Lois Chiles

Infobox actor


imagesize = 150px
birthdate = Birth date and age|1947|4|15|mf=y
birthplace = Alice, Texas

Lois Cleveland Chiles (born April 15, 1947) [http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=249797&mp=b All Movie Guide bio] ] is an American actress and former fashion model best known for her role as Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 James Bond film "Moonraker".

Early life

Chiles was born in Alice, Texas, the daughter of Barbara Wayne (née Kirkland) and Marion Clay Chiles, who was the brother of oil tycoon and Texas Rangers owner Eddie Chiles. [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800049442/bio Yahoo] ] [ [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/if_you_dont_have_an_oil_well_get_one_eddie_chiles_of_western_company/ “If you don’t have an oil well, get one!”] ] Chiles was raised in Alice, Texas. She received her education 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. She landed the job and soon had a contract with Wilhelmina Models. She studied acting with Roy London.

Career

In the early 1970s, Chiles enjoyed a successful modeling career. She made her big-screen debut in "Together For Days" in 1972, followed by 1973's "The Way We Were", in which she played opposite Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand as the college sweetheart of Redford's character. She was then cast as Jordan Baker in 1974's "The Great Gatsby", alongside Mia Farrow and, again, Robert Redford. In 1978, she appeared in the film adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" as the murder victim Linnet Ridgeway Doyle, and in 1979, she appeared in what is perhaps her most famous role, that of NASA astronaut, scientist, and Bond girl, Dr. Holly Goodhead opposite Roger Moore's James Bond in "Moonraker". 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. She also appeared in a small role in the noted thriller "Coma" (1978), one of the many films where she played a murder victim. [ [http://www.cinemorgue.com/loischiles.html Cinemorgue] ]

Chiles lost her younger brother to Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1978, which contributed to her decision to take a three-year hiatus from acting just as her career seemed to be blossoming. Her film career never fully recovered, and she struggled to find roles of the caliber she had previously enjoyed, though film critic Pauline Kael gave her good notices for her performances in Alan Alda's "Sweet Liberty" (1986). Chiles' portrayal of reporter Jennifer Mack in James L. Brooks' "Broadcast News" (1988) was also well received, as was her turn in George Romero's horror flick "Creepshow 2" in 1987 as a hit and run driver, though it is clearly a low budget picture. [ [http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?r=1&ean=13131141993&pwb=2&z=y&afsrc=1 Creepshow 2 review] ] 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 ' in 1997, and she made a cameo appearance in the international release of the 1997 Bond-spoof ', though her scene was cut in the U.S. release.

Chiles has also done some work in television, playing J.R.'s love interest Holly Harwood in the 1982–1983 season of "Dallas" and appearing in "Murder, She Wrote" in 1990. Later high points included the indie films "Diary of a Hit Man" (1991) and "Curdled" (1996). 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 "," which he wrote and directed.

In recent years, she has been a professor of theater at the University of Houston, in Houston, Texas. [http://www.mfah.org/films.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=748&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=&lgc=6&eid=&currentPage= MFAH documentary premier] ] Unlike some "Bond girls", Chiles good naturedly says that "being a Bond-girl is a fun way to be remembered" although she jokes that being asked to sigh "Oh, James" is annoying as "you can’t live up to people’s fantasies". [ [http://stumpedmagazine.com/Articles/bond-girls-article.html Talking to Bond Girls] ] Chiles is still friendly with the Bond producers and often attends premieres of the series' films and other events.

Personal life

Shortly after the death of her younger brother, with whom she was especially close, she ended a long-term romance with Don Henley of the Eagles. Her father died in 1997, and in 2001 she battled breast cancer. In 2005, she was married for the first time, to Wall Street stockbroker and philanthropist Richard Gilder.

She resides primarily in New York and Houston.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0001042|name=Lois Chiles
*tvtome person|id=58707|name=Lois Chiles
* [http://www.ultimatedallas.com/dallasinterviews/lois.htm Interview with Lois Chiles focusing on her role on "Dallas"]