Portrait of Kelly McGillis

Birthday profile

Kelly McGillis

Kelly McGillis, American actress

Born
July 9, 1957
Age in 2026
69
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1957

About Kelly McGillis

Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her film roles such as Rachel Lapp in Witness (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations; Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood in Top Gun (1986); Made in Heaven (1987); The House on Carroll Street (1988); and as Kathryn Murphy in The Accused (1988). In her later career, she has starred in horror films such as Stake Land (2010), The Innkeepers (2011), and We Are What We Are (2013). == Early life == Kelly Ann McGillis was born on July 9, 1957, in the Southern California suburb of Newport Beach, California, the eldest of three daughters born to Virginia Joan (née Snell), a homemaker, and Donald Manson McGillis, a physician. Her direct paternal descent is Scots-Irish, including German and Welsh ancestry. She attended Newport Harbor High School. McGillis attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California. After dropping out of high school in 1975, she obtained her GED and then moved to New York City to study acting at the Juilliard School, where she graduated in 1983, Group 12. == Career == === Film === After making her film debut in Reuben, Reuben in 1983, McGillis's breakout role was that of an Amish mother in Witness (1985), for which she received Golden Globe and BAFTA award nominations. Her next high-profile role was that of flight instructor Charlotte Blackwood (call sign "Charlie") in the 1986 fighter-pilot film Top Gun, starring alongside Tom Cruise.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Kelly McGillis timeline

  1. The Centurion, a 110-foot schooner valued at $1.5 million owned by McGillis and her then-husband, Fred Tillman, was destroyed by fire in April 1996 at a marina in Dania, Florida.
  2. In 1999, McGillis co-starred with Val Kilmer (who plays Virgil, a blind man), for a second time as his over protective sister in At First Sight.
  3. In her later career, she has starred in horror films such as Stake Land (2010), The Innkeepers (2011), and We Are What We Are (2013).

The world when Kelly McGillis was born

Kelly McGillis was born in 1957. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1957

  • #1 song"All Shook Up" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieThe Bridge on the River Kwai
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookOn the Road – Jack Kerouac

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMilwaukee Braves win the World Series
  • Top headlineSoviet Union launches Sputnik — Space Race begins
  • Technology milestoneSputnik 1 becomes first artificial satellite in orbit
  • Defining fadHula hoops (early buzz)
  • Notable inventionFrisbee
  • World population2.87 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championMilwaukee Braves (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population171.2M

1957 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Kelly McGillis's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19572026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,200$435,000
Average income$6,700$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.51$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population171.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.