New ‘RHOBH’ Cast Member Jennifer Tilly Says Meeting Kyle Richards Was Better Than Meeting Elizabeth Taylor

Over her decades-long career in Hollywood, Jennifer Tilly has worked with a who’s who of famous actors and directors, including Woody Allen, The Wachowskis, Jim Carrey, and Eddie Murphy. But nothing compares to teaming up with the stars of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she says. 

Jennifer Tilly joins ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ 

In May, Bravo revealed that Tilly would be joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 14 as a “Friend of.” For Tilly, who is a longtime fan of RHOBH and has briefly appeared on the show in the past, it’s the role of a lifetime. 

“I’ve always been a Housewives superfan. Only the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, though,” she said in a recent interview with Vulture. 

“But I never thought I’d be on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” she went on to say. “To me, it’s like working with Martin Scorsese. My boyfriend always says if he got $40 million, he wants to go into space and experience zero gravity. To me, being on Housewives is experiencing zero gravity. I was more excited to meet Kyle Richards and Erika Jane and the other ladies than I was when I met Elizabeth Taylor.”

Tilly says doing ‘RHOBH’ is ‘the most challenging thing I’ve ever done’ 

Despite being a loyal Bravo fan, Tilly said she initially turned down invitations to join the show. But this year, the 65-year-old actor realized she wanted to try something new. 

“I sort of thought, ‘I just want to do everything different. I’m trying to take on challenges,’” she said. 

She soon realized that her decades of experience in film and television hadn’t completely prepared her for working in reality TV.

“I’ve been filming for about a month now, and I’d say the Housewives is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I read this book called Bachelor Nation, and the Bachelor editors said — I’m paraphrasing — ‘When we get all the footage, it’s like we have a big box of Legos. And we’re like, ‘What are we going to create with these Lego blocks?’ They can do anything. They can make you the girl next door. They can make you the villain. They can make you the cranky one. They can make you the patient one. It depends on what they want to show, what’s going to make the story.”

Jennifer Tilly on how she plans to avoid Housewife drama 

While Tilly can’t control her edit on RHOBH, she thinks she can avoid some of the cast’s mud-slinging and drama

“I’m not a Housewife,” she said during a July 2024 appearance on the It Happened In Hollywood podcast (via E! News). “I’m a Friend, though, which is a lot easier. You just dip in and out. You try to avoid, like, flying shrapnel. And you know, if drinks are thrown, I have good reflexes.”

Meanwhile, Tilly is relishing the latest development in her career. 

“I like all the Housewives. I appreciate what they do,” she told Vulture. “I’m just going to say it’s really challenging. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m really happy I’m doing it, and I think it’s such an interesting kind of sharp left turn for my career.”

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