Kelly McGillis(I)
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Kelly Ann McGillis was born in Newport Beach, California, to Virginia Joan (Snell), a homemaker, and Donald Manson McGillis, a general practitioner of medicine. She has English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, and German ancestry. McGillis dropped out of high school to pursue a career as an actress, and
attended Juilliard in Manhattan and Pacific Conservatory of
Performing Art in Santa Monica, CA.
She held a variety of jobs while pursuing her career, such as
waitressing, and snagged a few stage roles before landing a supporting
part in the Academy Award-nominated
Reuben, Reuben (1983). This led to
a lot of TV work and a lead role opposite
Harrison Ford in the highly
acclaimed thriller Witness (1985). This
box office hit, directed by
Peter Weir, got her noticed around
Hollywood and producers took note of her. One of them was
Jerry Bruckheimer, who cast her as
Charlie Blackwood in the mega-hit
Top Gun (1986) which became the
highest-grossing film of the year and gave her some major name
recognition.
Ironically, that breakthrough role didn't help her career in terms of
high-profile work. She played prosecutor Kathryn Murphy in
The Accused (1988) with
Jodie Foster who won an Academy Award for
her role, but unfortunately for McGillis she was overlooked for any
major nomination. Never interested in being box-office gold, she
remained loyal to the theater, even after being established as a major
star during the mid to late 1980s, taking such various stage roles in
such William Shakespeare
plays as "The Merchant of Venice", "Don Juan", "Twelfth Night", "The
Merry Wives of Windsor", "Mourning Becomes Electra" and "A Midsummer
Night's Dream". In 1994 she scored the title role in the Broadway
production of "Hedda Gabler" but unfortunately it only played for 33
performances before closing.
She had two daughters in the early 1990s, and worked more sporadically
on TV and film so she could spend time with her family and owned her
business, a restaurant in Florida. She worked on
Winter People (1989),
Cat Chaser (1989),
The Babe (1992),
North (1994),
At First Sight (1999) and
The Monkey's Mask (2000) as
well as a string of made-for-TV films.
She has completed a national stage tour of "The Graduate", playing the
infamous Mrs. Robinson, and continues to act as she begins study on
Addiction Studies and raising her children in Pennsylvania.
attended Juilliard in Manhattan and Pacific Conservatory of
Performing Art in Santa Monica, CA.
She held a variety of jobs while pursuing her career, such as
waitressing, and snagged a few stage roles before landing a supporting
part in the Academy Award-nominated
Reuben, Reuben (1983). This led to
a lot of TV work and a lead role opposite
Harrison Ford in the highly
acclaimed thriller Witness (1985). This
box office hit, directed by
Peter Weir, got her noticed around
Hollywood and producers took note of her. One of them was
Jerry Bruckheimer, who cast her as
Charlie Blackwood in the mega-hit
Top Gun (1986) which became the
highest-grossing film of the year and gave her some major name
recognition.
Ironically, that breakthrough role didn't help her career in terms of
high-profile work. She played prosecutor Kathryn Murphy in
The Accused (1988) with
Jodie Foster who won an Academy Award for
her role, but unfortunately for McGillis she was overlooked for any
major nomination. Never interested in being box-office gold, she
remained loyal to the theater, even after being established as a major
star during the mid to late 1980s, taking such various stage roles in
such William Shakespeare
plays as "The Merchant of Venice", "Don Juan", "Twelfth Night", "The
Merry Wives of Windsor", "Mourning Becomes Electra" and "A Midsummer
Night's Dream". In 1994 she scored the title role in the Broadway
production of "Hedda Gabler" but unfortunately it only played for 33
performances before closing.
She had two daughters in the early 1990s, and worked more sporadically
on TV and film so she could spend time with her family and owned her
business, a restaurant in Florida. She worked on
Winter People (1989),
Cat Chaser (1989),
The Babe (1992),
North (1994),
At First Sight (1999) and
The Monkey's Mask (2000) as
well as a string of made-for-TV films.
She has completed a national stage tour of "The Graduate", playing the
infamous Mrs. Robinson, and continues to act as she begins study on
Addiction Studies and raising her children in Pennsylvania.