Top Gun Kelly McGillis confirms she's a lesbian and says: I’m done with man thing

11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis has confirmed Hollywood's worst kept secret — she is a lesbian.

Twice married: McGillis denied rumours

The 51-year-old, famous for playing Tom Cruise's love interest in the film about a fighter pilot training school, has long been the subject of rumours about her sexuality but has always denied being gay.

Screen romance: Kelly McGillis played Cruise's training instructor Charlie Blackwood in the 1986 movie Top Gun

McGillis also played Harrison Ford's partner in the Oscar-winning 1985 film Witness.

She is currently single and came out in an interview with lesbian website Shewired.com.

McGillis said her next partner would "definitely be a woman". "I'm done with the man thing. It's a part of being true to yourself," she added. "That's been a challenge for me personally."

McGillis has been married and divorced twice. She has two daughters, Kelsey, 19, and Sonora, 16, from her 13-year second marriage to California millionaire Fred Tillian. They split in 2002.

McGillis said it took her a long time to accept she was a lesbian. "I think that was an ongoing process from the time I was probably 12," she added. "It was a long, arduous journey for me. I had a lot of things happen that convinced me God was punishing me because I was gay. That was a hard process. Life is a freaking journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who, and what you are."

At the start of her career in 1982 McGillis was assaulted and raped in her home by an escaped sex attacker.

She relived the ordeal playing a lawyer fighting for a rape conviction in the 1988 film The Accused alongside Jodie Foster, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a victim.

McGillis played Top Gun training instructor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, who was romanced by Cruise's fighter pilot character Maverick in the 1986 movie.

Despite denying she was gay she appeared in several films with lesbian characters. In 2001 she played a sex-mad English professor in the controversial movie Monkey's Mask.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in