Jennifer Tilly: Poker Career, Results and Biography

September 5, 2023
Updated October 11, 2026

Table of Contents

Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. Film audiences know her from her Academy Award nomination for Bullets Over Broadway and as Tiffany Valentine in the Chucky films; poker fans know her as the winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event, a member of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame and a regular in televised cash games. ^[1][2][6]

Jennifer Tilly speaking at WonderCon — Photo: Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Jennifer Tilly: key facts

Name	Jennifer Tilly
Country	United States ^[2]
Known for	Oscar nomination for Bullets Over Broadway; Tiffany Valentine in Chucky; Bonnie Swanson in Family Guy ^[1]
Biggest title	WSOP Event #26, $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em, 2005, $158,625 ^[2]
WSOP bracelets	1 (24 WSOP cashes, $486,633 in WSOP earnings) ^[2]
Other title	World Poker Tour Ladies’ Night III, 2005, $25,000 ^[4][5]
Live tournament earnings	$1,048,903 as of October 10, 2026 ^[1]
Hall of Fame	Women in Poker Hall of Fame, Class of 2022 ^[6]

Acting career

Tilly was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Olive Neal in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway (1994). She is best known for playing Tiffany Valentine in the Chucky horror franchise and voices Bonnie Swanson in Family Guy. ^[1] Her other films include Liar Liar and Bound. ^[7]

How Jennifer Tilly got into poker

Tilly’s interest in poker traces back to the 1989 film Let It Ride, in which she played Vicki opposite Richard Dreyfuss. According to Card Player, the role sparked her interest in the game, and she then played home games with friends before her first appearance at the World Series of Poker. ^[4] Around 2004 she played the WPT Celebrity Invitational at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. ^[7] PokerNews, reporting her bracelet in June 2005, wrote that she had got into poker almost two years earlier. ^[3]

The 2005 WSOP Ladies bracelet

At the 2005 WSOP, Tilly entered Event #26, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 601 entries, about three times the 2004 field. She reached the final table as chip leader with 449,600 chips and closed out the title holding ace-seven, which PokerNews called her “trademark hand”. Ann Le finished second for $83,675, and Tilly took the bracelet and $158,625. ^[2][3] “This is better than winning an Oscar,” she said afterwards. ^[3]

Card Player later described the win as the first WSOP bracelet for a celebrity from outside poker. Looking back on it in 2014, Tilly said: “I did beat out 600 runners, and a lot of ladies are very good players.” ^[4]

About two months later she won the World Poker Tour’s annual ladies No-Limit Hold’em invitational, WPT Ladies’ Night III, for $25,000. ^[4][5]

Poker results

Her WSOP.com profile lists one bracelet, 24 cashes and $486,633 in WSOP earnings. ^[2] Her deepest runs outside the bracelet came in No-Limit Hold’em, but she has also cashed in mixed games and in Razz, finishing 12th of 363 in the 2019 $1,500 Razz event. ^[2]

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2005	WSOP Event #26, $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em (601 entries)	1st	$158,625	[2]
2013	PartyPoker Premier League, $125,000 No-Limit Hold’em	7th	$98,000	[4]
2014	WPT LA Poker Classic Main Event, $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em (534 entries)	22nd	$42,550	[2]
2017	Aussie Millions $10,000 Main Event	29th	A$40,000	[1]
2015	WSOP Event #32, $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed (550 entries)	14th	$25,022	[2]
2005	WPT Ladies’ Night III invitational	1st	$25,000	[4]
2019	WSOP Event #86, $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship (272 entries)	24th	$23,315	[2]
2012	WSOP Europe Event #5, €10,450 Mixed Max No-Limit Hold’em	11th	€20,443	[1]
2011	WSOP Event #7, $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship	21st	$20,129	[1]
2007	WSOP Event 47, $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em	30th	$18,546	[1]

Tilly has said she prefers cash games to tournaments. In the 2014 Card Player interview she described herself as an action player who feels most comfortable in six-max games, often at the Bellagio, and explained the difference between the two formats: “Your tournament life is often at stake, whereas in a cash game, you can rebuy.” She added: “The variance in cash games is insane.” ^[4]

Television cash games

Tilly appeared on early televised poker programs such as The Big Game, and by 2022 she had also played on High Stakes Poker. ^[6] PokerStars and PokerGO have published clips of her in both shows. ^[11][10]

In 2026 she was the top winner of the first season of Hellmuth’s Home Game, a Poker Night in America cash game filmed at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno and aired on CBS Sports without commentary. PokerNews’ season recap put her $189,150 ahead over 816 hands, with a 56.3% VPIP, ahead of Dan “Jungleman” Cates in second and Phil Hellmuth in fourth. ^[8] In Episode 31, played at $25/$50 blinds, she won a $17,500 pot against Shaun Deeb on her way to an $8,875 profit for the session. ^[9]

Women in Poker Hall of Fame

On November 15, 2022, the Women in Poker Hall of Fame named Tilly to its Class of 2022 alongside Vanessa Selbst, Angelica Hael and Terry King. The four were honored at an induction ceremony on December 14 at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. ^[6]

Videos

Jennifer Tilly on High Stakes Poker

Jennifer Tilly faces a big bluff on High Stakes Poker

Best of The Big Game with Jennifer Tilly

FAQ about Jennifer Tilly

Is Jennifer Tilly a professional poker player?

She is an actress who also plays poker at a high level. She has a WSOP bracelet, more than $1 million in live tournament earnings and a place in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, and she plays high-stakes cash games on television. ^[1][2][6]

How many WSOP bracelets does Jennifer Tilly have?

One. She won Event #26, the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em, at the 2005 World Series of Poker, beating a field of 601 entries for $158,625. ^[2]

How much has Jennifer Tilly won playing poker?

PokerNews, using Hendon Mob data, lists $1,048,903 in live tournament earnings as of October 10, 2026, of which $486,633 came at the WSOP. Cash game results are not published in full, although PokerNews reported that she finished Season 1 of Hellmuth’s Home Game $189,150 ahead. ^[1][2][8]

What is Jennifer Tilly’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. What can be verified is her live tournament record: $1,048,903 in earnings as of October 10, 2026, according to PokerNews. ^[1]

How did Jennifer Tilly start playing poker?

Her role in the 1989 film Let It Ride sparked her interest in the game, and she played home games with friends before entering the World Series of Poker. ^[4]

Is Jennifer Tilly in the Poker Hall of Fame?

She is in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, as part of the Class of 2022. ^[6]

Was Jennifer Tilly nominated for an Oscar?

Yes. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Bullets Over Broadway (1994). After her 2005 bracelet win she said: “This is better than winning an Oscar.” ^[1][3]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about Vanessa Selbst, who entered the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in the same class, and Phil Hellmuth, whose Home Game cash game series she topped in its first season.