Kelly McGillis, 68, Looks Stunning Decades After ‘Top Gun’ Made Her Famous
Kelly McGillis, best known for her role as Charlie in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, has had a career and life full of changes, both on and off the screen. Born in Newport Beach, California, McGillis began acting in the late 1970s, slowly building her career with small roles before earning wider recognition. Her breakout came in 1985 with Witness, where she played an Amish mother and received nominations for both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.
Her fame skyrocketed the following year when she starred alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun as flight instructor Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood. The role made her a household name and an iconic figure of 1980s cinema.
Despite her success, McGillis later revealed that she was not invited back for Top Gun: Maverick, suggesting that age and appearance played a part. In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said, “I’m old, and I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate for what my age is. And that is not what that whole scene is about. To me, I’d much rather feel absolutely in my skin and who I am at my age as opposed to placing a value on all that other stuff.”
McGillis’s personal life has also been a journey of change and self-discovery. She married fellow Juilliard student Boyd Black in 1979, but they divorced in 1981. She later married Fred Tillman in 1989, and the couple had two daughters before divorcing in 2002. In 2009, McGillis came out as a lesbian, telling SheWired that accepting her sexuality has been a lifelong process. “Being gay was something I struggled with since I was 12, and I previously thought it was a form of divine punishment,” she shared.
After acting steadily through the 1980s and 1990s, McGillis took a break from the screen in the early 2000s following her role in Morgan’s Ferry. She returned in 2006 with the TV movie Supergator and later appeared in Showtime’s The L Word during its fifth season. By 2013, she had moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina, where she began teaching acting at the New York Studio for Stage and Screen in Asheville.
In recent years, McGillis has appeared in various projects, including Grand Street, Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, Z Nation, and Sisters of Mercy. She also starred in the thriller Maternal Secrets (also called Mother of All Secrets) in 2018, earning awards for Best Supporting Actress at the California Women’s Film Festival and a nomination at the Southampton International Film Festival. That same year, she provided the voice for Rachel in the animated series Charlie.
McGillis has openly discussed her struggles with body image and self-esteem. In a 2021 interview with It Came From…, she reflected on watching her younger self on screen, admitting, “I really had issues. It was very interesting to me, because I remember making the film, I felt like I was fat and ugly, and I thought, ‘I wonder why I thought that so much back then?’”
Today, McGillis continues to live authentically, embracing her age and her life. She remains a respected actress, teacher, and advocate, sharing her experiences to inspire others. Her journey from Hollywood stardom to personal acceptance shows that transformation isn’t just about fame, it’s about learning to love yourself at every stage of life.
What do you think about Kelly McGillis’s journey and her perspective on aging and self-acceptance? Share your thoughts in the comments.