Lili Taylor

Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films Mystic Pizza and Say Anything..., before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s independent cinema through starring roles in Bright Angel, Dogfight, Household Saints, Short Cuts, The Addiction, I Shot Andy Warhol, and Pecker. Taylor is the recipient of four Independent Spirit nominations, winning once in the category of Best Supporting Female.
Alongside her work on smaller-scale projects, Taylor has encountered mainstream success with parts in films such as Born on the Fourth of July, Rudy, Ransom, The Haunting, High Fidelity, Public Enemies, The Conjuring, and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. Other credits include Factotum, The Notorious Bettie Page, To the Bone, and Paper Spiders.
Outside film, Taylor has appeared in an array of television series. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for her portrayal of Anne Blaine on the ABC drama series American Crime. She received a further two Emmy nominations for her guest role as Marty Glenn in the X-Files episode "Mind's Eye" and her recurring portrayal of Lisa Kimmel on HBO's Six Feet Under. Taylor's stage credits include Broadway productions of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters and Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room.

Early life

Taylor, the fifth of six children, was born in Glencoe, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago, to an artist and hardware store operator. She grew up in a "warm family environment", and has described herself as being "a bit of a searcher" during her childhood. She graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois in 1985. Thereafter, she attended The Theatre School at DePaul University before being cut from the acting program for a policy violation, and the Piven Theatre Workshop.

Career

Taylor has appeared in dozens of films since 1988, including Dogfight, Mystic Pizza, and Rudy. Her work has mostly been in independent films and theater. She played Lisa Kimmel Fisher in the HBO drama Six Feet Under for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. Taylor played supporting roles in Mystic Pizza and Say Anything.... She starred in Dogfight directed by Nancy Savoca, in which she played an unattractive young woman who is taken to a cruel contest by a Marine under the pretense of a date; in his 1993 book Alternate Oscars, Danny Peary argued that Taylor deserved a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Dogfight.
In 1991, Taylor played Grace, the witty and romantic step-daughter of Faye Dunaway, in Arizona Dream, directed by Emir Kusturica, co-starring Johnny Depp, Vincent Gallo and Jerry Lewis. In 1993 too, she re-teamed with Savoca for Household Saints. Director Robert Altman hired Taylor in 1993 for his epic Los Angeles drama Short Cuts, in which Taylor shared scenes with Lily Tomlin. Taylor portrayed Valerie Solanas, who attempted to assassinate Andy Warhol, in Mary Harron's I Shot Andy Warhol. The same year, she co-starred in Girls Town with Bruklin Harris and Aunjanue Ellis, where three inner-city friends dealt with a friend's suicide, and later in Ransom, as caterer who helps her corrupt policeman boyfriend kidnap a rich man's son.
In 1998 she appeared in the X-Files episode "Mind's Eye", and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. The same year, she appeared in John Waters' film Pecker, alongside Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci and Mary Kay Place. In 1999, Taylor starred in Jan de Bont's remake of The Haunting. In 2001, Taylor appeared in the independent feature Julie Johnson. The film, co-starring Courtney Love, centered on a Long Island mother and housewife who leaves her husband to pursue her dream of studying science. In early 2004, Taylor made her New York City stage debut in Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon in the role of Lemon.
Taylor won the 2005 Best Actress award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival for her role in Factotum. In 2006, Taylor worked again with Mary Harron in The Notorious Bettie Page. She starred in the Lifetime cable network's hour-long comedy-drama series State of Mind, as a New Haven therapist dealing with a divorce and a parade of quirky clients. She played the daughter of Frank Langella's character in Andrew Wagner's 2007 drama Starting Out in the Evening. In the 2008 film The Promotion, Taylor played Lori Wehlner, the wife of John C. Reilly's character. In 2009, Taylor played Sheriff Lillian Holley of Lake County, Indiana, who incarcerates John Dillinger, in Michael Mann's Public Enemies. In 2011, Fence Books released Taylor's audio recording of poet Ariana Reines' Save The World. In 2013, Taylor starred in the horror hit The Conjuring.
In 2014, Taylor starred alongside Chloë Grace Moretz in the off-Broadway play The Library directed by Steven Soderbergh. The following year she co-starred in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, as Dr. Mary Cooper, "a doctor who helps Thomas and his fellow Gladers". Filming began at the end of October, and the movie was released on September 18, 2015. In 2020, Taylor starred opposite Stefania LaVie Owen in Paper Spiders.
Taylor will portray Mags in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping set to be released in November 2026. Taylor will also work in season two of Daredevil: Born Again as the as-yet-unidentified Governor of New York.

Personal life

In May 1997, Taylor's former boyfriend, actor Michael Rapaport, was arrested for harassing Taylor and charged with two counts of aggravated harassment. He pleaded guilty to the charges. New York Supreme Court Justice Arlene Goldberg issued a protection order forbidding him from contacting Taylor and requiring him to undergo counseling.
In 2009, Taylor married writer Nick Flynn. They have a daughter Maeve, who was born sometime around 2008.
Taylor is an activist for conservation issues, particularly those having to do with birds, and sits on the boards of the American Birding Association and National Audubon Society. She wrote a book of essays, Turning to Birds, The Power and Beauty of Noticing, published in 2025.
Taylor introduced Louise Post to Nina Gordon, and they went on to found the 1990s alternative band Veruca Salt in the early 1990s.

Awards

Taylor is a three-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee. Also recognized for her extensive work in American independent film, she has been nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards, winning Best Supporting Female for her performance in Household Saints. She was nominated for Best Female Lead for Bright Angel and The Addiction, and again for Best Supporting Female for Girls Town. In 1996, she received a Special Recognition award from the Sundance Film Festival for her performance in Mary Harron's I Shot Andy Warhol, in which she portrayed Valerie Solanas. Ten years later, in 2006, she was honored with the Excellence in Acting Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	She's Having a Baby	Lab Technician O. Palmer
1988	Mystic Pizza	Josephina "Jojo" Barbosa
1989	Say Anything...	Corey Flood
1989	Born on the Fourth of July	Jamie Wilson – Georgia
1990	Bright Angel	Lucy	Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
1991	Dogfight	Rose
1993	Arizona Dream	Grace Stalker
1993	Watch It	Brenda
1993	Short Cuts	Honey Bush
1993	Household Saints	Teresa Carmela Santangelo	Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
1993	Rudy	Sherry
1994	Touch Base	Darcy Winningham	Short film
1994	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Edna Ferber
1994	Prêt-à-Porter	Fiona Ulrich	National Board of Review for Best Acting by an Ensemble
1995	'	Kathleen Conklin	Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema: Best Actress Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actress Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
1995	Cold Fever	Jill	Seattle International Film Festival: Best Actress
1995	Four Rooms	Raven	Segment: "The Missing Ingredient"
1995	Killer: A Journal of a Murder	Woman In Speakeasy
1996	Plain Pleasures	Unknown	Short film
1996	Girls Town	Patti Lucci	Seattle International Film Festival: Best Actress Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
1996	I Shot Andy Warhol	Valerie Solanas	Seattle International Film Festival: Best Actress Stockholm International Film Festival: Best Actress Sundance Film Festival: Special Recognition Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
1996	Cosas que nunca te dije	Ann	Thessaloniki International Film Festival: Best Actress
1996	Illtown	Micky
1996	Ransom	Maris Conner	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress—Suspense
1997	Kicked in the Head	'Happy'
1998	OK Garage	Rachel
1998	'	Lily 'Lil'
1998	Come to	Angela	Short film
1998	Pecker	Rorey Wheeler
1999	'	Evie Decker	Indianapolis International Film Festival: Special Jury Prize Newport Beach Film Festival: Outstanding Achievement in Acting
1999	'	Nell Vance	Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple
2000	High Fidelity	Sarah Kendrew
2001	Julie Johnson	Julie Johnson
2001	Gaudi Afternoon	Ben
2003	Casa de los Babys	Leslie
2005	Factotum	Jan	Copenhagen International Film Festival: Best Actress San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2005	'	Paula Klaw
2007	Starting Out in the Evening	Ariel Schiller
2007	'	Hannah Marris
2008	'	Lori Wehlner
2009	Tired of Being Funny	Lee	Short film
2009	Brooklyn's Finest	Angela Procida	Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble
2009	Public Enemies	Sheriff Lillian Holley
2011	The Pier	Grace Ross
2012	About Cherry	Phyllis
2012	Being Flynn	Joy
2012	'	Mrs. Capo
2012	Future Weather	Ms. Markovi
2013		Nicole
2013	The Conjuring	Carolyn Perron	Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress Fright Meter Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2013	Blood Ties	Marie Pierzynski
2015	Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials	Dr. Mary Cooper
2015	A Woman Like Me	Anna Seashell
2017	To the Bone	Judy
2017	Leatherface	Verna Sawyer-Carson
2018	The Nun	Carolyn Perron	Cameo
2019	Eli	Dr. Isabella Horn
2020	The Evening Hour	Ruby Freeman
2020	Paper Spiders	Dawn
2021	The Winter House	Eileen
2022	Yield	Celia	Short film
2022	There There	One Night Stand
2025	Fear Street: Prom Queen	VP Dolores Brekenridge
2025	The Gettysburg Address	Emily Souder	Post-production
2025	The Conjuring: Last Rites	Carolyn Perron	Cameo
2026		Mags Flanagan	Post-Production