Kelly McGillis isn’t exactly a household name these days, but that doesn’t mean the Top Gun star isn’t still actively working as an actress. The 58-year-old has appeared on TV shows like Showtime’s The L Word and made-for-TV movies like the wholesome Hallmark romance An Uncommon Grace and the thriller Maternal Secrets, just to name a few of her most recent projects.
McGillis made a name for herself in the ’80s with roles in high-grossing films like Witness and The Accused, and she kept working steadily for years afterward. But around 2000, she began to take a few steps back from acting, taking on fewer and fewer roles.
That shift in her career was likely influenced by some major life changes. As McGillis has talked about in the past, she was brutally raped at home in 1982 by two men who broke into her house and beat her before fleeing. It was a traumatic experience that left her shaken.
After the attack, McGillis struggled with substance abuse and began to rely on alcohol as a crutch. Eventually, she got sober and decided to focus on her career in television.
In the ’10s, McGillis worked on shows like Blue and Grand Street, and she appeared in movies including cult horror flick Stake Land and indie vampire film The Innkeepers. She was also a frequent visitor to the stage, appearing in lauded Shakespeare productions. Today, McGillis lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where she teaches acting at an acting school. She also works as a counselor at a drug rehabilitation center.