Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly | |
---|---|
Born | Jennifer E. Chan |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1983–present |
Spouse | Sam Simon (1984–1991, divorced) |
Partner | Phil Laak |
Jennifer Tilly (born September 16, 1958)[1][2] is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is sister to Academy-Award-nominated actress Meg Tilly.
Personal 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, an Irish and Native American[3][4][5][6][7] schoolteacher and former stage actress.[8] Following her parents' divorce when she was five, she was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Ward, on rural Texada Island, British Columbia, Canada. Her mother divorced again when Tilly was a teenager, and moved to Victoria, where Tilly attended Belmont High School.[citation needed] Jennifer Tilly began her acting career in her teenage years through a theatre program at Stephens College in Missouri.[citation needed] Tilly married Sam Simon, developer and producer of The Simpsons, in 1984.[9] They divorced in 1991, but remain good friends.
She currently dating poker professional Phil Laak, who she met in 2005 at the World Poker Tour Invitational tournament at Los Angeles's Commerce Casino.[10]
She has a brother, Steve, and two sisters, Rebecca and actress Meg.
Acting
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.[citation needed] She played Frasier Crane's seductive-but-ditzy date on an episode of the fourth season of Cheers.[citation needed] She appeared as Garry's girlfriend on It's Garry Shandling's Show, which aired on Showtime. She was also cast as a high end prostitute in the short lived comedy, Key West, alongside Fisher Stevens. Tilly's breakthrough film role was as a singing waitress in The Fabulous Baker Boys in a part that was specially written for her by Steve Kloves.[citation needed] 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."[citation needed]
She was nominated for an 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 Getaway with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger.
Tilly starred in Bound, which portrays a lesbian relationship her character has with Gina Gershon. She played Samantha Cole in the Jim Carrey hit Liar Liar. In 2000's Dancing at the Blue Iguana she played a stripper and part-time dominatrix. She portrayed gossip columnist Louella Parsons in the 2001 Peter Bogdanovich film The Cat's Meow.
Tilly gained some additional popularity in recent years for providing voice-over work as killer doll Tiffany for two of the Child's Play series. In the most recent installment, Seed of Chucky, she plays a dual role, providing the voice for Tiffany and 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 films Monsters, Inc., Stuart Little, and Home on the Range, as well as the children's series Hey Arnold. In Disney's The Haunted Mansion, she does the voice-over for Madame Leota. She has been active in the theatre, winning a Theater World Award for her performance in the off-Broadway play One Shoe Off.[citation needed] Tilly had a starring role in the US television comedy Out of Practice starring Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing. The cancellation of that series was announced in May 2006.[citation needed] About this time, Tilly started dividing her time between her film career and professional poker (see below). By the end of 2008 she had returned more or less full time to her film and television career.[citation needed]
Poker career
Jennifer Tilly | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Unabombshell, J Tilla the Killa |
Residence | Texada Island, British Columbia |
World Series of Poker | |
Bracelet(s) | 1 |
Money finish(es) | 6 |
Highest ITM Main Event finish | None |
World Poker Tour | |
Title(s) | None |
Final table(s) | None |
Money finish(es) | 4 |
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.[11] 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 online poker champion Ida Siconolfi when her failed to improve against Ida's starting hand of . Tilly appears as a celebrity, rather than a poker pro, in ESPN's Pro-Am Poker Equalizer. Tilly also appears in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition video game (along with boyfriend, Phil Laak) that was released in 2007 by Activision.[citation needed]
In a television interview in 2005, Tilly stated that at that point in her career she was more interested in pursuing poker than acting.[12] By December 2008, Tilly announced her retirement from poker as a career. In her monthly column in Bluff Magazine she said: "I love poker but greatness in poker is an elusive dream. There are too many variants. Trying to find validation in poker is like trying to find a virgin in a whorehouse. I’m not giving up poker entirely — gambling is an addiction after all. I’m just going to treat it more like a hobby and less like a career."[13] Since January 2010, Tilly appears to have resumed her poker career.[14]
As of 2010, Tilly's live tournament wins exceed $660,000.[15]
Filmography
Film
- No Small Affair (1984)
- Moving Violations (1985)
- Remote Control (1987)
- Inside Out (1987)
- He's My Girl (1987)
- Johnny Be Good (1988)
- Rented Lips (1988)
- High Spirits (1988)
- Moonlighting (1989)
- Far From Home (1989)
- Let It Ride (1989)
- The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
- The Doors (1991)
- Scorchers (1991)
- Shadow of the Wolf (1992)
- Made in America (1993)
- Double Cross (1994)
- Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
- Embrace of the Vampire (1994)
- The Getaway (1994)
- Bird of Prey (1995)
- Man with a Gun (1995)
- The Pompatus of Love (1996)
- House Arrest (1996)
- Bound (1996)
- American Strays (1996)
- Liar Liar (1997)
- Edie & Pen (1997)
- The Wrong Guy (1997)
- Bella Mafia (1997)
- Relax...It's Just Sex (1998)
- Hoods (1998)
- Bride of Chucky (1998)
- Music From Another Room (1998)
- Family Guy (1999–2002, 2005–present) (Voice of Bonnie Swanson)
- The Muse (1999)
- Goosed (1999)
- Do Not Disturb (1999)
- Bartok the Magnificent (1999) (voice)
- Stuart Little (1999) (voice)
- Play It to the Bone (1999)
- Cord (2000)
- Bruno (2000)
- Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
- The Crew (2000)
- Dirt (2001)
- Fast Sofa (2001)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001) (voice)
- Ball in the House (2001)
- The Cat's Meow (2001)
- Hollywood North (2003)
- The Haunted Mansion (2003)
- Frasier (2003) (TV)
- Nowhere to Go But Up (2003)
- Jericho Mansions (2003)
- Second Best (2004)
- Perfect Opposites (2004)
- Home on the Range (2004) (voice)
- El Padrino (2004)
- Saint Ralph (2004)
- Love on the Side (2004)
- Seed of Chucky (2004)
- Bailey's Billion$ (2005)
- Lil' Pimp (2005) (voice)
- The Civilization of Maxwell Bright (2005)
- Tideland (2005)
- The Poker Movie (2006)
- Intervention (2007)
- Deal (2008)
- The Caretaker (2008)
- Bart Got a Room (2008)
- Inconceivable (2008)
- An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009) (V)
- Baiyin diguo (2009)
- Imps (2009)
- The Making of Plus One (2009) (completed)
- Made in Romania (2009) (completed)
- Empire of Silver (2009) (completed)
- The Secret Lives of Dorks (2010) (filming)
- 30 Beats (2010) (post-production)
- Renaissance Girl (2010) (pre-production)
- Return to Babylon (2011) (post-production)
- Monsters, Inc. (2013) (voice)
Television
- Cheers (1986) (TV)
- The Webbers (1993) (TV)
- Key West (1993) (TV)
- Heads (1993) (TV)
- The Kid (2001) (voice) (TV)
- Sister Mary Explains It All (2001) (TV)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (2002) (TV)
- Out of Practice (2005–2006) (TV)
- The Initiation of Sarah (2006) (TV)
- CSI: "Take My Life, Please!" (2010)
Awards and 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 LGBT community
- Florida Film Festival Award Artistic Achievement Award
- DVD exclusive Award Best Actress (in a DVD Premiere Movie)
- Eyegore Award Eyegore
- San Diego Film Festival Award Achievement in Acting
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, Fantasy & Horror Films USA Best Supporting Actress – Bound
- MTV Movie Award Best Kiss (With Gina Gershon) – Bound
References
- ^ Some sources indicate 1961, but Tilly's listing on the California Birth Index 1905–1995 (as Jennifer E. Chan) gives her birth date as September 16, 1958.
- ^ Further reference to Tilly's birthdate as 9/16/58: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000236/
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ BankrollBoost.com. "Jennifer Tilly - Poker Pro Bio, Pictures and Poker Videos". Bankrollboost.com. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
- ^ "Jennifer Tilly: Little voice, big talent". The Independent. London. 2004-11-19.
- ^ "Meg Tilly on". Tv.com. 2006-08-17. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
- ^ "Official Meg Tilly Web Site | Meg's Blog | Emily and other things too". Officialmegtilly.com. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
- ^ Theinsider.com. Jennifer Tilly biography
- ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/02/60minutes/main2532044_page3.shtml
- ^ http://www.phillaakpoker.com/phil-laak-about-phil-laaks-life/jennifer-tilly/
- ^ http://www.pokertv.com/articles/paulkammen/poker_royale_on_gsn.html
- ^ "Jennifer Tilly's Pro-Am Poker Equalizer Player Profile". Proampokerequalizer.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "Jennifer Tilly final monthly column in Bluff Magazine". Bluffmagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "Jennifer Tilly resumes monthly column in Bluff Magazine". Bluffmagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ "Jennifer Tilly: Hendon Mob Poker Database". Pokerdb.thehendonmob.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
External links
- Media related to Jennifer Tilly at Wikimedia Commons
- Jennifer Tilly at IMDb
- 1958 births
- American film actors
- American poker players
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- American people of Chinese descent
- American people of Canadian descent
- American people of Irish descent
- Canadian people of Irish descent
- American people of Native American descent
- Canadian people of First Nations descent
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian television actors
- Family Guy
- Female poker players
- Living people
- People from Victoria, British Columbia
- World Poker Tour winners
- World Series of Poker bracelet winners
- American actors of Chinese descent
- Canadian actors of Chinese descent
- American actors of Asian descent
- GLAAD Media Awards winners