Jennifer Tilly

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Jennifer Tilly
Birth name	Jennifer E. Chan
Born	September 16, 1958 (age 48) Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse(s)	Sam Simon (1984 — 1991, divorced)

Jennifer Tilly (born September 16, 1958 in the Harbor City community of Los Angeles, California)^[1] is an Academy Award-nominated American actress and semi-professional poker player.

[edit] Early life

Jennifer Tilly was born Jennifer E. Chan in Harbor City, California. Her father was a Chinese-American stockbroker and her mother an Irish-Canadian. Tilly is her mother's maiden name. Jennifer and her two sisters, Meg Tilly and Rebecca Tilly, were brought up in rural British Columbia, Canada. Jennifer began her acting career in her teenage years through a theatre program at Stephens College in Missouri.

[edit] Acting career

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. 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. She played Samantha Cole in the 1997 Jim Carrey hit, Liar Liar. She also played a small part in the cult classic horse racing movie, "Let It Ride (film)" with Richard Dreyfuss and Terri Garr in 1988, a role in a movie that Tilly later said "should have done better".

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. She played the wife of a murdered Italian Mafia son in Bella Mafia with Dennis Farina. Tilly also appeared in Bound, which revolves around a lesbian relationship her character has with Gina Gershon.

Tilly is a semi-regular cast member on Family Guy, voicing the Griffin family's neighbor, Bonnie. 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 starred in the US Comedy Out of Practice alongside Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing.

[edit] Poker

Jennifer Tilly at Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. Her World Series of Poker championship bracelet can be seen on her left wrist.

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♣ K♥ 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.^[2]

[edit] Private life

Jennifer Tilly & Phil Laak watching Bravo's CPS back stage.

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.

[edit] Trivia

• Ranked #23 in Celebrity Sleuth 25 Sexiest Women of 1995.
• In high school, everyone called Jennifer, Meg and their younger sister Becky the Three Musketeers.
• Has two cats, Corky and Violet.
• Is an avid lover of fashion.
• Is a supporter of gay and lesbian rights.^[3]

[edit] Selected 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) (voice)
• Music From Another Room (1998)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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 : Latin Godfather (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) (completed)
• The Caretaker (2007) (post production)
• The Independant (2007) (filming)

[edit] 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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Acting

• Jennifer Tilly at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennifer Tilly Unofficial Unofficial Fan Site
• Jennifer Tilly Fan Forum Fan Forum
• Chamber of Desires- The Jennifer Tilly website Fan Site

[edit] Poker

• PokerPages.com profile
• World Poker Tour profile
• PokerPlayer magazine interview
• Hendon Mob poker tournament results