Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis living totally different life after quitting Hollywood for heartbreaking reason
She is known to millions as Charlie Blackwood, Tom Cruise's love interest in the box-office hit Top Gun, before deciding to step away from Hollywood over a decade later.
So what happened to Kelly McGillis – and where is she now?
From Hollywood to Motherhood
Following her divorce from her husband, Fred Tillman, McGillis decided that her time was best focused on raising her two daughters, Kelsey and Sonora, as well as seeking support for alcohol and drug dependency.
She has been sober since 2001, with advocacy for addiction recovery shaping her later career.
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In 2013, it was revealed that McGillis was living in New Jersey and working full-time as an addiction counsellor for women.
"I work a five-day, 40-hour week," she said of her work in an interview with The Oklahoman.
"It's just an amazing gift to see people come in hopeless and to be given some hope."
McGillis had also faced a number of traumas in her life, including a violent sexual assault and a home invasion.
While studying at New York's performing arts school Juilliard in 1982, the 69-year-old was raped at knifepoint by two men in her apartment. She was previously mugged at gunpoint a year earlier while living in New York.
McGillis later opened up about the trauma during a 1988 interview with PEOPLE magazine, explaining that the experience had left her with nightmares and substance issues as well as impacting the roles she took on as an actor.
"The first few weeks after the incident I couldn’t eat or sleep. I twitched incessantly," she explained. "I would gasp suddenly without being able to control it.
"Finally in 1984 I went into therapy for a year because I was tired of beating myself up for something I didn’t do, and I realised I would have no future if I didn’t stop."
She would later experience a second break-in at her home in 2016, when a woman broke into her home in 2016. The incident would lead McGillis to apply for a concealed carry permit in order to protect herself. Detailing the decision in a Facebook post, she wrote: "All I have ever wanted is to feel safe. Safe in my own home."
Where is Kelly McGillis now?
In 2009, McGillis came out as a lesbian, later marrying Melanie Leis in 2010. The relationship was not to last, with the couple divorcing several years later.
She also made a brief return to acting, with roles in films such as The Innkeepers and We Are What We Are.
Her most recent acting role came in 2020, with an uncredited appearance in Dirty John.
She now lives a low-key life in South Carolina, telling Entertainment Tonight in 2019 that she was a happy living a quiet life away from the spotlight.
I am a home person. I'm really rooted in my home life. I can't remember the last time I worked," she said.
"I feel really blessed that I don't have to work, you know? But I get the option to work, so I'm really blessed in that way. Not many people get that option later in life, so I feel very lucky."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Brenna Cooper