carrey hit, "Liar Liar". In 2000, Tilly appeared in the film "Dancing at the Blue Iguana" in which she played a stripper and part-time dominatrix.
Tilly gained some additional popularity in recent years for providing voice-over work as killer doll Tiffany for the "Child's Play" series of movies. In the most recent installment, "Seed of Chucky", she plays a dual role, not only providing the voice for Tiffany but also playing an exaggerated version of herself.
Tilly is a semi-regular cast member on "Family Guy", voicing the Griffin family's neighbor, Bonnie Swanson. She has also done vocal work for the film "Monsters, Inc.", the children's series "Hey Arnold", "Stuart Little" and "Home on the Range". In Disney's "The Haunted Mansion", she does the voiceover for Madame Leota and works from the neck up. She has been active in the theatre, winning a Theater World Award for her performance in the off-Broadway play "One Shoe Off".
Tilly has also had a recurring role in the US television comedy "Out of Practice" starring Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing.
Poker
On June 27, 2005, Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet (and $158,625) in the Ladies' No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em event, outlasting 600 other players. She followed up this accomplishment on September 1, 2005 by also winning the third World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament held at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Tilly has appeared in the GSN Poker Royale series. She appeared in the third season of Poker Superstars but was eliminated in the preliminary round.
Tilly played in the Celebrity Poker Showdown which aired June 14, 2006 on Bravo. Tilly was knocked out in third place by Bravo's internet poker champion Ida Siconolfi (the first non-celebrity to appear on the show) when her "A? " failed to improve against Ida's starting hand of "K? K?". Tilly appears as a celebrity, rather than a poker pro, in ESPN's Pro-Am Poker Equalizer.
In a television interview, Tilly stated that at this point in her career she is more interested in pursuing poker than acting. Her total tournament winnings exceed $340,000.
Personal life
Tilly married "The Simpsons" producer Sam Simon in 1984, but they divorced in 1991. She is currently dating poker professional Phil 'Unabomber' Laak and is nicknamed 'The Unabombshell' within the poker circuit. Laak is 13 years Tilly's junior.
Tilly has two cats, Corky and Violet, and is an avid lover of fashion. She is a supporter of gay and lesbian rights.
Filmography
"No Small Affair" (1984)
"Moving Violations" (1985)
"Remote Control" (1987)
"Inside Out" (1987)
"He's My Girl" (1987)
"Johnny Be Good" (1988)
"Rented Lips" (1988)
"High Spirits" (1988)
"Far from Home" (1989)
"Let It Ride" (1989)
"The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989)
"The Doors" (1991)
"Scorchers" (1991)
"Shadow of the Wolf" (1992)
"Key West" (1993) (TV)
"The Webbers" (1993) (TV)
"Heads" (1993) (TV)
"Made in America" (1993)
"Double Cross" (1994)
"Bullets Over Broadway" (1994)
"Embrace of the Vampire" (1994)
"The Getaway" (1994)
"Bird of Prey" (1995)
"Man with a Gun" (1995)
"The Pompatus of Love" (1996)
"House Arrest" (1996)
"Bound" (1996)
"American Strays" (1996)
"Liar Liar" (1997)
"Edie & Pen" (1997)
"The Wrong Guy" (1997)
"Bella Mafia" (1997)
"Relax... It's Just Sex" (1998)
"Hoods" (1998)
"Bride of Chucky" (1998)
"Music From Another Room" (1998)
"Family Guy" (1999) (Voice of Bonnie Swanson)
"The Muse" (1999)
"Hide and Seek" (1999)
"Goosed" (1999)
"Do Not Disturb" (1999)
"Bartok the Magnificent" (1999) (voice)
"Stuart Little" (1999) (voice)
"Play It to the Bone" (1999)
"Cord" (2000)
"Bruno" (2000)
"Dancing at the Blue Iguana" (2000)
"The Crew" (2000)
"Dirt" (2001)
"Sister Mary Explains It All" (2001) (TV)
"Fast Sofa" (2001)
"Monsters, Inc." (2001) (voice)
"The Kid" (2001) (voice) (TV)
"Ball in the House" (2001)
"The Cat's Meow" (2001)
"Hollywood North" (2003)
"The Magnificent Ambersons" (2002) (TV)
"The Haunted Mansion" (2003)
"Frasier" (2003) (TV)
"Nowhere to Go But Up" (2003)
"Jericho Mansions" (2003)
"Return to Babylon" (2004)
"Second Best" (2004)
"Perfect Opposites" (2004)
"Home on the Range" (2004) (voice)
"El Padrino" (2004)
"Saint Ralph" (2004)
"Love on the Side" (2004)
"Seed of Chucky" (2004)
"Bailey's Billion$" (2005)
"Lil' Pimp" (2005) (voice)
"Out of Practice" (TV series) (2005)
"The Civilization of Maxwell Bright" (2005)
"Tideland" (2005)
"The Poker Movie" (2006)
"The Initiation of Sarah" (2006) (TV)
"Intervention" (2007)
"Deal" (2007)
"Silver Valley" (2007) (completed)
"The Caretaker" (2007) (post production)
"Made in Romania" (2008) (post production)
"Art in Las Vegas" (2008) (post production)
Awards & nominations
"Awards"
Theater World Award, Most Promising Newcomer - "One Shoe Off"
Dramalogue Award - "Vaniti"
Gemini Award For Best Actress - "Heads"
Fanta Festival Best Actress - "Bride Of Chucky"
Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award Best Actress - "Bound"
Golden Gate Award - GLAAD Media Award for media professionals who increase the understanding of the GLBT community
"Nominations"
MTV Movie Award Best Frightened Performance - "Seed of Chucky"
Academy Award for Best Actress In Supporting Role - "Bullets Over Broadway"
Academy Of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films USA Best Actress - "Bride Of Chucky"
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Favourite Supporting Comedy Actress
Academy Of Science Fiction, Fantasty & Horror Films USA Best Supporting Actress - "Bound"
MTV Movie Award Best Kiss (With Gina Gershon) - "Bound"
External links
(Hendon Mob poker tournament results)
(InsidePoker magazine interview)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Jennifer Tilly.
