Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, two MTV Movie Awards and three

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

. Tilly had her breakthrough playing Olive Neal in the black comedy film '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (1994), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently earned

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

and MTV Award nominations for her performance in the neo-noir thriller '' Bound'' (1996). She rose to widespread recognition for playing

Tiffany Valentine Tiffany Valentine (also known as "The Bride of Chucky") is a murderous doll and a character in the ''Child's Play'' horror film series. She is portrayed by Jennifer Tilly in both live-action and voice over in ''Bride of Chucky'', ''Seed of Chuc ...

in the slasher film franchise '' Child's Play'' (1998–present), which established her as an icon in

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

and a scream queen. Since 1999, Tilly has voiced

Bonnie Swanson ''Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series ''Family Guy'' (1999–present), its spin-off series ...

on the animated comedy series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...

''. Tilly's other film appearances include ''Let It Ride'' (1989), '' The Fabulous Baker Boys'' (1989), '' Made in America'' (1993), '' The Getaway'' (1994), '' Edie & Pen'' (1996), ''

House Arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...

'' (1996), '' Liar Liar'' (1997), '' Music from Another Room'' (1998), '' Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' (2000), ''

The Cat's Meow ''The Cat's Meow'' is a 2001 historical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, and Jennifer Tilly. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his 1997 play ...

'' (2001), '' Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''

The Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...

'' (2003), '' Home on the Range'' (2004), and ''

Tideland ''Tideland'' is the third published book by author Mitch Cullin, and is the third installment of the writer's ''Texas Trilogy'' that also includes the coming-of-age novel '' Whompyjawed'' and the novel-in-verse ''Branches''. The story is a fir ...

'' (2005). Her stage credits include the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

revivals of '' The Women'' (2001) and '' Don't Dress for Dinner'' (2012). She was the recipient of a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

in 1993 for her performance in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

play ''One Shoe Off''. Tilly is a

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pl ...

Ladies' Event

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...

winner, the first celebrity to win a World Series tournament. In 2005, she won the third

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...

Ladies Invitational Tournament. She was nominated for PokerListing's Spirit of Poker Living Legend Award in 2014, and as of 2019, her live tournament winnings exceeded $1 million.

Early life

Tilly was born Jennifer Ellen Chan in Harbor City, Los Angeles. She is the first daughter of Harry Chan, a used car salesman, and Patricia (née Tilly), a Canadian schoolteacher and former stage actress. Her father was of Chinese descent and her mother was of Irish and Finnish ancestry. She has an older brother, Steve, and two younger sisters,

Meg Meg is a feminine given name, often a short form of Megatron, Megan, Megumi (Japanese), etc. It may refer to: People * Meg (singer), a Japanese singer *Meg Cabot (born 1967), American author of romantic and paranormal fiction * Meg Burton Cahill ...

and Rebecca. Following her parents' divorce when she was five, Tilly was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Ward, on rural

Texada Island Texada Island is a large island located in the Strait of Georgia of British Columbia, Canada. With an area of , it is the largest island of the Gulf Islands and the third largest island in the Strait of Georgia after Whidbey Island in Washington ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. According to her sister Meg, Ward was a sadistic pedophile. Her sister Becky agreed but Jennifer did not comment on the issue. Her mother divorced again when Tilly was 16. The family then moved to Langford, a suburb of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, where Tilly attended

Belmont Secondary School Belmont Secondary School is located in Langford, a western suburb of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of three secondary schools in School District 62 Sooke right now. It serves the suburban West Shore area of Colwood, Highlands ...

. Tilly holds a bachelor's degree in theater from

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acad ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Acting career

In 1983, Tilly had small roles and had a recurring guest role on ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' as Gina Srignoli, a mobster's widow who becomes romantically involved with detective Henry Goldblume. She played Frasier Crane's seductive-but-ditzy date Candi Pearson on an episode of the fourth season of ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'' and appeared as a similar character on the eleventh season of ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

''. 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 on the short-lived comedy ''

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

'', alongside

Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...

. In 1989, she had a prominent role in the comedy ''

Let It Ride Let or LET may refer to: Sports * Let serve, when the served object in certain racket sports hits the net and lands in the correct service court, such as; ** Let (badminton) ** Let (pickleball) ** Let (tennis) * Ladies European Tour, the ladi ...

'', starring

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including '' American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), '' Close Encounters of the ...

. Tilly's breakthrough film role was short but memorable appearance as a waitress who fails miserably when auditioning to be a singer in '' The Fabulous Baker Boys'', a role that was written specially for her by Steve Kloves. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Olive Neal, a hopelessly bad actress in

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's '' Bullets Over Broadway'' but she lost to her co-star

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Woo ...

. In 1994, she also had a small role in '' The Getaway'' with

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nic ...

and Kim Basinger. JenniferTilly

Tilly starred in '' Bound'' (1996), directed by

The Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...

, which portrays a lesbian relationship her character has with

Gina Gershon Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress. She has had roles in the films ''Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat'' (1988), '' Showgirls'' (1995), '' Bound'' (1996), '' Face/Off'' (1997), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Demonlover'' (2002 ...

. She played Samantha Cole in the

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

comedy '' Liar Liar'' (1997). In '' Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' (2000), she played a stripper and part-time

dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

. She portrayed gossip columnist

Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and s ...

in the

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

historical drama ''

'' (2001). She gained additional popularity around that time for her portrayal of serial killer

in several of the '' Child's Play'' horror movie series. The character was first introduced in the fourth installment of the franchise, ''

Bride of Chucky ''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, a ...

'' (1998), and subsequently appeared in '' Seed of Chucky'' (2004), ''

Curse of Chucky ''Curse of Chucky'' is a 2013 American slasher film and the sixth installment of the ''Child's Play'' franchise. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created the franchise and wrote the first six films. It stars Fiona Dourif, ...

'' (2013), ''

Cult of Chucky In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

'' (2017), and the television series '' Chucky'' (2021). In ''Seed of Chucky'', she plays a dual role, providing the voice for Tiffany and also playing an exaggerated version of herself. The performance earned her nominations for the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress and the MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance. Note: Click on the "Winners" tab. She reprises the role in every subsequent appearance. In 2001, she starred as Crystal Allen in the Broadway revival of '' The Women''. In 2002 she played Fanny Minafer in the made-for-TV remake of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

' ''

The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for ficti ...

''. She is a semi-regular cast member on ''

'', voicing the Griffin family's neighbor,

. She has also done voice-over work for the films '' Monsters, Inc.'', '' Stuart Little'' and '' Home on the Range'', as well as the children's series ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpar ...

''. In

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

'', she portrays Madame Leota (a head in a crystal ball). She has been active in the theatre, winning a

Theater World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre sea ...

for her performance in the off-Broadway play ''One Shoe Off''. She had a starring role on the sitcom '' Out of Practice'', which starred

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

and

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series '' The West Wing'' ...

. The series was cancelled 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''.

Poker career

Tilly's father was a gambler and a poker player, and gave her the video game ''World Series of Poker''. She was subsequently taught the real game by her boyfriend when she moved to Hollywood. On June 27, 2005, Tilly won a

bracelet (and $158,625) in the Ladies' No-Limit

Texas hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fa ...

event, beating 600 other players. She followed up this accomplishment on September 1, 2005, by winning the third

Ladies Invitational Tournament held at the

Bicycle Casino The Bicycle Hotel & Casino (commonly, "The Bike") is a poker cardroom in California. Founded by George Hardie Sr. in 1984, located in Bell Gardens, California, The Bicycle Casino offers a selection of poker games and Asian games, with a wide ...

in Bell Gardens, a suburb of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Tilly has appeared in the GSN

Poker Royale ''Poker Royale'' is a television series on the Game Show Network (GSN), which featured No Limit Texas hold 'em Poker. The first series began on December 7, 2004. The eighth and final series, ''Poker Royale: Young Bloods II'', began airing on Dec ...

series. Tilly played in the Celebrity Poker Showdown which aired June 14, 2006, on Bravo. She came in third place after being beaten by Bravo's

online poker Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 t ...

champion Ida Siconolfi. She also participated in the ''Poker After Dark'' show. When playing poker on television, Tilly often wears low-cut tops with push-up bras that expose considerable cleavage in order to "look cute", but noted that "if people are ''really'' playing poker, they don't care. Nothing looks better to them than a pair of aces. They're not looking at ''your'' pair. They're looking at ''their'' pair." Tilly appears in the ''World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition'' video game, along with her boyfriend

Phil Laak Philip Courtney Laak (born September 8, 1972) is an Irish–American professional poker player and a poker commentator, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour (WPT) title, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, a ...

, which was released in 2007 by Activision. In a television interview in 2005, Tilly stated that at that point in her career she was more interested in pursuing poker than acting. 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 A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

. 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." In January 2010, she resumed her poker career. She was nominated for PokerListing's Spirit of Poker Living Legend Award in 2014, and , her live tournament winnings exceeded $1 million.

Personal life

Tilly was married to Sam Simon, developer and producer of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'', from 1984 until 1991. As of 2018, Tilly receives 30 percent of net proceeds that Simon’s estate receives from Fox. She has been in a relationship with professional poker player

since 2004.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Video games

Awards and nominations

Acting awards

In addition, she received

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would rece ...

s for her work in the theater plays ''Vanities'' and ''One Shoe Off''.

Poker awards

* World Series of Poker Bracelet: In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, Tilly won the $1,000 Ladies' No Limit Hold'em; the prize was $158,335. * CardPlayer Best Celebrity Player of the Year, 2005 * WPT Ladies Invitational Tournament, 2005 ($25,000) * WPT Bellagio Cup 5K, 2010 ($124,455)

References

External links

* * * *
Jennifer Tilly Bio
at Tribute.ca {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilly, Jennifer 1958 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American actresses of Chinese descent American film actresses American people of Canadian descent American people of Finnish descent American people of Irish descent American poker players American television actresses American voice actresses Canadian actresses of Chinese descent Canadian people of Finnish descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian voice actresses Female poker players Living people Stephens College alumni World Poker Tour winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners People from Harbor City, Los Angeles American stage actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian film actresses