Hollywood's Top Sister Acts: Meg Tilly, Jennifer Tilly and More

There’s been a ton of great sister acts who’ve taken Hollywood by storm like siblings Sara Gilbert and Melissa Gilbert and dynamic duo Meg Tilly and Jennifer Tilly. Although none of their careers are similar, Sara, 45, Melissa, 56, Meg, 60, and Jennifer, 61,have all learned what it means to be a star, even when the price of fame was too much for them to bear.

“I would always take my children with me when I went on movies,” Meg previously told People about why she left Hollywood. “That worked really well for a few years. But then one year, we went to shoot Leaving Normal and when we came back, my daughter’s best friend was best friends with someone else. She was devastated.”

Since her family was having a hard time in the limelight, Meg had to make a very tough choice. Either she left her kids at home to shoot movies or would turn away gigs for the sake of her family. The Agnes of God star chose the latter. “I just wanted to be one of those Leave it to Beaver moms,” she gushed. “I was just trying to love them the way I knew how best.”

Meg first started to pursue a career in acting after her sister Jennifer encouraged her. Once the Bride of Chucky star gave her sis a bracelet that said, “‘It’s never too late to be what you might have been,’” Meg knew what she needed to do. The Golden Globe winner followed her dream and was nominated for an Oscar in 1986 for Agnes of God.

Like Meg, Sara also knew she wanted to be an actress because of her sister. The former child star fell in love with the spotlight after she attended Melissa’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 1985. From there, she went on to star in hit ABC sitcom Roseanne before starting The Talk. But after nine years on air, the Poison Ivy star decided to leave the show in April 2019 to focus more on her family.

“If I’m being honest about it, my life was slightly out of balance,” Sara said on the Talk at the time. “I wasn’t able to spend as much time with my three kids as I’d like or [have] time for myself.”

After leaving the show, Sara had as much time as she wanted with her little ones. But even though she gave up a big paycheck, fans will never forget the time she spent on The Talk.

Scroll below to see more talented siblings who took Hollywood by storm!

Magda, Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor

When Hitler invaded Hungary in 1944, this glamorous trio headed to LA and became sought-after socialites, marrying 19 men
between them. Eva hit it big on Green Acres and Zsa Zsa starred in dozens of films, but she was just as famous for her bawdy bon mots. Despite gossip, Eva said they were close: “Two things I do every day: I talk to my sisters and my mama.”

Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland

Did the only sisters to win Oscars have a feud? Depends on who you ask. “A feud implies continuing hostile conduct between two parties. I cannot think of a single instance wherein I initiated hostile behavior,” says Olivia, 104. “But I can think of many occasions where my reaction to deliberately inconsiderate behavior was defensive.” But Joan, who died at age 96 in 2013, recalled that when she won a 1942 Oscar for Suspicion, a year Olivia lost, “all the animus we’d felt toward each other as children came back. I felt Olivia would grab me by the hair. I felt age 4, being confronted by my older sister. I’d incurred her wrath again!”

Meg and Jennifer Tilly

There’s no rivalry between these Oscar-nominated siblings. “We’re very different actresses,” Meg once said. “I don’t know that we even get the same [offers].” Their difficult childhood bonded them for life. “We support each other, talk about things that happened, and we’re there for each other,” Jennifer previously told Closer. “It made us very close.”

Patricia and Rosanna Arquette

The pair overcame a childhood on a commune with an abusive mom and addict dad to become an acting dynasty (with siblings David and Alexis). “Patricia doesn’t want to take advice from her older sister,” Rosanna tells Closer. “She does things her way and she’s done pretty well,” winning a 2015 Oscar for Boyhood.

Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad

“Phylicia and I were raised by our mother to [believe] success for one is success for all,” Fame star Debbie, 70, tells Closer. “We never had jealousy or felt competitive.” The two share a passion for the arts, including dance (Debbie’s a noted choreographer) and music (Phylicia loves to sing), and continue to inspire each other. “We’ve been through lean times and good times,” says Phylicia, 72. “And always encouraged each other.”

Sara and Melissa Gilbert

At 10, she went to her big sister Melissa’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony and told their mom, “I want to be an actress, too,” recalled Sara. She did, and made a name for herself on the hit series Roseanne. Melissa who starred on Little
House on the Prairie in the ’70s, kept her sibling in line: “If she becomes a little snot,” she said, “she’s going to get it from me.”