Trivia

In 2005 she won the Ladies-Only No Limit Texas Hold 'Em event at the World Series of Poker, becoming the first celebrity to win an open (as opposed to celebrity-only) WSOP tournament and earn a World Series bracelet. She beat out exactly 600 other women to take the championship.

Received her Bachelor's degree in Theatre from Stephens College in Columbia, MO.

She has played a ditzy, sexy love interest for Kelsey Grammer's character Frasier Crane when he was trying to get over other women on Cheers (1982) and again on Frasier (1993) (though she was not playing the same character).

Her father was of Chinese descent and her mother's ancestry was Irish, Finnish, and First Nations. Jennifer was raised mostly in British Columbia, Canada.

Older sister of Meg Tilly and Rebecca Tilly, younger sister of Steve Tilly.

Lenny von Dohlen, who co-starred with Jennifer in Bird of Prey (1995) and her sister Meg Tilly in Leaving Normal (1992), said, "They have a fountain of emotion that keeps coming, even after someone yells cut, but the fountain comes from different bodies of water." He adds, "Meg is an ocean, Jennifer is a rushing river.".

Attended and graduated from Belmont High School in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Her younger sister, Rebecca Tilly, is a post-impressionist painter.

Is an avid lover of fashion and has 400 pairs of shoes.

Her real-life boyfriend is professional poker player Phil Laak (aka "The Unabomber"). They met at a charitable invitational poker tournament.

In high school, everyone called Jennifer, Meg, and their younger sister Becky the Three Musketeers.

Followed up her World Series of Poker win with a victory in the World Poker Tour (2003) Ladies Night, to be broadcast during the fourth season of WPT.

Wore the exact same wig in Bullets Over Broadway (1994) and Return to Babylon (2013).

Initially involved in Los Angeles Equity waiver theater, she was a one-time member for several years with Lonny Chapman's Group Repertory Theatre.

Ranked #23 in Celebrity Sleuth magazine's 25 Sexiest Women of 1995.

Has one cat named Corky.

She has won a Theater World Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her work in Tina Howe's play, "One Shoe Off", at The Joseph Papp Theater. She also received a Dramalogue Award for her work in the play "Vanities". She won a Gemini Award for Best Actress for her role in Showtime's made-for-TV film Heads (1994), and a nomination for a Cable ACE Award for her work on It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986).

Ex-sister-in-law of John Calley and Tim Zinnemann. Sister-in-law of Don Calame.

As of 2018, has never appeared in a film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

Shares a birthday with Family Guy (1999) co-star Lauren Bacall although not in the same episode.

Jennifer Tilly learned that Miramax and the Weinstein brothers had been campaigning for Dianne Wiest to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Bullets Over Broadway (1994) but not her, as they reportedly did not believe in her. Tilly took matters into her own hands after seeing that she hadn't been submitted for consideration for other awards and aggressively campaigned for herself. She bought a full page in Variety with quotes about her performance, and also had Jay Leno introduce her as a guest on his show with "Oscar buzz for her performance". In the end, she managed to secure a nomination but ultimately lost to her co-star Wiest.