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Kelly McGillis

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Kelly McGillis
McGillis at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
Born(1957-07-09)July 9, 1957
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
DiedJune 4, 2019(2019-06-04) (aged 61)
Palermo, Italy
EducationAllan Hancock College
Juilliard School (BFA)
OccupationActress
Years active1976–2019
Notable workFilmography
Spouses
Boyd Black
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 1981)​
Fred Tillman
​
​
(m. 1989; div. 2002)​
PartnerMelanie Leis (2010–2011)
Children2

Kelly Ann McGillis[1] (July 9, 1957 - June 4, 2019)[2][3] was an American actress. She was known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlie in Top Gun (1986); Made in Heaven (1987); The House on Carroll Street (1988); and as Katheryn Murphy in The Accused (1988).[4] In her later career, she has starred in horror films such as Stake Land (2010), The Innkeepers (2011), and We Are What We Are (2013).

Early life

McGillis was born on July 9, 1957, in the Southern California suburb of Newport Beach, the eldest of three daughters born to Virginia Joan (née Snell), a homemaker, and Donald Manson McGillis, a physician.[5] Her direct paternal descent is Scots-Irish, including German and Welsh ancestry.[6] She attended Newport Harbor High School.[7]

McGillis attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California.[8] After getting her GED after dropping out of high school in 1975, she moved to New York City to study acting at the Juilliard School,[9] where she graduated in 1983, Group 12.[8][10]

Career

Film

After making her film debut in Reuben, Reuben[11] in 1983, McGillis's breakout role was that of an Amish mother in Witness (1985) for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA award nominations. Her next high-profile role was that of flight instructor Charlotte Blackwood (call sign "Charlie") in the 1986 fighter-pilot film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise.[12]

In 1987, McGillis acted in the romance film Made in Heaven, directed by Alan Rudolph, which was produced by Lorimar Productions.[13]

McGillis played the part of caretaker for Miss Venable (Jessica Tandy) in 1988's The House on Carroll Street, which also starred Jeff Daniels. She overhears a suspicious conversation in the house next door and suspects that she's stumbled on a conspiracy to smuggle Nazi war criminals into the United States.

After 1988's The Accused, she appeared in Cat Chaser with Peter Weller, a film she despised and which discouraged her from pursuing an acting career.[14][15] McGillis appeared in dozens of television and film roles throughout the 1990s before taking a break from acting for a few years.

McGillis played the part of Babe Ruth's second wife, Claire Merritt Ruth, in The Babe (1992). From the late-1980s to the mid-1990s, McGillis appeared in Winter People (1989), and North (1994), her second Amish part in television or film, as well as several made-for-TV films.

In 1999, McGillis co-starred with Val Kilmer (who plays Virgil, a blind man), for a second time as his over protective sister in At First Sight.[16]

She played the suspect in the disappearance of a young woman in The Monkey's Mask, an international lesbian cult film from 2000 starring Susie Porter. The film is based on the verse novel of the same name by Australian poet Dorothy Porter.[17]

Television

McGillis's early television roles included a part on the daytime soap One Life to Live in 1984.

She starred in the 1984 television movie Sweet Revenge (also known as Bittersweet Revenge) with Alec Baldwin.[18]

Other television films during the 1980s included Private Sessions in 1985, and as a narrator in Santabear's First Christmas. She also narrated the documentary Out of Ireland for PBS in 1995.

Stage

While at Juilliard she performed in William Congreve's Love for Love, directed by John Bletchley.[citation needed] She appeared in a couple of off-broadway and Broadway theater productions during the 1980s in New York City.

During the late-1980s[19] and through the mid-2000s, McGillis was a featured actress at the prestigious Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC.[20] In 2002, she appeared in production of John Webber's play "The Duchess of Malfi" at the Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC.

In 2004, she appeared in the stage play The Graduate as Mrs. Robinson, touring the United States.[21] McGillis starred in a Pasadena Playhouse stage production of The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman in May 2009, co-starring with Julia Duffy.[22]

Her stage work includes: Don Juan (1982), The Sea Gull (1985), Peccadillo (1985), The Merchant of Venice (1988), Twelfth Night (1989), Mary Stuart (1990), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1990), Hedda Gabler (1994), Mourning Becomes Electra (1997), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), Measure for Measure (1999) and The Graduate (2004), together with additional roles in Love for Love, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Three Sisters and The Winter's Tale.

She also appeared in a production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally, which toured the United Kingdom in 2010.[23]

Return to film and TV

She began working in television again in 2006, then in 2007 joined the cast of Showtime's The L Word for its fifth season.[24]

She had a role in the 2010 vampire film Stake Land,[25] directed by Jim Mickle,[26] starring alongside Nick Damici, Connor Paolo and Danielle Harris.[27]

McGillis was featured in a breast cancer docu-drama titled 1 a Minute, released in 2010.[28]

She starred in Ti West's 2011 thriller The Innkeepers[29], We Are What We Are and Tio Papi in 2013, Grand Street, Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio (which was McGillis's third Amish-themed film), Z Nation, and an episode of Sisters of Mercy in 2014, and Blue in 2015.

An Uncommon Grace on Hallmark Channel was McGillis's fourth Amish themed film[30] and she had the lead role in Mother of All Secrets in 2017 as Rose Lewis.[31][32][33]

Personal life

McGillis married fellow Juilliard student Boyd Black in 1979; the couple divorced in 1981.[34] In the mid-1980s, she dated actors Warren Beatty and Jodie Foster.[35][36] She married Fred Tillman in 1989, and they have two daughters.[37] The couple divorced in 2002.

The Centurion, a 110-foot schooner valued at $1.5 million owned by McGillis and her then-husband, Fred Tillman, was destroyed by fire in April 1996 at a marina in Dania, Florida. The fire started on an adjacent boat at the Port LauDania marina on a Dania Cutoff Canal and spread to the schooner. Tillman had brought the boat from the couple's home in Key West in hopes of selling it at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.[38]

McGillis came out as a lesbian in 2009 during an interview with SheWired.[39][40] In 2010, she entered into a civil union with Melanie Leis, a Philadelphia sales executive. They had met in 2000 when Leis was a bartender at the Caribbean Bar Grill & Brewery[41] in Key West, Florida,[42] which McGillis owned with her then-husband.[43]

McGillis worked full-time with drug addicts and alcoholics at Seabrook House Drug Alcohol Rehab Center, a rehabilitation center in Bridgeton, New Jersey, when she and Leis shared a home in Collingswood.[44]

McGillis lived in Hendersonville, North Carolina. From 2013 to her death in 2019, she has taught acting at the New York Studio for Stage and Screen (NYS3) in Asheville, North Carolina.[45]

2016 home invasion

McGillis was left scratched and bruised after being assaulted by a woman who broke into her home on June 17, 2016.[46] She said the attack, as well as others she has experienced in the past, led her to apply for a concealed carry permit to protect herself. Following the incident, a 38-year-old woman, Laurence Marie Dorn, was charged with second-degree burglary, misdemeanor larceny, misdemeanor stalking, assault and battery, and interfering with emergency communication.[46] Dorn was later convicted of misdemeanor breaking and entering and sentenced to probation.[47]

Death

On June 4, 2019 she died following complications of injuries she substained during a deadly brawl inside the Carrefour in Palermo after Madonna beat her and threw her in the frozen food counter. She also died for freezing

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1983 Reuben, Reuben Geneva Spofford
1985 Witness Rachel Lapp
1986 Top Gun Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood
1987 Made in Heaven Annie Packert / Ally Chandler
Unsettled Land Anda
Santabear's High Flying Adventure Missy Bear (voice) Short
1988 The House on Carroll Street Emily Crane
The Accused Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Murphy
1989 Winter People Collie Wright
Cat Chaser Mary DeBoya
Rabbit Ears: Thumbelina Narrator Video short
1991 Grand Isle Edna Pontellier
1992 Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach Marriott Manager
The Babe Claire Merritt Ruth
Rabbit Ears: Noah and the Ark Narrator Video short
1994 North Amish Mother
1998 Painted Angels Nettie
Ground Control Susan Stratton
1999 At First Sight Jennie Adamson
The Settlement Fake Barbara / Ellie
2000 The Monkey's Mask Professor Diana Maitland
2001 No One Can Hear You Trish Burchall
Morgan's Ferry Vonnie Carpenter Direct-To-Video
2007 Girl 27 Herself Documentary
Archival footage
Special Thanks
Supergator Kim Taft
2010 Stake Land Sister
1 a Minute Herself
Narrator (Voice) 		Documentary
2011 The Innkeepers Leanne Rease-Jones
What Could Have Been Margaret
2013 We Are What We Are Marge
Tio Papi Elizabeth Warden
2014 Grand Street Isabelle
2015 Blue Ms. Hutcherson Final film role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Sweet Revenge Katherine Dennison Breen TV film
One Life to Live Glenda Livingston Unknown episodes
1985 Private Sessions Jennifer Coles TV film
1986 Santabear's First Christmas Narrator (voice) TV film
1992 Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing Mrs. Joel McKelvey TV film
Uncredited
1993 Bonds of Love Rose Parks TV film
1994 In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness Susie Lynch TV film
1995 Dark Eyes Mila McGann Unsold TV pilot
Remember Me Menly Nichols TV film
Out of Ireland Narrator, Documentary Film PBS TV film
1996 We the Jury Alyce Bell TV film
1997 The Third Twin Dr. Jean 'Jeannie' Ferrami TV film
1998 Storm Chasers: Revenge of the Twister Jamie Marshall TV film
Perfect Prey Audrey Macleah TV film
2000 The Wild Thornberrys Winema (voice) Episodes: "Pack of Thornberrys"
The Outer Limits Nicole Whitley Episodes: "Final Appeal: Parts 1 & 2"
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Gorgeous Woman (voice) Episode: "Planet of the Lost"
2003 Journey To Planet Earth Narrator (voice) Documentary TV series
Episode 2: "Land Of Plenty, Land Of Want"
Episode 4: "Rivers Of Destiny"
Episode 6: "The Urban Explosion"
2006 Black Widower Nancy Westveld TV film
2008 The L Word Colonel Gillian Davis Episodes: "Lesbians Gone Wild", "Lay Down the Law"
2014 Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio Bertha Troyler TV film
Z Nation Helen Episode: "Sisters of Mercy"
2017 An Uncommon Grace Elizabeth Conner Hallmark Channel TV film
2018 Maternal Secrets Rose Lewis TV film
2020 Dirty John Miriam Saslaw Season 2: "The Betty Broderick Story", Episode No. 5 (No. 13 overall): "Scream Therapy" (Uncredited) posthumous release

Music Videos

Year Title Artist Role Notes
1986 Danger Zone Kenny Loggins Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood Archival footage from the 1986 film Top Gun
Take My Breath Away Berlin Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood Archival footage from the 1986 film Top Gun

Producer

Year Title Notes
1991 Grand Isle

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1986 Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Witness Nominated
BAFTA Award Best Actress Witness Nominated
Bravo Otto Best Actress Top Gun Won
1987 Bravo Otto Best Actress Made in Heaven Won
Golden Ciak Best Actress Made in Heaven Won
1988 Bravo Otto Best Actress The Accused Bronze
2018 California Women’s Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Maternal Secrets Won
Southampton International Film Festival Supporting Actress in a Feature Maternal Secrets Nominated


References

  1. ^ "Kelly McGillis Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  2. ^ United Press International Staff (July 9, 2023). "On This Day in History – UPI Almanac for Sunday, July 9, 2023". United Press International. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "McGillis, Kelly 1957-". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "Cover Story: Memoir of a Brief Time in Hell – Vol. 30 No. 20". People. November 14, 1988. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "Miss Snell Picks Date". Los Angeles Times. December 10, 1955. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  6. ^ "Kelly McGillis 'Out Of Ireland' PBS". Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Newport Harbor High". Los Angeles Times. June 3, 1998. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Stark, John (February 18, 1985). "Kelly McGillis Plays the Amish Love of Harrison Ford in Witness—and Kisses Waitressing Goodbye". People. Archived from the original on November 20, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  9. ^ McGillis, Kelly (November 14, 1988). "Memoir of a Brief Time in Hell". People. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  10. ^ Cruz, Alicia (May 23, 2011). "'Top Gun' actress Kelly McGillis working for N.J. rehab, enjoying life". NewJerseyNewsRoom.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013.
  11. ^ Simpson, Paul (May 26, 2011). Movie Lists: 397 Ways to Pick a DVD. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1847653550. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ "Lesser-known facts about 'Top Gun' that will take your breath away". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Made in Heaven Movie Review & Film Summary (1987) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  14. ^ Hasted, Nick (March 29, 2001). "Kelly McGillis: The star who threw herself to earth". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011.
  15. ^ Davis, Steven Paul (2001). The A-Z of Cult Films and Film-makers. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8704-6.
  16. ^ "Val Kilmer - At First Sight - Interview with Mr. Showbiz". December 21, 2005. Archived from the original on December 21, 2005. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  17. ^ Scott, A. O. (July 27, 2001). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'The Monkey's Mask'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  18. ^ "Sweet Revenge (1984 TV Movie) Release Info". IMDb. Amazon.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Rich, Frank (October 4, 1989). "Review/Theater; Kelly McGillis Stars In 'Twelfth Night'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  20. ^ "Patrick Page and Kelly McGillis Are Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth at DC's Shakespeare Theatre Aug. 31 | Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  21. ^ "What Does This 'Top Gun' Bombshell Look Like Now?author=Shana Honig". The Huffington Post. July 9, 2012. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  22. ^ "McGillis, Duffy, Lee, Pierson Are Greedy Brood in Pasadena Little Foxes, Opening May 29". Playbill. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  23. ^ "Kelly McGillis Net Worth". Archived from the original on August 23, 2016.
  24. ^ Greg Archer (May 29, 2014). "Kelly McGillis: 'I Have to Be True to Myself'". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  25. ^ "Kelly McGillis a Top Gun in Stake Land". September 2, 2009. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  26. ^ "Massive Set Visit Report: A Trip to 'Stake Land' - Bloody Disgusting!". April 14, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
  27. ^ "IFC Infected by Cronenberg's Antiviral - Dread Central". June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on November 8, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  28. ^ "Indian Star Rallies Celebrity Support For Cancer Movie". October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 30, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  29. ^ "Awaken to Another American Horror Story: Asylum Promo Teaser - Dread Central". September 14, 2012. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  30. ^ "An Uncommon Grace | Hallmark Movies and Mysteries". Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  31. ^ "McGillis in Mother Of All Secrets". royalgazette.com. May 26, 2017. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  32. ^ "Mother Of All Secrets Trailer". Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  33. ^ "Trailer For New Thriller Features Bermuda - Bernews.com". Bernews.com. June 26, 2017. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  34. ^ Mottram, James (February 21, 2014). "Kelly McGillis: 'I would cameo in Top Gun 2'". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016. McGillis moved to New York in 1979 to study acting at the prestigious Juilliard drama school, the same year she married fellow student Boyd Black. It was short-lived, the couple divorcing in 1981
  35. ^ "Walter Scott's Personality Parade". April 7, 1985.
  36. ^ "Jodie Foster Knows Why Everyone Says She's a Lesbian!". August 11, 1992.
  37. ^ "McGillis leaves Hollywood for Key West". Deseret News. May 4, 1993. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  38. ^ "FIRE DESTROYS 2 MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR VESSELS IN DANIA". Sun-Sentinel. April 20, 1996.
  39. ^ Jarchow, Boo (April 30, 2009). "Kelly McGillis Says She's Gay on SheWired's 'Girl Rock'". SheWired. Here Media. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  40. ^ Broverman, Neal (April 30, 2009). "Top Gun Star Comes Out: Not Tom". The Advocate. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009.
  41. ^ "Pan Am's First Office". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  42. ^ "Kelly's Caribbean Bar, Grill and Brewery (Key West, FL): Top Tips Before You Go". Tripadvisor. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  43. ^ Schwartz, Paula (September 15, 2010). "Kelly McGillis, Melanie Leis". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  44. ^ Nutt, Amy Ellis (April 18, 2011). "Kelly McGillis traded Hollywood for Collingswood - and a contented existence". The Star-Ledger. pp. 23, 25. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  45. ^ Doty, Meriah (February 9, 2013). "Kelly McGillis recalls 'Top Gun' love scene and 'a lot of partying' while filming". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  46. ^ a b Puente, Maria (June 24, 2016). "'Top Gun' actress Kelly McGillis attacked at her North Carolina home". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  47. ^ LaVorgna, Brandon (May 17, 2017). "Jury convicts woman for breaking into Top Gun actress's home". Fox Carolina. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
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