Top Gun legend turn back on fame after devastating attacks
Kelly McGillis was one of the most iconic stars of the 80s, but after her role in Top Gun she walked away from the film industry after a series of devastating attacks and personal struggles
The 80s hit film Top Gun rocketed many of its stars to fame, including the flight instructor character Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis, who quickly ascended to become one of Tinseltown's most sought-after actresses. Fast-forward three decades, and a life marred by personal tragedies paints a starkly different picture.
Born into the well-heeled surrounds of Newport Beach, California, Kelly McGillis' transition to New York City to chase her acting aspirations was marked by harrowing episodes.
In what should have been an enchanting second year at the elite Julliard School, she faced the terror of a mugging at gunpoint. Undeterred, though, McGillis pressed on with her ambition.
Yet 1982 brought a grimmer chapter, only four years ahead of her acclaim in Top Gun; her own residence became the setting of a nightmare when intruders forced their way in and subjected her to a knife-point rape.
It was the alarm raised by a neighbour that brought police sirens to the scene, precipitating the burglars' escape and their eventual capture, the principal assailant receiving a sentence of three years behind bars, reports the Mirror US.
In an intimate recount to People Magazine in 1988, she shared visceral memories of the assault: "I'll never forget the way they smelled. Like alcohol and old sweat...While one watched, the taller one got on top of me and held the knife to my right eye...Then the other one got on top of me. They kept switching and telling me they were going to beat me until I was dead."
Living with a woman during that period, McGillis interpreted the attack as a divine "punishment" for her sexual orientation.
Despite facing a harrowing ordeal, McGillis continued to chase her acting dream and landed a major role in 1985 alongside Harrison Ford in Witness. In 1988, she played a prosecutor in The Accused opposite Jodie Foster, a part which she hoped would help her process her own past traumas.
By 1989, McGillis had married yacht salesman Fred Tillman and was confronting her sexuality while relationship strains surfaced. They had two daughters, but their family life took a hit when Tillman was caught soliciting sex from an undercover policewoman posing as a prostitute.
Seeking respite from New York's glare, the pair relocated to Florida and set up a bar called Kelly's. During this period, McGillis formed a bond with bartender Melanie Leis.
Leis who was openly gay later said: "We were partners in crime and were both drinking and abusing drugs."
After finalising her divorce from Tillman in 2002, McGillis left Tinseltown behind to co-parent with Leis in rural Pennsylvania, then moved back to New Jersey where she undertook a new role as a rehab counsellor.
Returning to her acting roots in 2008 with a part in the lesbian-themed TV show The L Word, McGillis publicly came out the following year. In a candid chat with SheWired.com, she declared: "I'm done with the man thing.
"Life is a journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are."
In 2016, she endured another harrowing experience when an intruder broke into her North Carolina residence.
When the casting for "Top Gun: Maverick" came around in 2022, McGillis was not selected to return to the iconic series, which she believes might be due to her refusal to undergo plastic surgery or revert her hair to its famous blonde hue – a claim director Joseph Kosinski has refuted.
Speaking candidly to ET at age 62, McGillis offered a blunt perspective on the expectations of Hollywood, stating: "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. I'd much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and my age than place any value in all that other stuff."
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