Meg Tilly

Early Life and Dance Career

Meg Tilly was born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960, in Long Beach, California, to a Chinese-American father, Harry Chan, and a Canadian mother of Irish and Finnish descent, Patricia Ann Tilly. Her mother was a teacher and her father a businessman. Tilly is the younger sister of actress Jennifer Tilly. After her parents divorced when she was three, she was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Ward, on rural Texada Island in British Columbia. Tilly has stated that her stepfather was a violent pedophile, and at age twelve she began taking dance lessons partly to avoid him. She developed into a gifted ballerina, attending Esquimalt High School in Esquimalt, British Columbia, and also Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle, Washington. After graduation, she moved to New York City to pursue a professional dance career, studying with noted ballet instructors Madame Darvash and Melissa Hayden on a full scholarship. She joined the Connecticut Ballet Company, but a serious back injury in 1979, caused when a dance partner dropped her, ended her professional dance aspirations. Her screen debut was as a dancer in Alan Parker's 1980 musical drama Fame, footage filmed before her injury forced her to stop dancing.

Transition to Acting and Early Film Roles

Forced to give up dancing because of complications from her back injury, Tilly moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and studied under Peggy Feury. She made her television debut in the 1982 half-hour drama The Trouble with Grandpa, co-starring with Elisha Cook Jr. After playing a prostitute in a second-season episode of Hill Street Blues, she appeared in her first starring film role opposite Matt Dillon in the coming-of-age adventure Tex (1982), a film where she also met her future first husband, producer Tim Zinnemann. The year 1983 saw Tilly appear in three films that established her as a rising talent. She starred as the lead in the supernatural horror film One Dark Night. She then appeared in Psycho II with Anthony Perkins, playing a key role in the sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's classic. Her most significant role that year was in Lawrence Kasdan's award-winning ensemble film The Big Chill, sharing the screen with Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, JoBeth Williams and Mary Kay Place. The Big Chill was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Tilly's performance helped her career significantly. In 1984, she starred in the thriller Impulse.

Career Peak with Agnes of God and Subsequent Film Work

Tilly was the first choice for the role of Constanze Mozart in Miloš Forman's film Amadeus, having received glowing appraisals of her rehearsal work from both her would-be co-star Tom Hulce and director Forman. However, she sustained a leg injury playing soccer and had to abandon the project, with the role later going to Elizabeth Berridge. In 1985, Tilly landed the acclaimed title role in Norman Jewison's Agnes of God, appearing with Jane Fonda and Anne Bancroft. Playing the role of a novitiate nun who confesses her involvement in a virgin conception, Tilly delivered a portrayal of a tormented young woman that earned her widespread critical praise. Tilly's performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award in the same category. She later appeared in Milos Forman's Valmont (1989), a film adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses where she met actor Colin Firth. She co-starred with Jack Nicholson in The Two Jakes (1990) and with Christine Lahti in Leaving Normal (1992). Her final film role before a long hiatus was in the 1993 horror film Body Snatchers. After this, she stopped acting for the next 15 years.

Return to Acting and Canadian Television Success

Tilly returned to acting in 2010, portraying a Pope-like figure called the Blessed Mother in the Caprica episode "Unvanquished". In 2011 she returned to the stage in Victoria, British Columbia, performing as Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? presented by the Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Her major comeback was on Canadian television. In January 2012, Global in Canada launched the six-part dramatic series Bomb Girls about women who work in a munitions factory during World War II. Tilly starred as Lorna Corbett, the emotionally closed floor matron who blossoms as a leader and an appealing woman. Her nuanced performance was celebrated, winning her the 2013 Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. This role introduced her to a new generation of Canadian viewers and marked a successful new chapter in her performing career following her lengthy break from the screen.

Writing Career and Published Novels

Alongside her acting, Meg Tilly has built a substantial career as a novelist, often writing for young adult and adult audiences on challenging themes. Her debut novel, Singing Songs, was published by Dutton in 1994 and drew from her own childhood experiences, telling the story of a young girl and her sisters living in the Northwest who are molested by their stepfather. Donna Rifkind from Publishers Weekly called the book an impressive first novel, and the New York Times Book Review praised Tilly for the remarkable coherence and clarity of the narrative voice. Her second novel, Gemma, was published by the Syren Book Company in 2006 and later by St. Martin's Press in 2010. The book is about a twelve-year-old girl who is kidnapped and taken on a cross-country journey where she is physically and sexually abused by her captor.

Tilly's writing for younger readers gained significant recognition in Canada with her third novel, Porcupine, published by Tundra Books in 2007. The story of twelve-year-old Jacqueline "Jack" Cooper, whose life is shattered by the death of her father by friendly fire in the War in Afghanistan, was a finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. It was also shortlisted for The Canadian Libraries Association Best Children's Book 2008, the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year, and was an Ontario Library Best Bets 2008 selection. Her fourth novel, First Time, was published by Orca Book Publishers in 2008. The novel deals with a sixteen-year-old who is molested and physically abused by her mother's boyfriend, and it was a 2009 Golden Eagle Award Nominee, a 2009 YALSA Quick Pick, and a 2010 CCBC Best Book.

A Taste of Heaven, published by Puffin Books in 2013, marked a departure from the darker themes of Tilly's previous work, focusing on the comical and bittersweet trials of tween friendship. The novel was shortlisted for the 2014 Libris Young Reader Book of the Year and the 2014 Diamond Willow Award, and it won the 2014/2015 Chocolate Lilly Award. Her sixth novel, Behind the Scenes, was published in 2014 by Puffin Books Canada. In 2018, Tilly published the first of three books in her Solace Island trilogy, a series of romantic thrillers about a young woman, Maggie Harris, dating a mysterious handsome man after recently being dumped by her fiancé. It was quickly followed by two sequels, Cliff's Edge and Hidden Cove. In 2021, Tilly's latest novel, the new romantic thriller The Runaway Heiress, was published.

• Singing Songs (1994, Dutton), Debut novel about childhood sexual abuse.
• Gemma (2006, Syren Book Company), Story of a kidnapped and abused girl.
• Porcupine (2007, Tundra Books), Finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize.
• First Time (2008, Orca Book Publishers), Golden Eagle Award Nominee (2009).
• A Taste of Heaven (2013, Puffin Books), Winner of the Chocolate Lilly Award (2014/2015).
• Behind the Scenes (2014, Puffin Books Canada).
• The Runaway Heiress (2021), Latest romantic thriller novel.

Awards and Recognition

Meg Tilly's work in both film and literature has been recognized with several major awards and nominations. Her performance in Agnes of God earned her the industry's highest accolades, while her Canadian television work and novels have been honoured by national institutions. The Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize nomination for Porcupine and the Chocolate Lilly Award win for A Taste of Heaven place her within the canon of notable Canadian authors for young readers. Her Canadian Screen Award for Bomb Girls acknowledges her contribution to Canadian television drama, and her Golden Globe win remains a landmark achievement in her acting career.

Personal Life and Canadian Residence

Meg Tilly's personal life has been closely linked to Canada since her childhood. She was raised in British Columbia and has maintained a home there as an adult. She was first married to American film producer Tim Zinnemann, son of director Fred Zinnemann, from 1983 to 1989. They met on the set of her first film, Tex. The couple had two children, Emily born in 1984 and David born in 1986. In 1989, Tilly began a five-year relationship with English actor Colin Firth, whom she met during the filming of Valmont. They moved from Los Angeles to a log house on five acres of mountainside property about an hour outside Vancouver near the town of Maple Ridge, British Columbia. They have one son, William Joseph, born in 1990. In 1995, Tilly married American film studio executive and producer John Calley, who was 30 years her senior. They moved to Los Angeles where Calley worked as president and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The marriage ended in divorce in 2002. In 2002, Tilly married author Don Calame, who writes fiction for adolescents. They met during a writing seminar in Big Sur, California. Since 1999, Tilly has resided in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, solidifying her long-term connection to the Canadian West Coast.

Selected Filmography

Meg Tilly's film career spans from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. She made her screen debut as a dancer in the 1980 film Fame. Her early starring roles included the 1982 film Tex and the 1983 films One Dark Night, Psycho II, and The Big Chill. She later starred in acclaimed films such as Agnes of God in 1985, Valmont in 1989, and The Two Jakes in 1990. After appearing in the 1993 film Body Snatchers, she stopped acting for 15 years. Tilly returned to acting in 2010 with a role in the television series Caprica.

Questions about Meg Tilly

What is Meg Tilly's connection to Canada?

Meg Tilly's connection to Canada began in childhood when she was raised by her Canadian mother on Texada Island in British Columbia. She attended high school in Esquimalt, B.C., and later found major acting success on the Canadian television series Bomb Girls, for which she won a Canadian Screen Award. Several of her novels have been finalists for or won Canadian literary prizes like the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize. She has lived in British Columbia's Gulf Islands since 1999, maintaining a primary residence in Canada for over two decades.

For which film did Meg Tilly win a Golden Globe?

Meg Tilly won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1986 for her performance in the film Agnes of God. In the film, she played the title role of Agnes, a novitiate nun who claims a virgin conception. The same role also earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, marking the peak of her early film career. She starred opposite Jane Fonda and Anne Bancroft in the Norman Jewison-directed drama.

What are some of Meg Tilly's most notable novels?

Meg Tilly has authored several notable novels, often focusing on young protagonists facing trauma. Porcupine (2007), about a girl dealing with her father's death in Afghanistan, was a finalist for the prestigious Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association's Best Children's Book. A Taste of Heaven (2013) won the Chocolate Lilly Award and was shortlisted for the Libris Young Reader Book of the Year. Her debut novel Singing Songs (1994) received positive reviews from major publications, and she has also written a trilogy of romantic thrillers set on Solace Island.

Why did Meg Tilly stop acting for 15 years?

After appearing in the 1993 horror film Body Snatchers, Meg Tilly chose to step away from acting for a period of fifteen years. During this hiatus she focused on her writing career, publishing novels including Singing Songs (1994), Gemma (2006), and Porcupine (2007). She also raised her family during this time. She returned to acting in 2010 with a guest role on Caprica before her acclaimed return in Canada's Bomb Girls in 2012.

What Canadian award did she win for Bomb Girls?

Meg Tilly won the 2013 Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Bomb Girls. She earned this award for her performance as Lorna, the emotionally closed floor matron, in the World War II drama series which launched in January 2012. The series focused on women working in a munitions factory. Tilly's portrayal was noted for showing the character's blossoming into a leader and an appealing woman. This award recognised her successful return to acting after a 15 year hiatus. Her work on Bomb Girls marked a significant achievement in her television career.

Where does Meg Tilly live now?

Since 1999, Meg Tilly has resided in the Gulf Islands, British Columbia. This area is part of the Canadian province where she spent much of her youth, having been raised on rural Texada Island in British Columbia after her parents' divorce. Her choice to live in Canada reflects her deep personal connections to the country, as her mother was a Canadian teacher. Tilly has also lived in other locations, including a period outside Vancouver with actor Colin Firth and time in Los Angeles during her marriage to John Calley. Her current home in the Gulf Islands represents a longstanding connection to her Canadian roots.

Sources and further reading

• Meg Tilly (Wikipedia)
• Actress & Author Meg Tilly On Writing Organically (mindymcginnis.com)
• Bio | Meg Tilly (megtillyauthor.com)

Checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-20.