Evangeline Lilly facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Evangeline Lilly
Lilly at the 2023 GalaxyCon
Born	Nicole Evangeline Lilly (1979-08-03) August 3, 1979 (age 46) Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Occupation	Actress, author
Years active	2002–2024 (actress); 2013–present (author)
Spouse(s)	Murray Hone ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2004)​
Partner(s)	Dominic Monaghan (2004–2007) Norman Kali (2010–present)
Children	2

Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born August 3, 1979) is a Canadian author and former actress. She became famous for her role as Kate Austen in the popular TV show Lost (2004–2010). This role earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.

Lilly also starred as the elf Tauriel in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movies. She is well known for playing Hope van Dyne / Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in movies like Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame. Besides acting, Lilly writes a children's book series called The Squickerwonkers.

Early life

Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, on August 3, 1979. She grew up in British Columbia with her parents and two sisters. Her mother owned a daycare center, and her father was a home economics teacher.

In high school, Lilly was a great student. She was the captain of the girls' soccer team and vice president of the student council. To pay for her education at the University of British Columbia, she worked several jobs. She was a waitress, a flight attendant, and even did oil changes on big trucks. She studied international relations, which is the study of how different countries work together, because she was interested in helping people around the world.

Acting career

2002–2003: Starting her career

Lilly's acting career started by chance. An agent from the Ford Modelling Agency saw her on the street in Kelowna, British Columbia. She took the agent's business card but didn't call right away. When she finally did, the agency helped her get small roles in commercials and TV shows like Smallville and Kingdom Hospital. In these early roles, she often didn't have any lines to say.

2004–2007: Breakthrough with Lost

Lilly in 2007

A friend encouraged Lilly to try out for the ABC show Lost. She didn't think she would get the part. The show was very secret, so actors only got to read small parts of the script. They only knew the basic story: a group of people survive a plane crash on a tropical island.

About 75 actresses auditioned for the role of Kate Austen. The show's creators, Damon Lindelof and J. J. Abrams, saw her audition tape and knew right away she was the one. Getting a work visa to act in the United States was difficult, but her application was approved just in time. She arrived in Hawaii for filming one day late.

Lost was a huge hit and ran for six seasons, from 2004 to 2010. It won many awards, including a Golden Globe Award. Lilly's character, Kate Austen, was the main female character. For her performance, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. After Lost ended, Lilly said she thought of acting as a "day job" and wanted to focus on her charity work.

2008–2014: Becoming an established actress

Lilly at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2008

In 2008, Lilly appeared in the war movie The Hurt Locker. The film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 2011, she starred with Hugh Jackman in the movie Real Steel as a boxing gym owner.

In 2012, Lilly was cast as the elf Tauriel in Peter Jackson's three-part movie series based on The Hobbit. The character of Tauriel was not in J. R. R. Tolkien's original book. She was created for the movies by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. To play the part, Lilly learned sword fighting, archery, and how to speak the Elvish language. She appeared in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).

2015–2023: Ant-Man films and other work

Lily at GalaxyCon in 2023

In 2015, Lilly joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). She played Hope van Dyne in the superhero movie Ant-Man. She signed a contract to appear in multiple Marvel films.

In 2018, she returned as Hope van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp. In this movie, her character became the superhero Wasp. This was the first MCU movie to have a female superhero in the title. Lilly also appeared as the Wasp in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

In 2021, she voiced an alternate version of the Wasp for the Disney+ animated series What If...?. In 2023, she starred in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was her final film role.

2024–present: Retirement

In June 2024, Lilly announced that she was "stepping away" from acting. She said she wanted to focus on her family. She also said, "I might return to Hollywood one day, but for now this is where I belong."

In the media

Lilly at the premiere for Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018

After becoming famous from Lost, Lilly often appeared in magazines. She was often included in lists of the "Most Beautiful People."

Lilly is known for playing strong and interesting characters. Her roles as Tauriel in The Hobbit movies and Hope van Dyne / Wasp in the MCU have been praised by critics. For playing Tauriel, she was nominated for several awards, including a Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Female Buttkicker.

Lilly is also involved in charity work. She works with non-profit groups like the GO Campaign. She has helped raise money for children in Brazil and for widows and orphans in Rwanda.

Writing career

While working on Lost, Lilly said she wanted to become a writer. In 2013, she released her first book, which was the start of a series called The Squickerwonkers. The books are about a young girl who meets a group of strange outcasts who each have a special bad habit.

The first book was illustrated by Johnny Fraser-Allen. Later books in the series were illustrated by Rodrigo Bastos Didier. Lilly has said that her writing is inspired by authors like Roald Dahl and Edward Gorey.

Personal life

Lilly was married to Murray Hone from 2003 to 2004. From 2004 to 2007, she was in a relationship with her Lost co-star Dominic Monaghan.

In 2010, Lilly began a relationship with Norman Kali. They have two sons, born in 2011 and 2015.

In 2006, her house in Kailua, Hawaii, burned down due to an electrical problem. She lost everything she owned. However, she said that the fire was "almost liberating" because it gave her a chance to start over without a lot of possessions.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theme park attractions

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Evangeline Lilly para niños