Jennifer Tilly

About Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly (born September 16, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress and a World Series of Poker bracelet winner.

Tilly was born Jennifer E. Chan in Harbor City, Los Angeles, California. She is the second of four children of Harry Chan, a Chinese American used car salesman, and Patricia Tilly, a schoolteacher and former stage actress. Following her parents' divorce when she was five, she was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Ward, on rural Texada Island, British Columbia, Canada. Her mother divorced again when she was a teenager and moved to Victoria, where she attended Belmont High School. Her sister is actress Meg Tilly. Tilly began her acting career in her teenage years through a theater program at Stephens College in Missouri.

Tilly had small roles in TV shows and movies beginning in 1983. She had a recurring guest role on Hill Street Blues as Gina Srignoli, a mobster's widow who becomes romantically involved with detective Henry Goldblume. Jennifer Tilly also appeared as Garry's girlfriend on It's Garry Shandling's Show, which aired on Showtime in the mid 1980's.