Lois Chiles

Lois Chiles
Born
Lois Cleveland Chiles

(1947-04-15) April 15, 1947 (age 76)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, model
Years active1972–2006
Spouse
(m. 2005; died 2020)
RelativesEddie Chiles (uncle)

Lois Cleveland Chiles (born April 15, 1947)[1] is an American actress and former fashion model known for her role as Holly Goodhead in the James Bond film Moonraker (1979), and as a hit-and-run driver in Creepshow 2 (1987).

Other screen credits include The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Death on the Nile (1978), Broadcast News (1987), and the television role of Holly Harwood on Dallas (1982–1983).

Early and personal life[edit]

Chiles was born in Houston, the daughter of Marion Clay Chiles and Barbara Wayne Kirkland Chiles. Her paternal uncle was oil tycoon and Texas Rangers owner Eddie Chiles.[2][3][4] She had two brothers: Clay Kirkland Chiles (died 1979),[citation needed] and William Edmonds Chiles, president and CEO of Bristow Group, Inc. She was raised in Alice, Texas.

Chiles studied at the University of Texas at Austin and the former Finch College in New York City, where she was discovered by a Glamour editor looking for a young woman to feature on the cover of the magazine's annual college issue.[1] She landed the job and soon had contracts with Wilhelmina Models in New York and Elite Models in Paris. Later, she studied acting under Roy London.[5] She dated Don Henley but the relationship ended, and in 2005, she married money manager Richard Gilder.[6] They are both honorary co-chairs of Northfield Mount Hermon, a school in Massachusetts. Gilder donated money to the school and they named the Chiles Theater after her.[7] Gilder died in 2020.[8]

Career[edit]

Chiles enjoyed a successful modeling career in the early 1970s. After her role in the independent 1972 blaxploitation film Together for Days opposite Clifton Davis, Chiles appeared in the successful 1973 studio release The Way We Were, as the college girlfriend of Robert Redford. She was then cast as Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby (1974) alongside Mia Farrow and, once again, Robert Redford. She again shared the screen with Farrow in the Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile (1978).

As NASA astronaut, scientist, and Bond girl Dr. Holly Goodhead, Chiles appeared opposite Roger Moore in Moonraker (1979).

Chiles had initially been approached to star in the previous Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, but she declined the role as she was taking a break from acting at the time.[1] She also appeared in a small role in the thriller Coma (1978), one of the many films in which she played a murder victim.[9][unreliable source?]

She appeared in the music video for the Tony Powers song Odyssey in 1982.

Chiles lost her youngest brother to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1979, which contributed to her decision to take a three-year hiatus from acting. The time away took a toll on her film career, and she struggled to find roles of the caliber she previously enjoyed, although film critic Pauline Kael gave her good notices for her performances in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986).[citation needed] Her portrayal of reporter Jennifer Mack in James L. Brooks' Broadcast News (1987) was also well received, as was her turn in George A. Romero's horror flick Creepshow 2 in 1987, as a hit-and-run driver.[10][unreliable source?] In 1989, she appeared uncredited in a short but effective cameo as the estranged mother of Ione Skye's character in Say Anything... (1989).[citation needed]

She has since appeared as a stuffy high-school principal in the 1996 Disney film Wish Upon a Star, and as a frightened cruise passenger in the critically panned Speed 2: Cruise Control in 1997. She made a cameo appearance in the international release of the 1997 Bond spoof Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, though her scene was cut from the United States release.[citation needed]

She has worked in television, playing J.R. Ewing's love interest Holly Harwood in the 1982–1983 season of Dallas and guest appearances in series such as Hart to Hart (as a psychotic split-personality model), In the Heat of the Night, Murder, She Wrote, and The Nanny (with another Bond girl, Ivana Miličević). Later career high points included the indie films Diary of a Hitman (1991) and Curdled (1996).[1] In 2005, friend Quentin Tarantino, with whom she had previously worked on the set of Curdled, recruited her to appear in the two-episode finale of season five of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which he wrote and directed.[citation needed]

In the spring of 2002, she taught a course in film acting at the University of Houston.[5] Unlike some "Bond girls", Chiles has said that "being a Bond girl is a fun way to be remembered", although she jokes that being asked to sigh "Oh, James" is annoying because "you can't live up to people's fantasies".[11][unreliable source?]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1972 Together for Days Shelley
1973 The Way We Were Carol Ann
1974 The Great Gatsby Jordan Baker
1978 Coma Nancy Greenly
1978 Death on the Nile Linnet Ridgeway
1979 Moonraker Dr. Holly Goodhead
1981 Hart to Hart Mary Scott / Scottie TV series, Season 2 (1 episode)
1982 Odyssey Unnamed Music video for Tony Powers song
1982–1983 Dallas Holly Harwood TV series, Season 6 (22 episodes) and Season 7 (2 episodes)
1984 Courage Ruth
1986 Sweet Liberty Leslie
1986 Dark Mansions Jessica Drake TV movie
1987 Creepshow 2 Annie Lansing (segment "The Hitchhiker")
1987 Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro's Lita Nathan TV movie
1987 Broadcast News Jennifer Mack
1989 Say Anything... Diane's Mother (uncredited)
1989 Twister Virginia
1990 Burning Bridges Claire Morgan TV movie
1990 In the Eye of the Snake Claire Anzer—Marc's Mother
1990 Murder, She Wrote Millie Bingham Stafford TV series, Season 7 (1 episode)
1991 Veronica Clare TV series, Seasons 1 and 2 (1 episode each)
1991 Bis ans Ende der Welt Elsa Farber
1991 Diary of a Hitman Sheila
1992 Obsessed Louise TV movie
1993 In the Heat of the Night Muriel Gray TV series, Season 6 (1 episode)
1993 Civil Wars Alexandra Phelps TV series, Season 2 (1 episode)
1993 Crossroads Renee TV series, Season 1 (1 episode)
1993 Lush Life Lucy TV movie
1994 L.A. Law Camilla Greer TV series, Season 8 (1 episode)
1995 The Babysitter Bernice Holsten
1995 Flipper Allison Van Rijn TV series, Season 1 (1 episode)
1996 Curdled Katrina Brandt
1996 Wish Upon a Star Principal Mary Mittermiller TV movie
1997 Bliss Eva
1997 The Nanny Elaine TV series, Season 4 (1 episode)
1997 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Steamrolled Henchman's Wife (uncredited)
1997 Speed 2: Cruise Control Celeste
1998 Black Cat Run Ada Bronnel
2000 Eventual Wife Susan's Mother short
2002 Any Day Now Judge TV series, Season 4 (1 episode)
2002 Warning: Parental Advisory Susan Baker TV movie
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Jillian Stokes TV series, Season 5 (episode: "Grave Danger")
2006 Kettle of Fish Jean

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Profile, entertainment.msn.com; accessed April 9, 2016. Archived September 18, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Lois Chiles: biography". SuperiorPics.com.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Profile, Yahoo.com; accessed April 9, 2016. Archived May 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "If you don't have an oil well, get one!", barrypopik.com; accessed April 9, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Profile, mfah.org; accessed April 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Lattman, Peter (November 7, 2012). "Lois Chiles Talks About Being a Bond Girl". New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  7. ^ "Richard Gilder '50 Gives $5 Million for Financial Aid | Northfield Mount Hermon". Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  8. ^ Roberts, Sam (May 14, 2020). "Richard Gilder, Donor to Parks, Museum and History, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Profile Archived September 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Cinemorgue.com; accessed April 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Creepshow 2 review Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, barnesandnoble.com; accessed April 9, 2016.
  11. ^ Talking to Bond Girls Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, stumpedmagazine.com; accessed August 3, 2014.

External links[edit]