Kelly McGillis - Updated Mar 2024

Updated On February 12, 2024
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Kelly McGillis

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Kelly McGillis is an American actress. Kelly McGillis is well-known for her role as Charlie in Top Gun (1986) with Tom Cruise and as Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985) with Harrison Ford.

Early life

Kelly McGillis was born on 9th July 1957 with the birth name Kelly Ann McGills. Kelly’s birthplace is Newport Beach, California, United States. As of now, Kelly is 66 years old and her birth sign is Gemini. Likewise, Kelly belongs to the American nationality.

Her mother’s name is Virginia Joan, a homemaker and her father’s name is Donald Manson McGills, who is a doctor. Also, she has two siblings named Karen, and Kathleen. Likewise, she is of Scots-Irish descent from her father’s side and German from her mother’s side.

Education

Talking about her formal educational status, she studied at Newport Harbor High School. Then, she studied at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California.

After that, in 1975, she went to New York City to study acting at the Juilliard School and graduated in the year 1983.

Career

In 1983, Kelly McGillis debuted her film career in Reuben, Reuben. Kelly’s breakout role was that of an Amish mother in the 1985 film Witness for which she gained Golden Globe and BAFTA award nominations.

Her next big role was that of flight instructor Charlotte Blackwood in the 1986 fighter pilot Top Gun with Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise.

Likewise, she starred in the comedy film ‘Made in Heaven’ in 1987, directed by Alan Rudolph, and produced by Lorimar Productions. After that, she acted in the film Cat Chaser with Peter Weller, which discouraged her from following an acting career.

Similarly, in 1992, she played the role of Babe Ruth’s second wife, Claire Merritt Ruth, in the film The Babe.

Kelly McGillis actress

Caption: An American actress, Kelly McGillis (Source: www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com)

Further, Kelly appeared in several films including Winter People in 1989, North in 1994, her second Amish part in TV or film, and also several made-for-TV films. She co-acted in 1999 with Val Kilmer for a second time as his overprotective sister in At First Sight.

Whereas, from 2000, she acted as the suspect in the disappearance of a young woman starring Susie Porter in The Monkey’s Mask, an international lesbian cult film.

More details

Kelly McGillis appeared in the 1984 TV movie Sweet Revenge with Alec Baldwin. Her other TV films include Private Sessions in 1985, as a narrator in Santabear’s First Christmas, and as a narrator in the documentary Out of Ireland for PBS.

Also, in 2002, Kelly starred in the production of John Webber’s play The Duchess of Malfi at the Shakespeare Theatre, in Washington, DC. In the year 2004, this personality acted as Mrs. Robinson. in the stage play The Graduate, touring the United States.

And, her stage work includes Don Juan (1982), Peccadillo (1985), The Sea Gull (1985), Twelfth Night (1989), Mary Stuart (1990), Mourning Becomes Electra (1997), A Midsummer Night’s Drea, (1999), and Measure for Measure (1999).

Again she started working in television in 2006 and joined the cast of Showtime’s The L Word for its 5th season. Also, she acted in Ti West’s 2011 thriller movie The Innkeepers, We Are What We Are in 2013, Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, and an episode of Sisters of Mercy in 2014.

Currently, an American actress teaches acting at The New York Studio for Stage and Screen NYS3 in Asheville, North California.

Relationship Status

Regarding her relationship status, Kelly married Boyd Black in 1979 and divorced in 1981. After that, she married Fred Tillman and had two kids Sonora Tillman, and Kelsey Tillman. Sadly, Kelly and Fred divorced in 2002.

In April 2009, an American actress came out as a lesbian during an interview with SheWired. In 2010, Kelly entered into a civil union with Melanie Leis, a Philadelphia sales executive.

They met in 2000 when Leis was a bartender at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar Grill & Brewery in Key West Florida. They broke up in 2011. Currently, she lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Kelly McGillis – Net worth 2023

Talking about her net worth and earnings, Kelly McGillis is an actress by profession. Moreover, an American actress has a net worth of around $7.5 million US dollars as of 2022.

Body Measurement

Kelly stands tall at a height of 5 feet 10 inches or 1.78 meters and her weight is around 62 kg or 136 lbs. Likewise, Kelly has a pair of blue eyes and blonde-colored hair.

Kelly McGillis – Social Media

Also, an American actress, Kelly is not active on any social media sites.

Kelly McGillis height

Caption: Top Gun Star, Kelly McGillis (Source: www.thesun.co.uk)

Trivia

She has a passion for meaningful storytelling and has collaborated with emerging filmmakers, demonstrating her commitment to important social issues.

Additionally, she has been candid about her departure from mainstream Hollywood, expressing a pragmatic and refreshing perspective on age and appearance in the industry.