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{{short description|American actress}}
[[Image:MargoStilley.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Stilley in "9 Songs"]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Margo Stilley
| image = Portrait of actress and writer, Margo Stilley, Beverly Hills 2015.jpg
| caption = Stilley in 2015
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|11|20}}
| birth_place = [[Conway, South Carolina]], U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| website = {{URL|margo-stilley.com}}
| yearsactive = 2004–2020
}}
'''Margo Stilley''' (born November 20, 1982) is an American actress, having had roles in ''[[How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)|How to Lose Friends & Alienate People]]'' (2008), ''[[Agatha Christie's Marple#Series Four (2009–10)|Marple: Murder Is Easy]]'' and ''[[Hippie Hippie Shake]]'' (2009), ''[[The Trip (2010 TV series)|The Trip]]'' (2010), and ''[[The Royals (TV series)|The Royals]]'' (2016). However, she is most remembered for appearing in her debut film ''[[9 Songs]]'' (2004), which has been described as the most sexually explicit mainstream film ever produced in the UK.


==Early life and education==
'''Margo Stilley''' (born [[November 20]], [[1982]], [[South Carolina]], [[United States of America| U.S.A.]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[Actor|actress]] and former model.
Stilley was born in [[Conway, South Carolina]],<ref>{{cite news
| first = Margo | last = Stilley
| title = Hello Chaps
| work = Esquire |date=November 2008
}}</ref> and grew up between there and [[Swansboro, North Carolina]]. She was raised in a strict [[Baptist]] household in North America's [[Bible Belt]].<ref name="Cavendish The Telegraph"/> The day she turned 16 years of age, she moved out of her family home and lived on her own.<ref name="jew"/> She put herself through high school working as a [[Telemarketing|telemarketer]] and a [[lifeguard]] until she graduated a year early from [[Conway High School (South Carolina)|Conway High School]] with honors in art and history.<ref name="jew"/> She was voted "The Funniest" in the class of 2000. Stilley has been a long time supporter of hands-on charitable acts. In high school, she volunteered at local nursing homes feeding and reading to the elderly.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/margo.stilley/media_set?set=a.49694649484.57313.513704484&type=3%7B%7BPrimary+source+inline%7Cdate=April+2020%7D%7D|title=Facebook|website=facebook.com}}</ref> She was offered a full scholarship to [[Savannah College of Art and Design]], which she declined.


==Career==
==Film and Television Roles==
She left the rural [[Southern United States|South]] as a teenager to begin working briefly as a model in [[Milan]] with [[Elite Model Management]] in February 2001, before moving to London by the end of the year, at the age of 18, to pursue her acting career.


Stilley portrayed Lisa in the controversial [[2004 in film|2004]] [[Great Britain|British]] [[film]] ''[[9 Songs]]'', [[film director|directed]] by [[Michael Winterbottom]]. According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', ''9 Songs'' was the most sexually explicit mainstream film to date, largely because it includes several scenes of real sexual acts between the two lead actors, including [[sexual intercourse]] and [[oral sex]]. Stilley asked that [[Michael Winterbottom| Winterbottom]] refer to her simply by her character's name in interviews about the film.
Her first acting job was to star as Lisa, the lead actress in the controversial 2004 British film ''[[9 Songs]]'', directed by [[Michael Winterbottom]]. Her interest in art as a platform led to her decision to accept the role. According to the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'', ''9 Songs'' was the most sexually explicit mainstream film to date, largely because it includes several scenes of real sexual acts between Stilley and her co-star, actor [[Kieran O'Brien]]. Her role is highly unusual in that she had unsimulated and very graphic [[Sexual intercourse|sex]] with O'Brien, including [[genital]] [[fondling]], [[female masturbation]], with and without a [[vibrator (sex toy)|vibrator]], [[penetrative sex|penetrative]] [[vaginal sex]], [[cunnilingus]], [[footjob]] and [[fellatio]]. During a scene in which Stilley stimulates his penis with her hand after performing fellatio on him, he became the only mainstream British actor who has been shown [[ejaculating]] in a mainstream UK-produced feature.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/may/17/cannes2004.film Cannes screening for most sexually explicit British film] at ''The Guardian''</ref> The film screened in [[Cannes Film Festival]] and [[Sundance Film Festival]] and had a worldwide theatrical release. Stilley asked that director Michael Winterbottom refer to her simply by her character's name in interviews about the film at the beginning to protect the artistic integrity of the film.<ref name="Cavendish The Telegraph">{{cite news
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3562787/Margo-Stilley-songs-of-innocence-and-of-experience.html
| first = Lucy | last = Cavendish | work = The Telegraph | date = November 2, 2008
| title = Margo Stilley: songs of innocence and of experience
| location=London
}}</ref>


Her second credit solidified her standing in Great Britain's indie film scene, when she starred in the satirical comedy ''[[Nathan Barley]]'' directed by [[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]] for British television.
In 2006 she guest-starred as Roma Sheraton in the British British television comedy series ''[[Mayo (TV series)|Mayo]]''.


Stilley has since appeared in 19 American and British productions, including ''[[How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)|How to Lose Friends & Alienate People]]'', with [[Simon Pegg]] and [[Jeff Bridges]], and ''[[Agatha Christie's Marple]]'' (''[[Murder Is Easy]]''), with [[Benedict Cumberbatch]], and has worked again with Winterbottom on a BBC Two comedy ''[[The Trip (2011 film)|The Trip]]'', with [[Steve Coogan]] and [[Rob Brydon]].<ref>{{cite web
In 2007 she appeared in the horror film ''[[Reverb (film)|Reverb]]'', the comedy ''[[Men Don't Lie]]'' and the drama ''[[Frost Flowers]]''.
| url = http://www.margo-stilley.com/biography.html
| title = Biography | work = Margo Stilley's Site
}}</ref>


She appeared as a model in feature articles in ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', ''[[In Style UK]]'', ''[[The Face (magazine)|The Face]]'', ''[[Harper's Bazaar]]'', ''[[Black Book Magazine]]'' and [[Elle (magazine)|''Elle'']]. She has been a presenter at award shows, handing a Fashion Awards to [[Giles Deacon]]<ref name="gettyimages.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/giles-deacon-and-actress-margo-stilley-pose-in-the-awards-news-photo/73307101|title=Giles Deacon and actress Margo Stilley pose in the awards room with...|website=Getty Images|date=February 13, 2007 }}</ref> at the 2006 [[Elle Style Awards]] and presenting the New Designer Award to [[Christopher Kane]] at the 2007 [[British Fashion Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=48845|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090717103645/http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=48845|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2009|title=Stella McCartney and Agyness Deyn were among the biggest fashion winners last night|work=Vogue|date=November 28, 2007|accessdate=July 26, 2015}}</ref><ref name="gettyimages.com" />
==Trivia==


In 2010, she signed on to play [[Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness|Lady Furness]] in Madonna's film ''[[W.E. (film)|WE]]'', but renounced the role because of artistic differences.<ref>{{cite news
Stilley was raised as a fundamentalist [[Muslim|Christian]] but converted to [[Judaism]] in 2006. <ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article607056.ece]</ref>
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/madonna/7870311/Madonna-casts-Natalie-Dormer-to-portray-the-game-playing-Queen-Mother.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100707060315/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/madonna/7870311/Madonna-casts-Natalie-Dormer-to-portray-the-game-playing-Queen-Mother.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = July 7, 2010
| first = Richard | last = Eden | work = The Telegraph | date = July 3, 2010
| title = Madonna casts Natalie Dormer to portray the 'game-playing' Queen Mother
| location=London
}}</ref>


==Personal quotes==
==Personal life==
Stilley had strong ties to the Children's Charity [[Dramatic Need]]. In 2009, she travelled on her own to [[Johannesburg]] and the greater [[Gauteng province]] in South Africa to teach drama in some of the country's most challenged communities for three months. She has never publicized her charitable contributions.<ref name="auto"/>
* "I suppose coming from a background that tells you, 'Sex is bad, you're going to hell, sex is bad,' and then seeing on the news that [[Lewinsky scandal|the president is having an affair]], it's not really put in a good light. So I wanted to be part of a film, a beautiful film, about something that should be viewed in a beautiful light. This is a nice thing, it's fun, everyone does it, it's great and when it's safe - and we're promoting safe sex - and when it's someone you're in love with, it's great."


Stilley lived in [[Mayfair]], London<ref>{{cite web
* "I wanted to make a film about something I really believe in, which is to show sex in a very positive light, as a very important piece of everyday life and a very important piece of a relationship, whether it's successful or unsuccessful. What I find in films I see is that sex is always a turning point in action, someone's cheating on someone, or someone dies. It's always the kids having sex in horror films that die. And I didn't like that. And in the sexually explicit films I've seen like [[Ai No Corrida]] (the Japanese classic in which the heroine cuts off her partner's penis), they're crazy, people don't do that, it's not normal!" (on why she made ''9 Songs'')
| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8piGPZM1i3Q
| title = Margo Stilley Interview
| via=YouTube
| date = May 13, 2013
| accessdate = June 21, 2013
}}</ref> until 2013 and she currently resides in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/StilleyMargo/status/315037100644921344|title=Margo Stilley on Twitter}}</ref> Stilley is expecting her first child in late 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stilley |first=Margot |date=July 7, 2022 |title=Buckle up, y'all! Mini-Me arrives 2023 🌪🪄🐣 |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CuZwKJILQAd/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== |access-date=November 15, 2023 |website=Instagram}}</ref>


Stilley officially converted to [[Judaism]] in 2015 "because of its strong sense of family and of history, and its belief that humans were formed in the image of God and are inherently divine".<ref name="Cavendish The Telegraph"/> She was first published in the "News Review" section of ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' in an article titled "It's a Strange Time to Become a Jew",<ref name="jew">{{cite web|url=http://www.margo-stilley.com/pdf/times_article.pdf |title=Times article |publisher=margo-stilley.com |date= |accessdate=February 11, 2021}}</ref> defending her choice to explore the Jewish faith.<ref name="jew"/> She was then commissioned by ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' to write a series of articles based on her life. One is about a band of gypsies she came across and befriended, who breed [[white lion]]s in [[Hanover]], Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margo-stilley.com/pdf/whats_new_pussycat.pdf |title=What's New Pussycat |publisher=margo-stilley.com |date= |accessdate=February 11, 2021}}</ref> Another is about a biker bar in South Carolina in which she once worked named Suck Bang Blow,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margo-stilley.com/pdf/hello_chaps.pdf |title=Hello chaps |publisher=margo-stilley.com |date= |accessdate=February 11, 2021}}</ref> which is now the subject of a reality TV show she is producing under the same name.
==External links==
*{{imdb name|id=1626256|name=Margo Stilley}}


==Selected filmography ==
==References==
* ''[[9 Songs]]'' (2004) ... Lisa
[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article607056.ece The Sunday Times (London)]
* ''[[Mayo (TV series)|Mayo]]'' (1 episode, 2006) ... Roma Sheraton
* ''Reverb'' (2007) ... Nicky
* ''[[How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)|How to Lose Friends & Alienate People]]'' (2008) ... Ingrid
* ''[[Agatha Christie's Marple#Series Four (2009–10)|Marple: Murder Is Easy]]'' (2009) (TV) ... Bridget Conway
* ''[[Goal! 3]]'' (2009) ... Tamsin
* ''[[Hippie Hippie Shake]]'' (2009) ... [[Cynthia Plaster Caster]]
* ''14 Days with Victor'' (2010) ... Anna
* ''[[The Trip (2010 TV series)|The Trip]]'' (2010) ... Mischa
* ''Across Time I Cry'' (2014) ... Lisabet
* ''Darknet Delivery: A Silk Road Story'' (2015) ... Anna
* ''Still Waters'' (2015) ... Bradbury
* ''Everything Carries Me to You'' ... Vicki
* ''[[The Royals (TV series)|The Royals]]'' (2016) ... Harper
* ''[[The Trip (2010 TV series)|The Trip to Spain]]'' (series 3 of ''The Trip'') (2017) ... Mischa
* ''[[The Host (2020 film)|The Host]]'' (2020) ... Sarah

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.margo-stilley.com}}
* {{IMDb name|1626256}}


{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1982 births|Stilley, Margo]]
[[Category:American film actors|Stilley, Margo]]
[[Category:Converts to Judaism|Stilley, Margo]]
[[Category:Living people|Stilley, Margo]]
[[Category:People from South Carolina|Stilley, Margo]]


[[fr:Margo Stilley]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stilley, Margo}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Female models from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Actresses from South Carolina]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American expatriate actresses]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:American expatriates in England]]
[[Category:Converts to Judaism from Baptist denominations]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:People from Mayfair]]
[[Category:Actors from the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Actresses from London]]

Latest revision as of 02:54, 19 November 2024

Margo Stilley
Stilley in 2015
Born (1982-11-20) November 20, 1982 (age 42)
Conway, South Carolina, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2004–2020
Websitemargo-stilley.com

Margo Stilley (born November 20, 1982) is an American actress, having had roles in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008), Marple: Murder Is Easy and Hippie Hippie Shake (2009), The Trip (2010), and The Royals (2016). However, she is most remembered for appearing in her debut film 9 Songs (2004), which has been described as the most sexually explicit mainstream film ever produced in the UK.

Early life and education

[edit]

Stilley was born in Conway, South Carolina,[1] and grew up between there and Swansboro, North Carolina. She was raised in a strict Baptist household in North America's Bible Belt.[2] The day she turned 16 years of age, she moved out of her family home and lived on her own.[3] She put herself through high school working as a telemarketer and a lifeguard until she graduated a year early from Conway High School with honors in art and history.[3] She was voted "The Funniest" in the class of 2000. Stilley has been a long time supporter of hands-on charitable acts. In high school, she volunteered at local nursing homes feeding and reading to the elderly.[4] She was offered a full scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design, which she declined.

Career

[edit]

She left the rural South as a teenager to begin working briefly as a model in Milan with Elite Model Management in February 2001, before moving to London by the end of the year, at the age of 18, to pursue her acting career.

Her first acting job was to star as Lisa, the lead actress in the controversial 2004 British film 9 Songs, directed by Michael Winterbottom. Her interest in art as a platform led to her decision to accept the role. According to the Guardian, 9 Songs was the most sexually explicit mainstream film to date, largely because it includes several scenes of real sexual acts between Stilley and her co-star, actor Kieran O'Brien. Her role is highly unusual in that she had unsimulated and very graphic sex with O'Brien, including genital fondling, female masturbation, with and without a vibrator, penetrative vaginal sex, cunnilingus, footjob and fellatio. During a scene in which Stilley stimulates his penis with her hand after performing fellatio on him, he became the only mainstream British actor who has been shown ejaculating in a mainstream UK-produced feature.[5] The film screened in Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival and had a worldwide theatrical release. Stilley asked that director Michael Winterbottom refer to her simply by her character's name in interviews about the film at the beginning to protect the artistic integrity of the film.[2]

Her second credit solidified her standing in Great Britain's indie film scene, when she starred in the satirical comedy Nathan Barley directed by Chris Morris for British television.

Stilley has since appeared in 19 American and British productions, including How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, with Simon Pegg and Jeff Bridges, and Agatha Christie's Marple (Murder Is Easy), with Benedict Cumberbatch, and has worked again with Winterbottom on a BBC Two comedy The Trip, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.[6]

She appeared as a model in feature articles in Vogue, In Style UK, The Face, Harper's Bazaar, Black Book Magazine and Elle. She has been a presenter at award shows, handing a Fashion Awards to Giles Deacon[7] at the 2006 Elle Style Awards and presenting the New Designer Award to Christopher Kane at the 2007 British Fashion Awards.[8][7]

In 2010, she signed on to play Lady Furness in Madonna's film WE, but renounced the role because of artistic differences.[9]

Personal life

[edit]

Stilley had strong ties to the Children's Charity Dramatic Need. In 2009, she travelled on her own to Johannesburg and the greater Gauteng province in South Africa to teach drama in some of the country's most challenged communities for three months. She has never publicized her charitable contributions.[4]

Stilley lived in Mayfair, London[10] until 2013 and she currently resides in Los Angeles.[11] Stilley is expecting her first child in late 2023.[12]

Stilley officially converted to Judaism in 2015 "because of its strong sense of family and of history, and its belief that humans were formed in the image of God and are inherently divine".[2] She was first published in the "News Review" section of The Sunday Times in an article titled "It's a Strange Time to Become a Jew",[3] defending her choice to explore the Jewish faith.[3] She was then commissioned by Esquire to write a series of articles based on her life. One is about a band of gypsies she came across and befriended, who breed white lions in Hanover, Germany.[13] Another is about a biker bar in South Carolina in which she once worked named Suck Bang Blow,[14] which is now the subject of a reality TV show she is producing under the same name.

Selected filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Stilley, Margo (November 2008). "Hello Chaps". Esquire.
  2. ^ a b c Cavendish, Lucy (November 2, 2008). "Margo Stilley: songs of innocence and of experience". The Telegraph. London.
  3. ^ a b c d "Times article" (PDF). margo-stilley.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Facebook". facebook.com.
  5. ^ Cannes screening for most sexually explicit British film at The Guardian
  6. ^ "Biography". Margo Stilley's Site.
  7. ^ a b "Giles Deacon and actress Margo Stilley pose in the awards room with..." Getty Images. February 13, 2007.
  8. ^ "Stella McCartney and Agyness Deyn were among the biggest fashion winners last night". Vogue. November 28, 2007. Archived from the original on July 17, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  9. ^ Eden, Richard (July 3, 2010). "Madonna casts Natalie Dormer to portray the 'game-playing' Queen Mother". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010.
  10. ^ "Margo Stilley Interview". May 13, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Margo Stilley on Twitter".
  12. ^ Stilley, Margot (July 7, 2022). "Buckle up, y'all! Mini-Me arrives 2023 🌪🪄🐣". Instagram. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  13. ^ "What's New Pussycat" (PDF). margo-stilley.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "Hello chaps" (PDF). margo-stilley.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
[edit]
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