Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American actress. She found fame for her roles in several films throughout the 1980s including her roles as Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985) for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, Charlie in Top Gun (1986) and Kathryn Murphy in The Accused (1988). After her appearance in Cat Chaser (1989), she was discouraged from acting and took a break for a few years.
Juilliard School, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts
Nationality
American
Spouse
Melanie Leis (m. 2010–2011), Fred Tillman (m. 1989–2002), Boyd Black (m. 1979–1981)
Children
Sonora Tillman, Kelsey Tillman
Parents
Virgina Joan McGillis, Donald Manson McGillis
Siblings
Kathleen McGillis, Karen McGillis
Awards
Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Production
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play
Movies
Top Gun, Witness, The Accused, Stake Land, The Innkeepers, The Monkey's Mask, We Are What We Are, Cat Chaser, Made in Heaven, Winter People, The House on Carroll Street, The Babe, At First Sight, Reuben, Reuben, Tio Papi, Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, Supergator, Bonds of Love, Painted Angels,...
TV Shows
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Live from Lincoln Center, Journey to Planet Earth
Star Sign
Cancer
#
Quote
1
For a long time I thought I could deal with my anger and hostility on my own. But I couldn't. I denied that it had affected me, and yet I was so frantic on the inside with other people: I needed to be constantly reassured. It wasn't until I started seeing myself self-destructing that I realized I needed help. To realize how angry I was and to ask for help -- those were the stepping stones. There's a part of me that wants to be stoic and very strong. I had to realize that the attack wasn't directed at me, as Kelly. It was random. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. That was the first step toward getting rid of all those hostile feelings I had about it. Still, when you're a victim of a violent crime -- when somebody has taken control over your life, if only for a moment -- I don't think you ever fully recover. - Speaking about her reactions to being raped.
2
I think it's sad that movies and television have caused the theatre to fade as a popular art form. I hope to get young people into the theatre and expose them to Shakespeare.
3
Love isn't intellectual - it's visceral.
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Fact
1
She lost out on the role of Madame de Tourvel twice. The first time was in 1987 in the stage drama "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" with other American actors Glenn Close and Kevin Spacey, where they would have replaced the acclaimed English cast, but the show closed since producers feared soft box-office because of the cast change. (This was before Close and Spacey became household names.) The second time was in 1988 in the film Dangerous Liaisons (1988) when film critic Pauline Kael talked the film's director Stephen Frears into dropping McGillis in favor of Michelle Pfeiffer, who earned an Academy Award nomination, as did Close who was cast this time, because of her star-making performance in Fatal Attraction (1987).
2
On Friday June 17, 2016 Ms. McGillis came home and found Laurence Marie Dorn had entered her house and attacked her. Ms. Dorn was later arrested by Henderson County Deputies and charged with second degree burglary, misdemeanor larceny, misdemeanor stalking, assault and battery, and interfering with emergency communications.
3
As of June 2016, now lives in Henderson County, North Carolina.
4
She has English, Welsh, Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), and German ancestry.
5
Touring UK with the stage play "Frankie & Johnny in the Clair De Lune" with Rolf Saxon. [April 2010]
6
Collingswood, New Jersey [September 2010]
7
Performing on stage as "Mrs. Robinson" in the national touring company of the play "The Graduate." [March 2004]
8
Currently working in The Graduate as Mrs. Robinson on Broadway. [November 2004]
9
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 35, a daughter Sonora Ashley on April 10, 1993. Child's father is her 2nd husband, Fred Tillman.
10
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 32, a daughter Kelsey Lauren Tillman on May 24, 1990. Child's father is her 2nd husband, Fred Tillman.
11
Met former partner Melanie Leis in 2000, while McGillis was still married to her second husband Fred Tillman.
12
The New York Times reported that on September 15, 2010, Kelly McGillis and Melanie Leis had a civil union performed in Collingswood, New Jersey, by Judge Robert T. Zane III. Melanie Leis is a sales executive.
13
Is also a professional counselor, primarily concerning substance abuse.
14
In April, 2009 Kelly McGillis confirmed long-held rumors that she's a lesbian, according to an interview on the website shewired.
15
Auditioned for the role of Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (1992).
16
Kelly McGillis actually had to return to employment waiting tables after having been a prominent character in an Oscar nominated film (her first movie, Reuben Reuben).
17
Was fired from the film Bachelor Party (1984) allegedly because the producers thought she wasn't pretty or sexy enough.
18
Sisters: Karen (b. July 1959) and Kathleen (b. August 1961).
19
Daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Donald, a general practitioner of medicine.
20
Studied at Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts and Juilliard.
21
Claimed that she was a lonely, overweight adolescent.
22
Wanted to play the role of "Kathryn Murphy", the district attorney in The Accused (1988), because she and her roommate were assaulted and raped by two men in their apartment in 1982.
23
Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36.
24
Owner of restaurant "Kelly's" in Key West, Florida.
$7.5 Million
