# Meg Tilly
**Meg Tilly** (born 1960) is a Canadian American actress and novelist, born Margaret Elizabeth Chan in [Long Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-beach-california), who trained as a ballet dancer before a back injury turned her toward acting. She is best known for playing Chloe in *The Big Chill* (1983) and Sister Agnes in *Agnes of God* (1985), for which she won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actress). She semi-retired from acting in the mid-1990s and became a published novelist, later returning to television in *Bomb Girls* (2012–2013).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/meg_tilly)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960, Long Beach, California; birth name Margaret Elizabeth Chan[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) |
| Screen debut | As an auditioning dancer in Alan Parker's *Fame* (1980)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) |
| Signature roles | Chloe in *The Big Chill* (1983); Sister Agnes in *Agnes of God* (1985); Madame de Tourvel in *Valmont* (1989)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/244107) |
| Major honors | Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress, for *Agnes of God* (1986); Academy Award nomination in the same category[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/awards/) |
| Career break | Semi-retired from acting in the mid-1990s to raise her children and write[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/meg_tilly) |
| Novels | *Singing Songs* (1994), *Gemma* (2006), *Porcupine* (2007), and later romance novels including the Solace Island series[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/meg_tilly) • [7](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/75954/meg-tilly/) |
| Television return | *Bomb Girls* (2012–2013); Leo Awards in 2012 and 2013 and a Canadian Screen Award in 2013 for the series[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/awards/) |
## Early life and dance training
Tilly was born in Long Beach, California, to Harry Chan, a Chinese-American businessman, and Patricia Tilly, a schoolteacher and former stage actress. After her parents divorced, she moved with her siblings to [British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-columbia), where her mother and stepfather raised her; she grew up primarily in Victoria.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) • [9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/meg-tilly/) She is the younger sister of actress [Jennifer Tilly](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-tilly).[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/meg_tilly)
Dance came first. Tilly began taking dance lessons at age 12, and at 17 she was connected to the Connecticut Ballet Company and later Throne Dance Theatre.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) A serious back injury ended her plans for a dance career, and she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/)
## Film career
Her screen debut came in [Alan Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-parker)'s *Fame* (1980), in a bit part as an auditioning dancer, a role that drew directly on her training.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) A small appearance in the television series *Hill Street Blues* (1981) turned her toward acting, and she appeared in *Tex* (1982) and *One Dark Night* and *Psycho II* (both 1983).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/244107)
**The Big Chill.** The role that first brought her major audience attention was Chloe, the free-spirited young girlfriend of the deceased friend around whom [Lawrence Kasdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-kasdan)'s ensemble film *The Big Chill* (1983) gathers.[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/tilly-meg-1960) [The Criterion Collection](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-criterion-collection) lists her among the ensemble cast's memorable performances alongside [Tom Berenger](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-berenger), Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, and JoBeth Williams.[3](https://www.criterion.com/films/28610-the-big-chill)
**Agnes of God.** Director Norman Jewison chose Tilly for Sister Agnes in *Agnes of God* (1985), the film adaptation of John Pielmeier's Broadway play, opposite [Jane Fonda](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-fonda) and [Anne Bancroft](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-bancroft). Jewison, comparing her screen presence to [Audrey Hepburn](https://www.edgepedia.org/audrey-hepburn)'s, described her as "a classic beauty and an accomplished actress" who "carried it off more convincingly than anyone else could have done."[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/202418/agnes-of-god) The film was shot entirely on location in Canada, with the convent set built from the former Rockwood Academy for Boys in Ontario and photographed by Sven Nykvist.[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/202418/agnes-of-god) Tilly won the 1986 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Bancroft and Georges Delerue also received nominations for the film.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/awards/) • [10](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986)
**Amadeus and after.** Tilly was cast as Constanze in [Miloš Forman](https://www.edgepedia.org/milos-forman)'s *Amadeus* (1984), but seven weeks into production, with her foot in a cast, the producers replaced her; her consolation was the role of Madame de Tourvel in Forman's next film, *Valmont* (1989).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) Her AFI Catalog filmography through 1994 also includes *Impulse* (1984), *Off Beat* (1986), *Masquerade* (1988), *The Two Jakes* (1990), *Leaving Normal* (1992), and *Sleep with Me* (1994).[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/244107)
## Retirement and writing
In 1995 Tilly retired from acting and moved to British Columbia to devote herself to writing and raising her family.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) Her first novel, *Singing Songs* (Dutton, 1994), a well-received compilation of vignettes about child abuse, was reportedly begun while she was starring in the television movie *In the Best Interest of the Child*; she later acknowledged it drew largely on her own childhood memories.[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/tilly-meg-1960) Her second published novel, *Gemma* (2006), is a graphic account of a young girl victimized by her mother's boyfriend, though Tilly maintained the novel is not autobiographical.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/tilly-meg-1960) She followed with the young adult novel *Porcupine* (2007) and, after publishing six young adult and literary women's fiction novels, turned to romance with the Solace Island series, *Hidden Cove*, *Cliff's Edge*, and *The Runaway Heiress* (2021).[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/tilly-meg-1960) • [7](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/75954/meg-tilly/)
## Return to the screen
Tilly returned to acting in the Canadian drama series *Bomb Girls* (2012), winning Leo Awards for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series in both 2012 and 2013 and the 2013 Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/awards/) Later screen work includes a role in Netflix's *War Machine* (2017) and a screenwriter credit on *Ordinary Angels* (2024), the highest-rated title on her Rotten Tomatoes filmography at 84 percent.[7](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/75954/meg-tilly/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/meg_tilly)
## Personal life
Tilly married producer Tim Zinnemann in 1983 (divorced 1989, two children), film executive John Calley in 1995 (divorced 2002), and writer Don Calame in 2002.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) Her son with actor [Colin Firth](https://www.edgepedia.org/colin-firth), William Joseph Firth, was born in 1990.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/) She has three grown children and lives with her husband in the [Pacific Northwest](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-northwest).[7](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/75954/meg-tilly/) She and Jennifer Tilly are one of the pairs of acting siblings both nominated for Academy Awards: Meg for *Agnes of God* (1985) and Jennifer for *Bullets Over Broadway* (1994).[11](https://time.com/4679006/oscars-2017-siblings-family-winners/)
## References
1. [Meg Tilly – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/bio/)
2. [Meg Tilly filmography, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/244107)
3. [The Big Chill (1983), The Criterion Collection](https://www.criterion.com/films/28610-the-big-chill)
4. [Tilly, Meg 1960–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/tilly-meg-1960)
5. [Meg Tilly, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/meg_tilly)
6. [Meg Tilly – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/awards/)
7. [Meg Tilly, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/75954/meg-tilly/)
8. [Agnes of God, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/202418/agnes-of-god)
9. [Meg Tilly – Actor, Writer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/meg-tilly/)
10. [The 58th Academy Awards (1986), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1986)
11. [See All 15 Pairs of Oscar-Winning Siblings, Time](https://time.com/4679006/oscars-2017-siblings-family-winners/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Sw to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license