Acting
Community Rating
6.6
Initial estimate
Born
November 6, 1953 (age 72)
Born in
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Theresa Tilly made a monstrous feature film debut as Shelly in Sam Raimi's influential classic, The Evil Dead (1981). After working as a stand-up comedian in her hometown of Detroit, she set her sights on acclaimed improv comedy troupe The Second City Chicago. Her work there earned her a role on a sketch comedy pilot called YouTV, co-starring alongside late-night TV legend Steve Allen. Although the show was not picked up, it served as an impetus for the budding performer to move to Los Angeles in order to pursue her acting career. Tilly has since appeared in over 100 films, TV shows, plays, and commercials, including: Debutante (1998), opposite Selma Blair and Josh Hartnett; Back in the Day (2014), written and directed by actor Michael Rosenbaum; Appearances, a PBS special written by celebrated author Elmore Leonard; Brutal Massacre: A Comedy (2007), alongside the late horror icon Gunnar Hansen; and Oz The Great and Powerful (2013), which reunited her with The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi. She was also the first female to announce ESPN's ESPY Awards.

The Prototype
as Jenna
2022

Hail to the Deadites
as Self
2020

American Fable
as Anna Winters
2017

Stomping Ground
as Susan
2014

Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist
as Self
2014

Back in the Day
as Mrs. Miller
2014

Oz the Great and Powerful
as Quadling Seamstress
2013

Dangerous Women
as Shelly
2009

Brutal Massacre: A Comedy
as Waitress
2008

One by One We Will Take You: The Untold Saga of The Evil Dead
as Self
2007

The Ladies of the Evil Dead Meet Bruce Campbell
2007

Life After Dead: The Ladies of the Evil Dead
as Self, Producer
2007

The Evil Dead: Treasures from the Cutting Room Floor
as Self
2007

Family Law
as Witness
1999

Debutante
as Nan's mother
1998

Appearances
1990

The Evil Dead
as Shelly
1981