Meg Tilly is a Canadian-American actress and novelist. She is best known for her performances in The Big Chill, Agnes of God, Valmont, and the television series Bomb Girls. Tilly received an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award in 1986 for her work in Agnes of G...
Don Calame (m. 2002), John Calley (m. 1995–2002), Tim Zinnemann (m. 1983–1989)
Children
Will Firth, Emily Zinnemann, David Zinnemann
Parents
Harry Chan, Patricia Tilly
Siblings
Jennifer Tilly, Steve Tilly, Rebecca Tilly
Partner
Colin Firth
Nicknames
Margaret E. Chan , Margaret Elizabeth Chan , Meggers
Awards
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, Canadian Screen Awards - Shaw Media Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Movies
Valmont, The Big Chill, Psycho II, Agnes of God, Body Snatchers, The Two Jakes, Sleep with Me, One Dark Night, Masquerade, Leaving Normal, Antibirth, The Girl in a Swing, Fame, Off Beat, Primal Secrets, Tex, Impulse, War Machine, In The Best Interest Of The Child, The Trouble with Grandpa, Journey
TV Shows
Bomb Girls, Road to Avonlea, Winnetka Road
Star Sign
Aquarius
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Quote
1
[on her Chinese heritage] Unfortunately, we were not raised to respect our Chinese history and tradition. My mother and father divorced in 1963, when I was three. My mother was quite bitter. She spoke very angrily about him and everything Chinese. If ever you did anything bad or selfish, it was "the Chinese coming out in you." We were told that we must never tell anyone that we were half Chinese, because if people knew they wouldn't let their children play with us... The difficult part was growing up, feeling like I had to reject and deny and turn my back on half of what I was. The wonderful part is, that is behind me now. Things are different... You didn't know I was Asian, because for many years, I had my mother's warnings echoing in my ears. I didn't tell anyone. I was grown, but still, I was scared. Thought it would limit me, the roles I would be offered. It wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I started to tell the people closest to me. When they didn't run in horror, I got braver and spoke of it more. What a relief it was to finally acknowledge all of me.
2
[re 30th anniversary reunion of The Big Chill (1983) cast in 2013] It's wonderful, I'm so happy they had the idea to bring us all together to do this. It's such a gift, I get to see everybody again and I haven't seen everybody in so long. To see their happy smiling faces, that was such a blessing, I'm really grateful.
3
[on her role in Bomb Girls (2012)] It wasn't just another job, stacking cans of tomatoes in a supermarket. I was building the bombs and the ammunition that my sons were using. If I built a faulty one, it might mean that they might die. There was a real sense that we needed to do the best job that we possibly can. At least for my character, it was vitally important. It was almost obsessive: that if she does her best she will keep her kids safe.
4
If you meet people who have been successful in Hollywood, or look at their photographs, you see a haunted look in their eyes. You sense a trapped feeling.
5
I'm not that fashion-conscious. A lot of time, when women are appearing to be so perfect, it's because they're a mess underneath.
6
I still have a problem with nuns. I follow them around like a kitten with a ball of yarn.
7
I really enjoy acting. At home I can't even finish a sentence, and here am I reading these wonderful lines. I think it must be every housewife's dream, to be an actress part-time.
8
[on her retirement from acting] Do I regret quitting? Absolutely not. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I had the privilege of watching my children grow up. I was there for the joys and the sorrows, the challenging heartbreaking times as well as the giddy, exuberant triumphs. I would not have traded those years for anything in the world.
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Fact
1
Abandoned acting after Journey (1995) in order to focus on her family and her writings. She didn't act again until Caprica: Unvanquished (2010).
2
Younger sister, Becky, is a post-impressionist painter.
Was in consideration for the part of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) but Uma Thurman, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
6
Children from her marriage to Tim Zinnemann: Emily (b. 1984) and David (b. 1986).
7
Said that her worst film experience was working with Anthony Perkins in Psycho II (1983). Her best film experience was working with Norman Jewison, Jane Fonda and Anne Bancroft in Agnes of God (1985). Interestingly, both films resulted in Tilly being nominated for several awards, including a Golden Globe and an Oscar.
8
While filming One Dark Night (1982), she was incredibly uncomfortable in the actual mausoleum. Her reactions to her surroundings were often genuine. During the scenes where she was hysterical, she actually did throw herself into hysterics and it took her awhile after each take to calm herself down.
9
While older sister Jennifer Tilly has remained mum about the history of childhood sexual abuse in the family recently revealed by Meg (which included her stepfather and one of her mother's boyfriends), youngest sister Becky has corroborated her sister's revelations.
10
Her first fiction novel was "Singing Songs" (1994; Dutton Books) based on memories of her own childhood. Her second novel "Gemma" (2006; Syren Book Company), is a graphic, disturbing tale about child sexual abuse, which has prompted her to recently reveal her own true-life sexual abuse as a youngster growing up.
11
1995: Retired from acting and moved to British Columbia, Canada, to devote herself to writing and raising a family.
12
Her father was of Chinese descent and her mother had Irish and Finnish ancestry.
13
In high school, everyone called Jennifer, Meg, and their younger sister Becky the Three Musketeers.
Was originally cast as Mozart's wife in Amadeus (1984), but had to leave after tearing a ligament in her leg during a soccer game with her children one day before her shooting started.
$3 Million
I assure you, she’s worth much more than that.