On stage, she appeared in the Broadway revivals of The Women (2001) and Don't Dress for Dinner (2012), and was the recipient of a Theatre World Award in 1993 for her performance in the off-Broadway play One Shoe Off.

[17] Following her parents' divorce when she was five, Tilly was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Ward, on rural Texada Island in British Columbia.

The family then moved to Langford, a suburb of Victoria, British Columbia, where Tilly attended Belmont Secondary School.

[19] During her high school years, she developed an interest in theater, which prompted her to actively participate in plays as an extra with the assistance of her mother.

She was also cast as a high-end prostitute on the short-lived comedy Key West, alongside Fisher Stevens.

Tilly starred in Bound (1996), directed by the Wachowskis, which portrays a lesbian relationship her character has with Gina Gershon.

She portrayed gossip columnist Louella Parsons in the Peter Bogdanovich historical drama The Cat's Meow (2001).

She gained additional popularity around that time for her portrayal of serial killer Tiffany Valentine in several of the Child's Play horror movie series.

She has also done voice-over work for the films Monsters, Inc., Stuart Little and Home on the Range, as well as the children's series Hey Arnold!

She has been active in the theatre, winning a Theater World Award for her performance in the off-Broadway play One Shoe Off.

In 2012, she returned to Broadway in Don't Dress for Dinner, garnering an Audience Choice Award nomination for her portrayal of mistress Suzanne.

In 2013, she starred in the Wallace Shawn/Andre Gregory collaboration Grasses of a Thousand Colors which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009 and then moved to the Joseph Papp Theater in 2013.

[28] On June 27, 2005, Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet (and $158,625) in the Ladies' No-Limit Texas hold 'em event, beating 600 other players.

[9] She followed up this accomplishment on September 1, 2005, by winning the third World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament held at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, a suburb of Los Angeles.

"[30] Tilly appears in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition video game, along with her boyfriend Phil Laak, which was released in 2007 by Activision.

[31] In a television interview in 2005, Tilly stated that at that point in her career she was more interested in pursuing poker than acting.