Jill Schoelen
Jill Marie Schoelen (born March 21, 1963) is an American actress. A more unconventional husky-voiced "scream queen" heroine of the 1980s was Jill Schoelen, daughter of well-known fashion designer Dorothy Schoelen. Born and raised in Burbank, she studied at the Acting for Life Theatre in Burbank and started off on TV as a teen in the Fame-influenced TV pilot called Best of Times (1981) (TV) starring the up-and-coming Nicolas Cage and Crispin Glover. She gained in experience with a number of innocuous films geared mostly toward the young, including D.C. Cab (1983), Thunder Alley (1985) and Hot Moves (1984). The dark-eyed, black-haired pretty with the trademark bangs wouldn't find her horror niche until hooking up with Wes Craven and his TV movie Chiller (1985) (TV). From there she scored big with the cult shocker The Stepfather (1987) wherein she played the resourceful stepdaughter terrorized by the lecherous, meek-appearing Terry O'Quinn as the title monster.
The sleeper hit put Jill on the map with a seemingly solid future, continuing on with The Phantom of the Opera (1989), this time keeping company opposite Freddy Krueger inhabiter Robert Englund as her deranged pursuer. But a few bumps in the road with such lowgrade fodder as Curse II: The Bite (1989), Cutting Class (1989) and Popcorn (1991) put a permanent damper on her career, despite coming back with a bit of grit in the thriller TV movie When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) (TV). Her object-of-a-stalker days behind her after filming Not Again! (1996), she settled comfortably back and raised two children with husband/musician/composer Anthony Marinelli.
Acting
TV
Little House on the Prairie
as Jane Canfield
1974
TV
Murder, She Wrote
as Flora Gerakaris
1984
Movie
The Stepfather
as Stephanie Maine
1987
Movie
Popcorn
as Maggie
1991
Movie
Cutting Class
as Paula Carson
1989
Movie
The Phantom of the Opera
as Christine Day
1989
TV
Diagnosis: Murder
as Becky Garfield
1993
Movie
D.C. Cab
as Claudette
1983
Movie
Babes in Toyland
as Mary Piper / Mary Contrary
1986
TV
T. J. Hooker
as Kelly Hobbs
1982
Movie
When a Stranger Calls Back
as Julia Jenz
1993
Movie
Curse II: The Bite
as Lisa Snipes
1989
Movie
Chiller
as Stacey
1985
Movie
That Was Then... This Is Now
as Angela Shepard
1985
Movie
Hot Moves
as Julie Ann
1984
Movie
There Goes My Baby
as Babette
1994
Movie
The Best of Times
as Jill
1981
Movie
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
as Self
2022
Movie
Thunder Alley
as Beth
1985
Movie
Shattered Spirits
as Allison
1986
Movie
In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994
as Self
2024
TV
The Heights
as Betty B
1992
Movie
Adventures in Spying
as Julie Converse
1992
TV
Billionaire Boys Club
as Amy Whitehall
1987