Lois Chiles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lois Chiles
Studio portrait (1979)
Born	Lois Cleveland Chiles (1947-04-15) April 15, 1947 (age 78) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1972–2006
Spouse(s)	Richard Gilder ​ ​ (m. 2005; died 2020)​
Relatives	Eddie Chiles (uncle)

Lois Cleveland Chiles (born April 15, 1947) is an American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for playing Holly Goodhead in the James Bond movie Moonraker (1979). She also played a driver in Creepshow 2 (1987).

Lois Chiles has appeared in other films like The Way We Were (1973) and The Great Gatsby (1974). She was also in Death on the Nile (1978) and Broadcast News (1987). On television, she played Holly Harwood in the show Dallas from 1982 to 1983.

Her Early Life and Modeling Career

Lois Chiles was born in Houston, Texas. Her parents were Marion Clay Chiles and Barbara Wayne Kirkland Chiles. Her uncle, Eddie Chiles, was a famous oil businessman and owned the Texas Rangers baseball team. Lois grew up in Alice, Texas.

She went to the University of Texas at Austin and Finch College in New York City. While at Finch College, an editor from Glamour magazine discovered her. They were looking for a young woman to be on the cover of their college issue. Lois got the job and soon became a successful model. She worked with top modeling agencies like Wilhelmina Models and Elite Models. Later, she studied acting with Roy London. In 2005, she married money manager Richard Gilder. They supported a school in Massachusetts called Northfield Mount Hermon School. The school even named the Chiles Theater after her. Richard Gilder passed away in 2020.

Acting Career Highlights

Lois Chiles had a very successful modeling career in the early 1970s. She started acting in films in 1972. Her first movie was an independent film called Together for Days.

Famous Film Roles

In 1973, she appeared in the popular movie The Way We Were. She played the college girlfriend of a character played by Robert Redford. She then played Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby (1974). In this film, she acted alongside Mia Farrow and Robert Redford again. She also worked with Mia Farrow in the mystery film Death on the Nile (1978), based on an Agatha Christie book.

One of her most famous roles was Dr. Holly Goodhead in the James Bond movie Moonraker (1979). She played a NASA astronaut and scientist. She acted opposite Roger Moore, who played James Bond. Lois Chiles was first asked to be in an earlier Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me. However, she was taking a break from acting at the time and turned down the role. She also had a small part in the thriller Coma (1978).

In 1979, Lois Chiles took a three-year break from acting after a family loss. This break made it harder for her to find big roles when she returned. However, she still received good reviews for her acting. She was praised for her role in Sweet Liberty (1986). Her performance as reporter Jennifer Mack in Broadcast News (1987) was also well-liked. She also appeared in the horror movie Creepshow 2 in 1987. In 1989, she had a short, uncredited role in Say Anything....

Later, she played a high-school principal in the 1996 Disney film Wish Upon a Star. She was also a frightened passenger in Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997). She had a small part in the 1997 Bond comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

Television and Later Work

Lois Chiles also worked a lot in television. She played Holly Harwood, a character on Dallas, from 1982 to 1983. She also made guest appearances in shows like Hart to Hart, In the Heat of the Night, Murder, She Wrote, and The Nanny.

Some of her later film roles included the independent movies Diary of a Hitman (1991) and Curdled (1996). In 2005, her friend Quentin Tarantino asked her to appear in the final two episodes of season five of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He wrote and directed these episodes.

In 2002, she taught a film acting class at the University of Houston. Lois Chiles has said that being a "Bond girl" is a fun way to be remembered. She jokes that people often ask her to say "Oh, James," which can be a bit annoying.

Film and TV Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Lois Chiles para niños