Lily Gladstone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lily Gladstone
Gladstone in 2024
Born	(1986-08-02) August 2, 1986 (age 39) Kalispell, Montana, U.S.
Education	University of Montana (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2012–present
Relatives	Red Crow (great-great grandfather)
Awards	Full list

Lily Gladstone is an American actress born on August 2, 1986. She grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation. Lily has Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce, and European family roots. She is well-known for her role as Mollie Kyle in the movie Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). This role earned her many awards.

Lily Gladstone was the first Native American to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She was also the first Native American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

She first appeared in a movie called Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2012). Lily also worked with director Kelly Reichardt on films like Certain Women (2016) and First Cow (2019). You might have seen her in TV shows too. These include HBO's Room 104, Showtime's Billions, and FX's Reservation Dogs. Her acting in the TV series Under the Bridge (2024) also earned her an award nomination.

Early Life and Education

Lily Gladstone was born on August 2, 1986, in Kalispell, Montana. She spent her childhood on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. Her father's family is from the Piegan Blackfeet and Nez Perce tribes. Her mother's family has European heritage. One of her great-great-grandfathers was Kainai Nation chief Red Crow.

When Lily was five, she watched Return of the Jedi. She wanted to play an Ewok, which made her want to become an actress. One of her first acting experiences was in a play called Cinderella. She played an evil stepsister.

Her family moved to the Seattle area when she was in middle school. There, she joined Stone Soup Theatre. This is a theater group for young people in Seattle. She acted in student films and plays.

In 2004, she finished high school at Mountlake Terrace High School. She then went to the University of Montana. In 2008, she earned a degree in Acting/Directing. She also studied Native American Studies. After college, she taught acting classes in her Native community.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Roles and Breakthrough (2012–2022)

Lily Gladstone's first movie role was in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2012). She also acted in Winter in the Blood (2012). Later, she appeared in Buster's Mal Heart (2016).

Her big breakthrough came in 2016. She played Jamie, a rancher, in Kelly Reichardt's film Certain Women. For this role, Lily won awards like the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received nominations for other important awards.

In 2014, Lily performed in a play called The Miracle Worker. She also acted in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2017. In 2020, she starred in the play Manahatta. Lily also hosted a series on the educational YouTube channel Crash Course. This series was about how movies are made. She had a small part in Reichardt's 2019 film First Cow. In 2022, she starred in The Unknown Country. For this movie, she won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance.

Career Progression (2023–Present)

Lily Gladstone at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival with Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear

In 2023, Lily Gladstone played the main role of Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorsese's film Killers of the Flower Moon. The movie was released in October 2023. Her acting in the film was highly praised by critics. Many said her performance was a highlight of the movie.

In January 2024, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. This made her the first Indigenous (Native American) person to win an acting Golden Globe. She also became the first Native American to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In February 2024, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. This made her the first Indigenous actor to win that award.

Earlier in 2023, Lily starred in Fancy Dance. This movie was shown at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and received good reviews. It was later released worldwide by Apple TV+. In 2024, Lily Gladstone starred in the TV series Under the Bridge. Her role in this series earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Lily also acted in Jazzy. She appeared in The Wedding Banquet, which started filming in May 2024. In May 2024, Lily was a judge for the main film competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. In June 2024, she was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Filmography

Film Roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian	Sunshine First Raise
2013	Winter in the Blood	Marlene
2016	Certain Women	Jamie
	Buster's Mal Heart	Morning Shift Concierge
2017	Walking Out	Lila
2019	First Cow	Chief Factor's Wife
2022	The Unknown Country	Tana	Also story writer
	Quantum Cowboys	Linde
	The Last Manhunt	Maria
2023	Fancy Dance	Jax	Also executive producer
	Killers of the Flower Moon	Mollie Kyle
2024	Bring Them Home	Narrator	Also executive producer
	Jazzy	Tana	Also executive producer
2025	The Wedding Banquet	Lee
2027	The Thomas Crown Affair	TBA	Filming
TBA	In Memoriam	TBA	Post-production
	Lone Wolf	TBA	Post-production

Television Roles

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Lily Gladstone para niños