Jennifer Tilly

An actress who always attracts audiences' attention, 'Jennifer Tilly' (qv) is by turns funny, sexy, compassionate, compelling and often all at once. She burst onto the scene playing the tone deaf Monica Moran in _The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)_ (qv), opposite brothers 'Jeff Bridges' (qv) and 'Beau Bridges' (qv). She has been playing unforgettable characters ever since. She earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the hopelessly untalented Olive Neal in 'Woody Allen' (qv)'s _Bullets Over Broadway (1994)_ (qv). She followed that up with a memorable turn as 'Jim Carrey' (qv)'s gold-digging client in the blockbuster _Liar Liar (1997)_ (qv). A sultry performance as Violet, opposite 'Gina Gershon' (qv), helped make 'Lana Wachowski' (qv)'s and 'Lilly Wachowski' (qv)'s _Bound (1996)_ (qv) a breakout indie success at the Sundance Film Festival and then in theatres. It also expanded Jennifer's already significant gay and lesbian following.'Jennifer Tilly' (qv) was born Jennifer Ellen Chan in Harbor City, Los Angeles, to Harry Chan, a used car salesman, who was of Chinese origin, and Patricia (née Tilly), a schoolteacher and stage actress. Her sister is actress 'Meg Tilly' (qv). They were raised on rural Texada Island, British Columbia, by her mother and stepfather, John Ward.Over the years, Jennifer has worked with some of the world's best directors, including Terry Gilliam (_Tideland (2005)_ (qv)), 'Neil Jordan' (qv) (_High Spirits (1988)_ (qv)), 'Joe Pytka' (qv) (_Let It Ride (1989)_ (qv)), 'Roger Donaldson' (qv) (_The Getaway (1994)_ (qv)), 'Ronny Yu' (qv) (_Bride of Chucky (1998)_ (qv)), 'Woody Allen' (qv) (_Bullets Over Broadway (1994)_ (qv)), Jerry Shatzberg (_No Small Affair (1984)_ (qv)), 'Rob Minkoff' (qv) (_Stuart Little (1999)_ (qv) and _The Haunted Mansion (2003)_ (qv)), 'Peter Bogdanovich' (qv) (_The Cat's Meow (2001)_ (qv)), in which she played 'Louella Parsons' (qv), 'Richard Benjamin' (qv) (_Made in America (1993)_ (qv)), Alphonso Arau (_The Magnificent Ambersons (2002)_ (qv)), Oliver Stone (_The Doors (1991)_ (qv)), Albert Brooks (_The Muse (1999)_ (qv)) and 'Michael Radford' (qv) (_Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)_ (qv)). Other films include: _Saint Ralph (2004)_ (qv), _Music from Another Room (1998)_ (qv), _Shadow of the Wolf (1992)_ (qv), _Bart Got a Room (2008)_ (qv), _An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009)_ (qv), 'P.J. Castellaneta' (qv)'s _Relax... It's Just Sex (1998)_ (qv), _The Wrong Guy (1997)_ (qv), _Second Best (2004)_ (qv), _Sister Mary Explains It All (2001)_ (qv), _Bella Mafia (1997)_ (qv), _Edie & Pen (1996)_ (qv), _The Crew (2000)_ (qv), and many more. Jennifer has appeared on some of television's best series, including _Cheers (1982)_ (qv), _Remington Steele (1982)_ (qv), _Moonlighting (1985)_ (qv), _CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)_ (qv) and _Frasier (1993)_ (qv). She was a recurring character on _Hill Street Blues (1981)_ (qv), _It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986)_ (qv) and _Out of Practice (2005)_ (qv), and a series regular on NBC's _Shaping Up (1984)_ (qv) and Fox's _Key West (1993)_ (qv). She is also in great demand as a voice-over artist. Her vocal characterizations include the snaky-haired Celia in Pixel's _Monsters, Inc. (2001)_ (qv), the new age cow Grace in Disney's _Home on the Range (2004)_ (qv), and the perpetually pregnant Bonnie Swanson on _Family Guy (1999)_ (qv). Equally at home on stage as well as film, she has many theatre credits under her belt. She received a Theatre World Award for her performance in Second Stage's "One Shoe Off" performed at the 'Joseph Papp' (qv).Jennifer successfully cultivated another fan base with the revitalization of the "Child's Play" horror comedy franchise. For 'Ronny Yu' (qv)'s _Bride of Chucky (1998)_ (qv), the filmmakers turned to Jennifer to create the character who would spark the series in a new direction. She met the challenge and established a new horror icon in Tiffany. In Rogue Pictures' _Seed of Chucky (2004)_ (qv), written and directed by series creator 'Don Mancini' (qv), Jennifer again took the popular series to the next level; starring as Tiffany and as herself, the deadly doll's favorite actress, who soon becomes an unwitting hostess in more ways than one.Jennifer's pitch-perfect voiceover work as Tiffany is not the only instance of her being able to incarnate a character from the vocal chords out. Families know her distinctive cadences from the Disney hits _Home on the Range (2004)_ (qv), directed by 'Will Finn' (qv) and 'John Sanford' (qv); _The Haunted Mansion (2003)_ (qv) (in which Jennifer acted from the neck up only), directed by 'Rob Minkoff' (qv); and the Pixar blockbuster _Monsters, Inc. (2001)_ (qv) (voicing Mike's love interest Celia), directed by 'Pete Docter' (qv), 'David Silverman' (qv) and 'Lee Unkrich' (qv). She began her acting career as a teenager, putting herself through the theater program at Stephens College in Missouri by winning writing competitions. She then headed to Los Angeles, California. While she continued to act on the stage (earning a Dramalogue Award for her performance in "Vanities"), movies and television immediately came calling for the actress with the unique voice and visage.In 2001, she starred in the Broadway revival of "The Women" with Cynthia Nixon and Kristen Johnson, which was later taped for, and broadcast on, PBS. In 2008, she appeared with Miranda Richardson in the critically acclaimed production of Wallace Shawn's play "Grasses of a Thousand Colors" at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Other plays include "Tartuffe" (LAAT) "Boy's Life" (LAAT) "Baby with the Bathwater" (LAPT) and others too numerous to mention. In 2005, Jennifer met her boyfriend, professional poker player 'Phil Laak' (qv) (also known as the Unabomber). That summer at the World Series of Poker, she bested a field of 601 to take down the Ladies Event and win a coveted gold bracelet. She followed this up by winning the WPT Ladies Invitational, making her one of a small but elite group holding both a WSOP bracelet, and a WPT title. In summer 2010, she also won the Bellagio Cup 5k tournament.She writes a monthly column for Bluff magazine, and is a regular on the tournament circuit. Jennifer is a familiar face on many poker television shows, including "Poker Superstars", "Poker After Dark", "The Big Game", "The World Poker Open", "The Poker Lounge" and NBC's "Heads Up", to name a few. She is number 25 on the Women's All Time Money list, with career earnings in excess of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Upcoming films include _30 Beats (2012)_ (qv) with Justin Kirk and Paz de la Huerta, and _The Secret Lives of Dorks (2013)_ (qv) starring opposite 'Jim Belushi' (qv). In December 2010, she received the Best Actress Award from the WIFT (Women in Film and Television) Foundation for her work in the Mary McGuckian films _Intervention (2007)_ (qv) and _Inconceivable (2008)_ (qv) slated for release in 2011.In addition, she has been a favored guest on a number of talk shows, from _The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)_ (qv) to _The Arsenio Hall Show (1989)_ (qv) to _The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992)_ (qv). Those interview segments have encouraged viewers to expect the unexpected from her interplay with the host and the studio audience.::Nicole Perez, publicist