Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly1.jpg
Jennifer Tilly, 2006
Born Jennifer E. Chan
September 16, 1958 (1958-09-16) (age 51)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse(s) Sam Simon (1984–1991, divorced)

Jennifer Tilly (born September 16, 1958)[1] is an Academy Award-nominated Canadian-American actress and a World Series of Poker bracelet winner.

Contents

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.[2] 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 she was a teenager and moved to Victoria, where she attended Belmont High School. Her sister is actress Meg Tilly. Tilly began her acting career in her teenage years through a theatre program at Stephens College in Missouri.

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. Jennifer Tilly also appeared as Garry's girlfriend on It's Garry Shandling's Show, which aired on Showtime in the mid 1980's.

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."

Tilly in 2007

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 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 permanently pregnant 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 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 starring role in the US television comedy Out of Practice starring Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing. The series was canceled shortly after.

Poker

Tilly's poker profile
Jennifer Tilly2005.jpg
Tilly right after her win at the 2005 World Series of Poker $1,000 Ladies Only Event - No Limit Hold'em.
Nickname(s) The Unabombshell
Hometown Texada Island, British Columbia
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s) 1
Money finishes 4
Highest ITM main
event finish		 None
World Poker Tour
Titles 0 (+1)
Final tables 0(+2)
Money finishes 5(+1)
Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak at the 2005 WSOP.

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 online 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.[3] As of 2008, her live tournament winnings exceed $450,000.

Tilly also appears in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition video game (along with current boyfriend, Phil Laak) that was released in 2007 by Activision.

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 14 years younger than Tilly.

Tilly has two cats, Corky and Violet, and is an avid lover of fashion. She is a supporter of gay and lesbian rights.[4]

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 (1999-2002, 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)
  • 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)
  • 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 (2008)
  • The Caretaker (2008)
  • Return to Babylon (2008)
  • Made in Romania (2008)
  • Inconceivable (2008) (awaiting release)
  • The Making Of Plus One (2009) (post production)
  • Renaissance Girl (2009) (pre production)
  • Child's Play (remake) (2009) (pre production)
  • Relax... It's Just Sex 2 (2009) (in production)

Awards and nominations

Awards

Nominations

References

  1. ↑ Some sources indicate 1958, but Tilly's listing on the California Birth Index 1905 - 1995 (as Jennifer E. Chan) gives her birth date as September 16, 1961.
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ Jennifer Tilly's Pro-Am Poker Equalizer Player Profile
  4. ↑ Article: GLAAD to Honor Jennifer Tilly

External links

Child's Play series
Films
Child's Play · Child's Play 2 · Child's Play 3 · Bride of Chucky · Seed of Chucky
 MistyGraves.jpg
Characters
Chucky · Tiffany · Andy Barclay
Cast and Crew
Don Mancini · David Kirschner  · Brad Dourif · Jennifer Tilly · Alex Vincent · Justin Whalin · Nick Stabile