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Lili Taylor

By Marcia Purse, About.com Guide

Updated February 20, 2005

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

See More About:

Family:

Lili Anne Taylor was born in Glencoe, Illinois on February 20, 1967, to Park and Marie Taylor. She is one of six siblings. She is currently single and has no children.

Education:

Lili graduated from New Trier High School and attended the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, Illinois.

Filmography Highlights:

The Ballad of Bettie Page (currently in post production)
Factotum (currently in post production)
”Six Feet Under” (2004)
A Slipping-Down Life (2004)
Casa de los babys (2003)
”The X Files” (1998)
”Mad About You” (1997 & 1998)
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
Mystic Pizza (1988)

Lili's Full Filmography List

Fun Fact:

Lili owns a black pug named Gulliver, which she found on the side of the road in upstate New York (IMDb).

Awards:

Lili has been recognized several times by the Independent Spirit Awards:

1996 - Nominated as Best Supporting Actress for Girls Town
1995 – Nominated as Best Actress for The Addiction
1993 – Won Best Supporting Actress for Household Saints
1991 – Nominated for Best Actress for Bright Angel

Regarding Bipolar Disorder:

Lili has a family history of bipolar disorder (manic-depression) through her father. She received a diagnoses of bipolar disorder herself as a teen during her high-school years. In an article entitled “Lili in Bloom,“ Gini Sikes of the Washington Post writes, “Taylor herself became so depressed in high school that for a time she simply stopped going. She also developed an eating disorder, now past. ... ‘In high school I thought I was much fatter than I actually was. I figured if no one could see my emotional pain, maybe they'd see my bones sticking out and recognize I'm distraught’.”

However, Lili believes she was misdiagnosed and does not take medications. The therapist Lila saw during her teens “suspected Taylor's symptoms might disappear once she found an outlet for her creative energies -- which is exactly what happened, Taylor says” (NPR, 2004).

In a question and answer session after a performance of "Dead Eye Boy" in New York on April 28, 2001, a member of the audience asked, “I've read that you were depressed when you were younger. How did you overcome this to become such a talented and happy person?”

She responded, “Oh...I had the blues at times like everyone else but I wasn't, you know, seriously depressed. It was just one of those things that I got over.”

References

IMDb. (2005). Lili Taylor.

NPR. (2004, March 29). Intersections: Inside the mind of Lili Taylor.

Sikes, G. (1993, October 17). Lili in bloom: The scripts provide the lines, but the actress Lili Taylor provides the life. The Washing Post, G.01.

Question and Answer with Lili. (2001, April 28).

For Further Reading