Boyd Black is known as the first husband of Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis. His ex-wife Kelly is best recognized for playing Rachel Rapp in the 1985 film Witness which she even received nominations for Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards.
Other than being McGillis’ first husband, there is no information on the media portals regarding Boyd Black. However, since they are associated with an American actress, many people are curious to know who Boyd Black is.
Well, in this article, we will do our best to investigate some unknown details about Kelly McGillis’ first husband, Boyd Black. Here we go.
Contents
- 1 Boyd Black Age and Early Life
- 2 Boyd Black was a Julliard student: he met his future wife at Julliard
- 3 Boyd Black had a short-lived marriage to his wife Kelly McGillis
- 4 Why did Kelly marry her first husband Boyd Black?
- 5 Boyd Black’s ex-wife Kelly was attacked after their divorce
- 6 His ex-wife, Kelly married two other people later in life
- 7 Does Boyd Black have children?
- 8 Career: What Does Boyd Black Do for a Living?
Boyd Black Age and Early Life
As mentioned before, Boyd came into the limelight by being the ex-husband of… Top Gun star Kelly McGillis. Apart from that, no information about Black’s personal life has been revealed yet, neither his age nor his early life.
On the other hand, his ex-wife Kelly was born on July 9, 1957, in Newport Beach, California, United States. In 2022 she will be 65 years old. If Kelly’s age is taken into account to assume Boyd’s age, he is probably in his sixties.
Boyd Black was a Julliard student: he met his future wife at Julliard
In the late 1970s, Boyd studied at The Julliard School, a music school in New York, USA. Well, there he met his future wife.
At the time, Kelly, his future wife, had joined Julliard to study acting after dropping out of high school in 1975. Boyd’s now ex-wife had entered drama school in 1979 and the same year they met and decided to get married.
Boyd Black had a short-lived marriage to his wife Kelly McGillis
on April 14, 1979Boyd walked down the aisle with the Julliard fresher Kelly. But, unfortunately, their marriage lasted only a year and a half. The couple broke up amicably in the year 1981.
Apart from this, nothing else about their married life is revealed. However, the main reason for their short-lived marriage can be assumed to be Kelly’s real sexual identity, which she opened up about much later.
Why did Kelly marry her first husband Boyd Black?
In fact, Kelly has always wanted to act and she was absolutely rebellious which resulted in her being kicked out by her parents when she was only 17 years old. She once said of her rebellious nature:
“I thought I had to be 18 and have all the privileges of 18 when I was 13. I just lost control.”
After her parents kicked her out of their home, she moved to New York and enrolled at Julliard, where she met Boyd Black. In the same year she tied the knot with him. According to the reports, the reason she took the plunge was also to win her back parental approval.
Boyd Black’s ex-wife Kelly was attacked after their divorce
After separating from her husband Boyd, she started dating a woman in 1981. The two moved into an apartment in New York and began a live-in relationship. Meanwhile, two men broke into their apartment and raped her. In this regard, she said: People
“They kept switching and telling me they would beat me until I was dead, ‘At that point I thought I was going to die, and I had resigned myself.”
Before that, Boyd’s ex-husband was raped when she was only 12.
His ex-wife, Kelly married two other people later in life
As already known, Boyd is Kelly’s first husband. After she dissolved the marriage to Black, she went through many ups and downs in her life. And she ended up getting married to a Newport Yacht broker Fred Tillman in 1989. The couple, Kelly and Fred, were together for almost 13 years and then the duo broke up.


In the year 2009, when Kelly publicly revealed that she was a lesbian, she openly dated a woman named Melanie Leis. The two married on September 15, 2010, but their marriage did not last long either. In 2013, Boyd’s ex-partner Kelly dissolved her third marriage.
Does Boyd Black have children?
Boyd was only married to his ex-wife for a shorter period. So Black didn’t become a father from his marriage to McGillis. We can assume that after his marriage to McGillis ended, he probably remarried and had children. However, we cannot confirm anything as there are no reports of his whereabouts since his split.
On the other hand, Black’s ex-partner Kelly McGillis is a mother of two. From her marriage to her second husband Fred Tillman, she gave birth to two beautiful daughters named Kesley Tillman and Sonora Tillman.
Career: What Does Boyd Black Do for a Living?
Right now, what exactly? Witness The husband of actress McGillis is unknown. However, since Black was in Julliard school, it is clear that he has continued his career in the artistic field. Although he never appeared in public.
By the way, some media portals also stated that he was a writer and while others claimed that he was an actor. Whatever his exact profession, until and unless Boyd himself gets into the media and talks about it, it’s safe to assume he’s an artist, after all, he was a fellow student of Julliard.
Boyd’s Ethnicity and Nationality
Taking his surname into account, Boyd is of English, Scottish, Irish or French descent. Since he was in New York, it is possible that he was born and raised in America and is American by nationality.