American actress Jennifer E. Chan, popularly known as Jennifer Tilly, was born September 16, 1958, in Harbor City, California. Her father worked as a stockbroker and was of Chinese-American descent, while her mother was Irish-Canadian. Tilly’s stage name is taken from her mother’s maiden name.
Tilly and her siblings, one of which is Oscar-nominated sister Meg Tilly, grew up in British Columbia, Canada. Tilly knew she wanted to be an actress from an early age, and by her teens she jointed the Stephens College theater program located in Missouri. Exercising another talent, she paid her tuition by winning writing competitions.
Tilly’s early career was sprinkled with television series appearances, including playing parts in Hill Street Blues, Cheers, and Moonlighting. By 1989, she received the breakout role she had been anxiously awaiting; cast beside Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges, and Michelle Pfeiffer, she found herself in the romantic comedy The Fabulous Baker Boys.
After this, she took many bit roles but continued to garner the very special attention of director extraordinaire Woody Allen. He cast her in his next film Bullets Over Broadway as a painfully bad actress. Next to John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, and Chazz Palminteri, Tilly earned herself an Oscar nomination.
Her next truly memorable role came in 1996 beside Gina Gershon in the Andy and Larry Wachowski directorial debut Bound. The Wachowski brothers are now known primarily for their mega-blockbuster Matrix trilogy.
Riding off her success, Tilly found roles in higher budget productions such as Liar Liar with Jim Carrey. She also breathed new life into the floundering Child's Play series with her voice talents in Bride of Chucky in 1998 and Seed of Chucky in 2004.
Tilly's distinctive voice has earned her multiple roles in varying animated productions. Her work can be heard regularly in Family Guy, in which she plays Bonnie; alongside Billy Crystal and John Goodman in Monsters, Inc.; as well as in Stuart Little; The Haunted Mansion; and Home on the Range.
Tilly has recently completed Intervention and a remake of The Initiation of Sarah.
But Tilly isn’t only drawn to the camera; an avid theater performer, she won a Theater World Award for the play One Shoe Off.
Some might also recognize Tilly from her poker days. In 2005, Tilly walked away with $158,625 at the World Series of Poker. She has also put in an appearance at the Celebrity Poker Showdown and has even been heard stating that she'd rather pursue poker than acting.
Tilly was married to Sam Simon from 1984 to 1991, the marriage dissolving into divorce with no children. Currently, she and professional poker player Phil Laak are dating.
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