Actor
Theresa Tilly
November 6, 1953 · 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.
Notable work
Often works with
Ellen Sandweiss
4 titles together
The Evil Dead, Brutal Massacre: A Comedy, Dangerous Women
Betsy Baker
4 titles together
The Evil Dead, Brutal Massacre: A Comedy, Dangerous Women
Bruce Campbell
3 titles together
Oz the Great and Powerful, The Evil Dead, The Ladies of the Evil Dead Meet Bruce Campbell
Ted Raimi
2 titles together
Oz the Great and Powerful, The Evil Dead
Full filmography · 12
The Prototype
as Jenna
20224.3
American Fable
as Anna Winters
20176.1
Stomping Ground
as Susan
2014
Back in the Day
as Mrs. Miller
20144.7
Oz the Great and Powerful
as Quadling Seamstress
20135.9
Brutal Massacre: A Comedy
as Waitress
2008
The Ladies of the Evil Dead Meet Bruce Campbell
cast
2007
Debutante
as Nan's mother
1998
Appearances
cast
1990
The Evil Dead
as Shelly
19827.3