Editing Meg Tilly

{{Cast Data
| image=Meg Tilly.jpg
| character=[[Mother]]
| series=Caprica
| born_month=02
| born_day=14
| born_year=1960
| death_month=
| death_day=
| death_year=
| nationality=US
| site=https://megtillyauthor.com/
| imdb=0000672
| sortkey=Tilly, Meg
| image2=Mother, 1x10.jpg
}}

'''Meg Tilly''' (born '''Margaret Elizabeth Chan''' on February 14, 1960) is an American actress and novelist who portrayed [[Mother]], leader of the Monotheist Church, in two episodes of ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]''. She received an [[w:Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination and won the [[w:Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Award]] for Best Supporting Actress for ''[[w:Agnes of God (film)|Agnes of God]]'' (1985), and is also known for ''[[w:The Big Chill (film)|The Big Chill]]'' (1983), ''[[w:Psycho II (film)|Psycho II]]'' (1983), and ''[[w:Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' (1993).<ref group="external" name="goldenglobes_official_tilly_record">{{cite web|url=https://goldenglobes.com/person/meg-tilly/#:~:text=1986%20Winner%20%C2%B7%20Best%20Performance%20by%20an%20Actress%20in%20a%20Supporting%20Role|title=Meg Tilly|publisher=Golden Globes|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref>

== Career ==
Born in [[w:Long Beach, California|Long Beach, California]], the third of four children of schoolteacher Patricia Tilly and car salesman Harry Chan, Tilly was raised, after her parents' divorce, by her mother on [[w:Texada Island|Texada Island]], [[w:British Columbia|British Columbia]].<ref group="external" name="ebsco_researchstarters_tilly_bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/meg-tilly#:~:text=Meg%20Tilly%20was%20born%20Margaret%20Elizabeth%20Chan|title=Meg Tilly|publisher=EBSCO Research Starters|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> At age fourteen she began taking dance lessons, training with the Connecticut Ballet Company in [[w:Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford, Connecticut]], and later with the Throne Dance Theatre.<ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio">{{cite web|url=https://megtillyauthor.com/bio/#:~:text=At%20the%20age%20of%2014%2C%20the%20multi-talented%20Tilly%20started%20dance%20lessons|title=Bio|publisher=Meg Tilly (official site)|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref><ref group="footnotes" name="dance_age_discrepancy">Tilly's official author website gives her age as fourteen when she began dance lessons; an Internet Movie Database biographical sketch instead gives her age as twelve.</ref> She made her screen debut as a dancer in [[w:Alan Parker|Alan Parker]]'s ''[[w:Fame (1980 film)|Fame]]'' (1980), but her ballet career ended in 1979, at age nineteen, when a partner dropped her during a rehearsal in [[w:New York City|New York]] and severely injured her back.<ref group="commentary" name="orme_saltlaketribune_1985_definite_ideas">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/613802230/#:~:text=Eight%20years%20ago%20Tilly%20traveled%20east%20to%20New%20York|title=Actress Meg Tilly has definite ideas about Agnes and about her career|author=Orme, Terry|work=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=13 October 1985|page=98|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref>

A 1985 wire-service profile grouped Tilly with a new wave of young actresses, including [[w:Kathleen Turner|Kathleen Turner]], [[w:Ally Sheedy|Ally Sheedy]], and [[w:Jamie Lee Curtis|Jamie Lee Curtis]], who were taking on roles departing from the conventional Hollywood ingenue.<ref group="commentary" name="rosen_danville_1985_climbs_starlet_roles">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/966120234/#:~:text=Big%20Chill%20%E2%80%94%20helped%20her%20career|title=Meg Tilly climbs above starlet roles with 'Agnes'|author=Rosen, Marjorie|work=Danville Register and Bee|date=20 September 1985|page=25|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Tilly moved to [[w:Los Angeles|Los Angeles** to study acting under [[w:Peggy Feury|Peggy Feury]], and after a guest appearance as a prostitute on ''[[w:Hill Street Blues|Hill Street Blues]]'' she won her first starring film role opposite [[w:Matt Dillon|Matt Dillon]] in ''[[w:Tex (film)|Tex]]'' (1982).<ref group="commentary" name="orme_saltlaketribune_1985_definite_ideas" /> She followed it with ''[[w:One Dark Night|One Dark Night]]'' (1982), ''[[w:Psycho II (film)|Psycho II]]'' (1983), and ''[[w:Impulse (1984 film)|Impulse]]'' (1984), and drew wider critical attention as Chloe in [[w:Lawrence Kasdan|Lawrence Kasdan]]'s ensemble drama ''[[w:The Big Chill (film)|The Big Chill]]'' (1983).<ref group="external" name="dailyoklahoman_1985_agnes_career_path">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/451821322/#:~:text=Psycho%20II%2C%20and%20gotten%20critical%20attention|title=Tilly|work=The Daily Oklahoman|date=22 September 1985|page=110|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref>

=== ''Agnes of God'' and the ''Amadeus'' role ===
Tilly was [[w:Miloš Forman|Miloš Forman]]'s first choice to play Constanze Mozart in ''[[w:Amadeus (1984 film)|Amadeus]]'' (1984), after both Forman and co-star [[w:Tom Hulce|Tom Hulce]] praised her rehearsal work, but the role was recast after Tilly tore a ligament in her leg playing soccer with her children the day before filming was to begin in [[w:Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]].<ref group="external" name="dailyoklahoman_1985_agnes_career_path" /><ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_trivia">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/trivia/#:~:text=tearing%20a%20ligament%20in%20her%20leg%20during%20a%20soccer%20game|title=Meg Tilly: Trivia|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> [[w:Elizabeth Berridge (actress)|Elizabeth Berridge]] took the part instead.<ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_trivia" />

On returning to the United States, Tilly learned that [[w:Columbia Pictures|Columbia Pictures]] had acquired the screen rights to John Pielmeier's 1982 [[w:Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play ''Agnes of God'', itself developed from a real news story about a nun accused of killing her newborn child; the stage production had starred [[Amanda Plummer]], who won a [[w:Tony Award|Tony Award]] for the role.<ref group="external" name="beelman_ap_saltlaketribune_1985_agnes_of_god_origin">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/613802230/#:~:text=Meg%20Tilly%2C%20far%20left%2C%20portrays%20a%20young%20nun|title=Newspaper story inspired writer to create 'Agnes of God' drama|author=Beelman, Maud S.|work=The Salt Lake Tribune (Associated Press)|date=13 October 1985|page=98|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Tilly lobbied director [[w:Norman Jewison|Norman Jewison]]'s office for months to be allowed to read for the title role, a novitiate nun accused of murdering the baby she secretly delivered.<ref group="commentary" name="rosen_citizensvoice_1985_thoughts_on_god">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/437968879/#:~:text=I%20started%20going%20after%20the%20role|title=Meg Tilly offers her thoughts on 'God'|author=Rosen, Marjorie|work=Citizens' Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)|date=5 September 1985|page=40|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> To prepare, she spent time at a [[w:Benedictines|Benedictine]] convent north of [[w:Montreal|Montreal]] observing the sisters' routine, including attending vespers; she later said she could not bring herself to imitate the nuns' devotional gestures because she had not been raised in any religion, though she believed in some overarching power and did not want to seem to be mocking their faith.<ref group="external" name="dailyoklahoman_1985_agnes_career_path"/> Her performance opposite [[w:Jane Fonda|Jane Fonda]] and [[w:Anne Bancroft|Anne Bancroft]] earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.<ref group="external" name="goldenglobes_official_tilly_record" /><ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_awards">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/awards/#:~:text=1986%20Winner%20Golden%20Globe|title=Meg Tilly: Awards|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Asked a few years later about her approach to choosing roles, Tilly said, "Women my age are supposed to be sex symbols."<ref group="commentary" name="orme_saltlaketribune_1985_definite_ideas" />

Tilly continued acting through the late 1980s, playing an heiress opposite [[w:Rob Lowe|Rob Lowe]] in ''[[w:Masquerade (1988 film)|Masquerade]]'' (1988) — a performance ''The Pittsburgh Press'' called "a complex performance" — and a woman with a mysterious past in ''[[w:The Girl in a Swing (film)|The Girl in a Swing]]'' (1988), of which critic [[w:Roger Ebert|Roger Ebert]] wrote that Tilly gave "a performance so good it deserves a better movie."<ref group="external" name="blank_pittsburghpress_1988_masquerade_review">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/144065377/#:~:text=a%20complex%20performance|title=Meg Tilly's believability helps 'Masquerade'|author=Blank, Ed|work=The Pittsburgh Press|date=11 March 1988|page=13|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref><ref group="external" name="ebert_dailynews_1989_girl_in_a_swing">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/467024829/#:~:text=a%20performance%20so%20good%20it%20deserves%20a%20better%20movie|title=Is this 'Girl' off her rocker?|author=Ebert, Roger|work=Daily News (New York)|date=29 September 1989|page=780|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> She went on to appear in ''[[w:Valmont (film)|Valmont]]'' (1989), ''[[w:The Two Jakes|The Two Jakes]]'' (1990) with [[w:Jack Nicholson|Jack Nicholson]], ''[[w:Leaving Normal (film)|Leaving Normal]]'' (1992), and the horror film ''[[w:Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' (1993), before largely stepping away from acting after the 1995 television film ''[[w:Journey (1995 film)|Journey]]'' to focus on raising her children and on writing.<ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/#:~:text=1995%3A%20Retired%20from%20acting%20and%20moved%20to%20British%20Columbia|title=Meg Tilly: Biography|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref>

=== Caprica ===
After fifteen years away from acting, Tilly was persuaded to return to the screen by her ''[[w:Sleep with Me|Sleep With Me]]'' (1994) co-star [[Eric Stoltz]], who directed and starred in Caprica.<ref group="commentary" name="timescolonist_reid_2013_comeback">{{cite news|url=https://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/television/meg-tilly-s-explosive-comeback-1.82622#:~:text=she%20also%20accepted%20an%20invitation%20from%20actor%20Eric%20Stoltz|title=Meg Tilly's explosive comeback|author=Reid, Michael D.|work=Victoria Times Colonist|date=28 February 2013|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Tilly portrayed [[Mother]] in {{CAP|Unvanquished|The Heavens Will Rise|prose=Y}}, receiving a "Special Guest Appearance by Meg Tilly" credit ahead of the episode's other guest stars.<ref group="external" name="imdb_unvanquished_fullcredits">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1484574/fullcredits/#:~:text=Meg%20Tilly%20%C2%B7%20Meg%20Tilly%20%C2%B7%20Mother|title="Caprica" Unvanquished (TV Episode 2010) - Full Cast & Crew|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref>

{{quote|text=I didn't realize how much I missed acting until I came back.|source=Meg Tilly<ref group="commentary" name="timescolonist_reid_2013_comeback" />}}

=== Stage, television, and later film work ===
In July 2011, Tilly played Martha in [[w:Edward Albee|Edward Albee]]'s ''[[w:Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?|Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]'' for the Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre in [[w:Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria, British Columbia]], a performance that led to a role in [[w:Michel Tremblay|Michel Tremblay]]'s ''The Real World'' at [[w:Toronto|Toronto]]'s Tarragon Theatre the following year.<ref group="commentary" name="timescolonist_reid_2013_comeback" /> From January 2012 she starred as floor matron Lorna Corbett in the Canadian wartime drama ''[[w:Bomb Girls|Bomb Girls]]'' on Global Television, for which she received a [[w:Canadian Screen Awards|Canadian Screen Award]] nomination and won a [[w:Leo Awards|Leo Award]]; the series itself won a [[w:Gracie Awards|Gracie Award]] for Best TV Drama.<ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_awards" /><ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio" /> She reprised the role in the 2014 television film ''Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy''. In 2017 Tilly appeared opposite [[w:Brad Pitt|Brad Pitt]] in [[w:David Michôd|David Michôd]]'s Netflix satire ''[[w:War Machine (film)|War Machine]]'', playing the wife of Pitt's general.<ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio" /> In 2022 she joined the cast of ''[[w:Chucky (TV series)|Chucky]]'' for its second season; it was the first time she and her sister, actress [[w:Jennifer Tilly|Jennifer Tilly]], had appeared on screen together.<ref group="commentary" name="bloodydisgusting_jennifertilly_chucky_interview">{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3741470/chucky-jennifer-tilly-breaks-down-her-characters-complex-journey-ahead-of-season-2-finale-interview/#:~:text=marks%20the%20first%20time%20Jennifer%20has%20appeared%20on%20screen%20with%20Meg%20Tilly|title=Chucky Season 2 - Jennifer Tilly Breaks Down Tiffany's Journey|publisher=Bloody Disgusting|date=23 November 2022|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Tilly's character was killed off in the episode "Death on Denial" by Jennifer Tilly's possessed character; Jennifer Tilly later said her sister was nervous about filming the scene, recalling, "Meg was really upset."<ref group="commentary" name="bloodydisgusting_jennifertilly_chucky_interview" />

=== Writing ===
Tilly is the author of ten novels.<ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio" /> Her first, ''Singing Songs'' (Dutton, 1994), follows an insular young girl named Anna and was selected as a [[w:Barnes & Noble|Barnes & Noble]] Great New Writers title.<ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio" /> Tilly has said she did not set out to write a book, describing the process as unplanned: "It's strange because I didn't decide to write a novel."<ref group="commentary" name="lovece_pottsville_1994_writer_winnetka_road">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/468670985/#:~:text=It's%20strange%20because%20I%20didn't%20decide%20to%20write%20a%20novel|title=Single mother Meg Tilly writes TV script, novel with punch|author=Lovece, Frank|work=Pottsville Republican|date=11 April 1994|page=17|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Reviewing the novel, ''[[w:Entertainment Weekly|Entertainment Weekly]]'' was sharply critical, calling it "oppressively ugly," while ''[[w:The New York Times Book Review|The New York Times Book Review]]'' offered a more favorable assessment, finding that Tilly had met unexpectedly serious literary challenges with skill.<ref group="commentary" name="warren_baltimoresun_1994_writing_voice">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/170947921/#:~:text=oppressively%20ugly|title=Giving herself a voice, in other words|author=Warren, Tim|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=21 June 1994|page=45|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref><ref group="commentary" name="warren_baltimoresun_1994_mixed_reviews">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/170948183/#:~:text=Far%20from%20humiliating%20herself%20with%20her%20first%20novel|title=TILLY: First novel by actress gets mixed reviews|author=Warren, Tim|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=21 June 1994|page=51|accessdate=21 June 2026}}</ref> Tilly has said the novel's scenes of child abuse drew in part on her own childhood; she sent the manuscript to publishers under a pseudonym to get an honest assessment before it was accepted for publication under her own name by Dutton editor Carole DeSanti.<ref group="commentary" name="warren_baltimoresun_1994_mixed_reviews" /><ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_trivia" />

At the time of the novel's publication, Tilly also had a recurring role as George Grace on the short-lived [[w:NBC|NBC]] drama ''[[w:Winnetka Road|Winnetka Road]]'', a series she had developed from her own story ideas in collaboration with writer-producer [[w:John Byrum|John Byrum]].<ref group="commentary" name="lovece_pottsville_1994_writer_winnetka_road" />

Tilly's later novels include ''Gemma'' (St. Martin's Press, 2006); the young-adult titles ''Porcupine'' (Tundra Books, 2007), a finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize, ''First Time'' (Orca, 2008), ''A Taste of Heaven'' (Puffin, 2013), and ''Behind the Scenes'' (Puffin, 2014); and, after she turned to romantic suspense, the Solace Island trilogy &mdash; ''Solace Island'' (self-published 2017, reissued by Berkley Books in November 2018), ''Cliff's Edge'' (Berkley, May 2019), and ''Hidden Cove'' (Berkley, October 2019) &mdash; followed by the spin-off novel ''The Runaway Heiress'' (Berkley, July 2021).<ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio" /> She has also sold screenplays to MGM/UA, Sony Pictures, NBC, Kidro Productions, ATO Pictures, and Lionsgate.<ref group="external" name="megtillyauthor_official_bio" />

== Personal life ==
Tilly married producer Tim Zinnemann, son of director [[w:Fred Zinnemann|Fred Zinnemann]], in 1983, after meeting him on the set of ''Tex''; they had two children, Emily (born 1984) and David (born 1986), and separated after about six years.<ref group="commentary" name="lovece_pottsville_1994_writer_winnetka_road" /> She had a son, William, in 1990 with English actor [[w:Colin Firth|Colin Firth]], whom she met while filming ''Valmont''.<ref group="commentary" name="lovece_pottsville_1994_writer_winnetka_road" /><ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_trivia" /> She is the younger sister of actress [[w:Jennifer Tilly|Jennifer Tilly]] and has a brother, Steve, and another sister, Becky.<ref group="external" name="imdb_tilly_trivia" />

== Notes ==
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== References ==

=== Commentary and Interviews ===
{{reflist|group=commentary}}

=== External Sources ===
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