Kelly McGillis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kelly McGillis
McGillis at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival
Born	(1957-07-09) July 9, 1957 (age 67) Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Education	Allan Hancock College Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–present
Notable work	Filmography
Spouse(s)	Boyd Black ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1981)​ Fred Tillman ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 2002)​
Partner(s)	Melanie Leis (2010–2011)
Children	2

Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American actress. She is well-known for her roles in popular movies. These include Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985), where she was nominated for a Golden Globe award. She also played Charlie in Top Gun (1986). Other notable films are Made in Heaven (1987), The House on Carroll Street (1988), and Katheryn Murphy in The Accused (1988). Later in her career, she appeared in horror films like Stake Land (2010) and The Innkeepers (2011).

Early Life and Education

Kelly McGillis was born on July 9, 1957. She grew up in Newport Beach, California, a city in southern California. She was the oldest of three daughters. Her mother, Virginia Joan, was a homemaker, and her father, Donald Manson McGillis, was a doctor. Her family background includes Scottish-Irish, German, and Welsh roots.

She went to Newport Harbor High School. After leaving high school in 1975, she earned her GED. Then, she moved to New York City to study acting. She attended the famous Juilliard School and graduated in 1983.

Acting Career

Film Roles

Kelly McGillis started her film career in 1983 with the movie Reuben, Reuben. Her big breakthrough came in 1985. She played an Amish mother named Rachel Lapp in the film Witness. This role earned her nominations for both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award.

McGillis on the set of Witness in 1984

Her next very famous role was in the 1986 movie Top Gun. She played Charlotte Blackwood, a flight instructor known as "Charlie." She starred alongside Tom Cruise in this popular fighter-pilot film.

In 1987, McGillis appeared in the romance film Made in Heaven. She also played a caretaker, Emily Crane, in The House on Carroll Street (1988). In this movie, her character uncovers a plot to bring Nazi war criminals into the United States.

After The Accused in 1988, she acted in Cat Chaser. Throughout the 1990s, McGillis took on many roles in television and films. She played Babe Ruth's second wife, Claire Merritt Ruth, in The Babe (1992). She also appeared in Winter People (1989) and North (1994). In 1999, she co-starred with Val Kilmer in At First Sight.

In 2000, she starred in The Monkey's Mask, an international film based on an Australian poem.

Television Appearances

Kelly McGillis had early roles on television. She appeared in the daytime soap opera One Life to Live in 1984. She also starred in the 1984 TV movie Sweet Revenge with Alec Baldwin.

Other TV films from the 1980s include Private Sessions (1985). She also narrated Santabear's First Christmas and the documentary Out of Ireland for PBS in 1995.

Later, she joined the cast of Showtime's The L Word in 2007. She also appeared in the breast cancer docu-drama 1 a Minute in 2010. In 2014, she was in Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio and an episode of Z Nation. In 2017, she had the lead role in Mother of All Secrets.

Stage Performances

Kelly McGillis has also had a successful career in theater. While at Juilliard, she performed in Love for Love. She appeared in several off-Broadway and Broadway shows in New York City during the 1980s.

From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, she was a main actress at the famous Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC. In 2002, she was in "The Duchess of Malfi" at the Shakespeare Theatre.

In 2004, she toured the United States in the stage play The Graduate, playing Mrs. Robinson. She also starred in The Little Foxes in 2009. Her stage work includes many classic plays like Don Juan (1982), The Sea Gull (1985), The Merchant of Venice (1988), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999).

McGillis at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Personal Life

Kelly McGillis married Boyd Black in 1979, but they divorced in 1981. She later married Fred Tillman in 1989, and they had two daughters together. They divorced in 2002.

In 1996, a large boat owned by McGillis and her then-husband, Fred Tillman, was destroyed by fire. The fire started on a nearby boat and spread to their schooner, which was valued at $1.5 million.

Kelly McGillis currently lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina. As of 2013, she has taught acting at the New York Studio for Stage and Screen (NYS3) in Asheville, North Carolina.

In 2016, Kelly McGillis was assaulted by a woman who broke into her North Carolina home. The attacker was later found guilty of breaking and entering and received probation.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music Videos

Producer

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Kelly McGillis para niños