An actress who always attracts audiences' attention, Jennifer Tilly is by turns funny, sexy, compassionate, compelling and often all at once. Her breakthrough movie role tapped into all of those qualities failing singer Blanche "Monica" Moran in Steve Kloves' Susie et les Baker Boys (1989) opposite brothers Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges. A few years later, Jennifer earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of the aspiring but hopelessly untalented actress Olive Neal in Woody Allen's Coups de feu sur Broadway (1994). She has become well-known to filmgoers for both major studio and independent films. In Tom Shadyac's blockbuster Menteur menteur (1997), she kept pace with Jim Carrey. Her steamy performance opposite Gina Gershon helped make Lana Wachowski's and Lilly Wachowski's Bound (1996) a breakout indie success at the Sundance Film Festival and then in theatrical release. It also expanded Jennifer's already significant gay and lesbian following.
She successfully cultivated another fan base with the revitalization of the "Child's Play" horror comedy franchise. For Ronny Yu's La fiancée de Chucky (1998), the filmmakers turned to Jennifer to create the character who would spark the series in a new direction. She met the challenge and established a new horror icon in Tiffany. This Halloween, in Rogue Pictures' all-new Le fils de Chucky (2004), written and directed by series creator Don Mancini, Jennifer again takes the popular series to the next level; she stars as Tiffany and as herself, the deadly doll's favorite actress, who soon becomes an unwitting hostess in more ways than one.
Jennifer's pitch-perfect voiceover work as Tiffany is not the only instance of her being able to incarnate a character from the vocal chords out. Families know her distinctive cadences from the recent Disney hits La ferme se rebelle (2004) (in which Jennifer voiced a new-age bovine), directed by Will Finn and John Sanford; Le manoir hanté et les 999 fantômes (2003) (in which Jennifer acted from the neck up only), directed by Rob Minkoff; and the Pixar blockbuster Monstres et Cie (2001) (voicing Mike's love interest Celia), directed by Pete Docter, David Silverman and Lee Unkrich. She began her acting career as a teenager, putting herself through the theater program at Stephens College in Missouri by winning writing competitions. She then headed to Los Angeles, California. While she continued to act on the stage (earning a Dramalogue Award for her performance in "Vanities"), movies and television immediately came calling for the actress with the unique voice and visage.
Over the years, Jennifer has made memorable appearances on some of television's best series, including Capitaine Furillo (1981) (in a recurring dramatic role), Cheers (1982), Clair de lune (1985), It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986) and Frasier (1993). In addition, she has been a favored guest on a number of talk shows, from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) to The Arsenio Hall Show (1989) to (currently) The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992). Those interview segments have encouraged viewers to expect the unexpected from her interplay with the host and the studio audience. Her many films over a two-decade span include Neil Jordan's High Spirits (1988), Oliver Stone's Les Doors (1991), Richard Benjamin's Made in America (1993), Roger Donaldson's Guet-apens (1994), Joe Pytka's Let It Ride (1989), P.J. Castellaneta's Relax... It's Just Sex (1998), Michael Radford's Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000), Peter Bogdanovich's Un parfum de meurtre (2001) (in which she played Louella Parsons).
Jennifer Tilly has also continued to act on the stage. She won a Theater World Award for her performance in off-Broadway's "One Shoe Off" and starred on Broadway in the 2001 revival of "The Women" (which was later taped for, and broadcast on, PBS).
