Lili Taylor

Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films Mystic Pizza and Say Anything... (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s independent cinema through starring roles in Bright Angel (1990), Dogfight (1991), Household Saints, Short Cuts (both 1993), The Addiction (1995), I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), and Pecker (1998). 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 (1989), Rudy (1993), Ransom (1996), The Haunting (1999), High Fidelity (2000), Public Enemies (2009), The Conjuring (2013), and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015). Other credits include Factotum, The Notorious Bettie Page (both 2005), To the Bone (2017), and Paper Spiders (2020).

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 (2015–2017). She received a further two Emmy nominations for her guest role as Marty Glenn in the X-Files episode "Mind's Eye" (1998) and her recurring portrayal of Lisa Kimmel on HBO's Six Feet Under (2002–2005). Taylor's stage credits include Broadway productions of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters (1997) and Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room (2017).

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 (mostly in the second and third seasons) in the HBO drama Six Feet Under for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. Taylor played supporting roles in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Say Anything... (1989). She starred in Dogfight (1991) directed by Nancy Savoca, in which she played an unattractive young woman who is taken to a cruel contest by a Marine (played by River Phoenix) 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 (released 1993), 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 (1996). 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 (played by Johnny Depp), 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 also appeared in the second season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Daredevil: Born Again as New York Governor Marge McCaffrey.

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, 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 (1993). She was nominated for Best Female Lead for Bright Angel (1990) and The Addiction (1995), and again for Best Supporting Female for Girls Town (1996). 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 Mystic Pizza Josephina "Jojo" Barbosa 1989 Say Anything... Corey Flood 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 Watch It Brenda Short Cuts Honey Bush Household Saints Teresa Carmela Santangelo Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female Rudy Sherry 1994 Touch Base Darcy Winningham Short film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle Edna Ferber 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 ActressSant Jordi Award for Best Foreign ActressNominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead Cold Fever Jill Seattle International Film Festival: Best Actress (also for I Shot Andy Warhol and Girls Town) Four Rooms Raven Segment: "The Missing Ingredient" Killer: A Journal of a Murder Woman In Speakeasy (uncredited) 1996 Plain Pleasures Unknown Short film Girls Town Patti Lucci Seattle International Film Festival: Best Actress (also for I Shot Andy Warhol and Cold Fever)Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female I Shot Andy Warhol Valerie Solanas Seattle International Film Festival: Best Actress (also for Girls Town and Cold Fever)Stockholm International Film Festival: Best ActressSundance Film Festival: Special RecognitionNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (3rd place) Cosas que nunca te dije Ann Thessaloniki International Film Festival: Best Actress Illtown Micky Ransom Maris Conner Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress—Suspense 1997 Kicked in the Head 'Happy' 1998 OK Garage Rachel Lily 'Lil' Come to Angela Short film Pecker Rorey Wheeler 1999 Evie Decker Indianapolis International Film Festival: Special Jury Prize (shared with Sara Rue)Newport Beach Film Festival: Outstanding Achievement in Acting Nell Vance Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – HorrorNominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Catherine Zeta-Jones) 2000 High Fidelity Sarah Kendrew 2001 Julie Johnson Julie Johnson Gaudi Afternoon Ben 2003 Casa de los Babys Leslie 2005 Factotum Jan Copenhagen International Film Festival: Best ActressSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Paula Klaw 2007 Starting Out in the Evening Ariel Schiller Hannah Marris 2008 Lori Wehlner 2009 Tired of Being Funny Lee Short film Brooklyn's Finest Angela Procida Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Public Enemies Sheriff Lillian Holley 2011 The Pier Grace Ross 2012 About Cherry Phyllis Being Flynn Joy Mrs. Capo Future Weather Ms. Markovi 2013 Nicole The Conjuring Carolyn Perron Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress Fright Meter Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Blood Ties Marie Pierzynski 2015 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Dr. Mary Cooper A Woman Like Me Anna Seashell 2017 To the Bone Judy Leatherface Verna Sawyer-Carson 2018The NunCarolyn PerronCameo 2019 Eli Dr. Isabella Horn 2020 The Evening Hour Ruby Freeman Paper Spiders Dawn 2021 The Winter House Eileen 2022 Yield Celia Short film 2022 There There One Night Stand2025 Fear Street: Prom Queen VP Dolores Brekenridge The Gettysburg Address Emily Souder (voice) The Conjuring: Last Rites Carolyn Perron Cameo 2026 Anima Julia Freaks Part II Erica Lang Mags Flanagan Post-Production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1986 Crime Story Waitress Episode: "Hide and Go Thief" 1987 Night of Courage Marina Television film 1990 Monsters Jamie Neal Episode: "Habitat" American Playhouse Younger Marianne Episode: "Sensibility and Sense" Family of Spies Laura Walker Television film 1997 SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground Belinda Television film 1997–1998 Mad About You Arley 2 episodes 1998 Marty Glenn Episode: "Mind's Eye"Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series 2000–2001 Deadline Hildy Baker Main role; 13 episodes 2001 Anne Frank: The Whole Story Miep Gies Main role; 2 episodes 2002 Live from Baghdad Judy Parker Television film 2002–2005 Six Feet Under Lisa Kimmel Fisher Recurring role; 25 episodesScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama SeriesNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2002) 2003 Penguins Behind Bars Doris Fairfeather (voice) Television film 2007 State of Mind Ann Bellows, M.D. Main role; 8 episodes 2010 Donna Seabrook Episode: "Poisoned Pill" 2013–2014 Hemlock Grove Lynda Rumancek Recurring role; 11 episodes Almost Human Captain Sandra Maldonado Main role; 13 episodes 2014 Gotham Patti Episode: "Selina Kyle" 2015 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Martha Thornhill 2 episodes 2015–2017 American Crime Nancy Straumberg / Anne Blaine / Claire Coates Main role; 21 episodesNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or MovieNominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Limited Series 2019 Chambers Ruth Pezim Recurring role; 7 episodes 2020 Perry Mason Birdy McKeegan Recurring role; 7 episodes 2022–2024 Outer Range Cecilia Abbott Main role; 14 episodes 2024 Manhunt Mary Todd Lincoln Recurring role; 4 episodes 2025 Poker Face FBI Agent Darville 2 episodes 2026 Daredevil: Born Again Governor Marge McCaffrey Main role; 5 episodes

Stage credits