Birthday:
3 August 1979, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Height:
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Biography
Evangeline Lilly, born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
in 1979, was discovered on the streets of Kelowna, British Columbia by
the famous Ford modeling agency. Although she initially decided to pass
on a modeling career, she went ahead and signed with Ford anyway, to
help pay for her University of British Columbia tuition and expenses
Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born August 3, 1979) is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Kate Austen in one of ABC's most successful programs of all time, Lost, a role for which she won multiple Saturn Awards and Teen Choice Awards and a Golden Globe nomination.[3] Lilly is also known for her roles in the feature films Afterwards, The Hurt Locker, and Real Steel. Lilly will appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the final two movies of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy.
Personal life
Evangeline Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and raised in British Columbia by a father who taught home economics and a mother who worked as a beauty consultant.
[6][7] She graduated from W. J. Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where she played soccer and was vice president of the student council.
[8] She speaks fluent French.
[9]
While in college, Lilly worked as a flight attendent for Royal Airlines, a waitress, a mechanic, and as a model to pay for her tuition.
[8][10] Her modeling and acting career began when she was discovered walking the streets of Kelowna, British Columbia, by a Ford Modeling Agency agent.
[11][12]
Lilly took the card but did not immediately pursue modeling or acting.
She eventually called and the agency landed her several roles in
commercials and non-speaking parts in the TV show
Smallville and
Kingdom Hospital and the films
Freddy vs. Jason and
The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
[13][14][15]
On December 20, 2006, an electrical problem set fire to Lilly's house in Kailua, Hawaii, destroying the house and all of her possessions while she was on the set of
Lost.
[16] Though she lost all she owned, Lilly said the fire "was almost liberating. I'm in no hurry to clutter up my life again."
[17]
Lilly was previously married to Canadian hockey player Murray Hone.
[18] From 2004 to 2009, she dated
Lost co-star Dominic Monaghan.
[19] She had her first child, a son named Kahekili
[20] (Hawaiian for "the thunder"), with boyfriend Norman Kali in Hawaii in May of 2011.
[19][21]
Philanthropy
Lilly grew up Christian and her faith influenced her decision to take part in a three-week mission trip to the Philippines when she was 18.
[22][23] Her interest in humanitarian causes and global development led her to major in International Relations at the University of British Columbia.
[14] Lilly continues to work with nonprofits such as the GO Campaign.
[24]
In 2009, Lilly auctioned off custom lingerie in support of Task Brasil,
"a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the lost street
children of Brazil by providing them secure housing."
[25] In 2010, she auctioned off three lunches in Vancouver, Honolulu, and Los Angeles to help widows and orphans in Rwanda, a country Lilly has made numerous trips to as part of her charity work.
[26]
After shooting the final episode of
Lost, Lilly said she was considering taking a break from acting to focus on her charity and humanitarian efforts.
[24] She told
Vulture, "I consider acting a day job — it's not my dream; it's not my be-all, end-all."
[27] She has claimed to use her actress earnings to further her humanitarian efforts, not the other way around.
[28]
Lost
Main article: Lost (TV series)
Lilly at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards
Lilly was encouraged to try out for
Lost by a friend and she did not expect to get cast.
[11] Around 75 women auditioned for the part of Kate Austen. Damon Lindelof, writer and co-creator, said he and J.J. Abrams, executive producer and co-creator, "were fast-forwarding through a tape, and he saw her and said, 'That's the girl.'"
[29][30] The character almost had to be recast, as Lilly had trouble acquiring a work visa to enter the United States.
[31] Her application was finally accepted after nearly 20 tries and she arrived in Hawaii for filming one day late.
[31]
Lost ran for six seasons, airing from 2004-2010.
[32] It was one of the top shows on ABC's primetime schedule during its run, won one Golden Globe, and was ranked the top-rated TV show of the decade (2002-2012) by IMDB.
[33]
Lilly appeared in 116 of the show's 121 episodes, and her character, Kate Austen, was the show's female lead.
[34] Entertainment Weekly voted Lilly one of its "Breakout Stars of 2004."
[35] In 2006, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Lead Actress-Drama.
[36] Robert Bianco of
USA Today praised Lilly's performance in "Eggtown," saying that it was almost worthy of a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
[37] In 2007, Lilly's portrayal was voted #1 Sexiest Woman on Television by
TV Guide and made
FHM's Top Sexiest.
[38]
Action figures of Lilly's
Lost character were released during the holiday season of 2006.
Film career
Lilly has used her celebrity status as a spokeswoman for several brands.
In 2008, Lilly starred in the Academy Award-winning film
The Hurt Locker.
[39] She and the rest of the cast won the Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble.
[40] Lilly followed her role in
The Hurt Locker with a leading part opposite John Malkovich in
Afterwards, a psychological thriller directed by Gilles Bourdos.
[41]
In 2010, Lilly stated her intention on writing a children's book called
The Squickerwonkers[42] and to focus on feature films.
[43][44] On May 11, 2010, Lilly announced on
The View
that she places writing and being a mother as top priorities, but she
likes acting as a day job and she will continue acting when possible.
[45]
In 2011, Lilly appeared as Bailey Tallet in
Real Steel alongside Hugh Jackman.
[46] Despite having turned down a number of movie offers, she traveled to Los Angeles to acquire the part a few days after director Shawn Levy sent her the script.
[47]
Levy said he cast her because Lilly is "magnificent to look at, she's
soulful, and she's sexy with Hugh. I needed someone who you believed had
grown up in a man's world. Bailey needed to have a strength and a
toughness that was not at the expense of her being womanly."
[48]
In 2012, Lilly was cast to play the role of the Woodland Elf Tauriel in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's
The Hobbit.
[5] The character, which does not appear in the original book by Tolkien, was created by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh as the head of the Elven guard who, like Legolas
(who also appears in the film), wields a bow and two daggers as
weapons. Lilly, who had been a fan of Tolkien's books since she was 13,
[49] underwent training for swordplay and archery, as well as in the Elvish language for the role.
[49][50]
Filmography
Film
| Notes |
| 2003 |
Freddy vs. Jason |
School Student |
uncredited |
| 2003 |
The Lizzie McGuire Movie |
Police Officer |
|
| 2003 |
Stealing Sinatra |
Model in commercial |
|
| 2005 |
The Long Weekend |
Simone |
|
| 2006 |
Just Yell Fire |
Herself |
|
| 2008 |
Afterwards |
Claire |
|
| 2009 |
The Hurt Locker |
Connie James |
Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|
| 2011 |
Real Steel |
Bailey Tallet |
|
| 2013 |
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug |
Tauriel |
Post-production (additional filming 2013) |
| 2014 |
The Hobbit: There and Back Again |
Tauriel |
Post-production (additional filming 2013) |
Television
| Notes |
| 2002 |
Reviews on the Run |
Hardware girl |
|
| 2002–2004 |
Smallville |
Various |
5 episodes |
| 2003 |
Tru Calling |
Party guest |
1 episode: "Morning After" |
| 2004 |
Kingdom Hospital |
Benspoln's girlfriend |
1 episode: "Heartless" |
| 2004–2010 |
Lost |
Kate Austen |
114 episodes
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
(2006)
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (2007)
Nominated—National Television Award for Most Popular Actress (2006)
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (2005)
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Drama
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Drama
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Drama
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Drama
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Drama
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Drama
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Performance – Female
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Chemistry (Shared with Matthew Fox and Josh Holloway) |
Other awards
| Result |
| 2010 |
Alliance of Women Film Journalists |
The Hurt Locker |
Won |
| 2010 |
Denver Film Critics Society |
The Hurt Locker |
Nominated |
Advertising
| 2005 |
LiveLinks |
USA |
| 2006 |
Karastan Carpets |
USA |
| 2006 |
Michelle K Footwear |
USA |
| 2007–2008 |
Davidoff Coolwater Women |
Europe |
| 2009 |
Baume et Mercier |
|
| 2009–present |
L’Oreal Paris |
International |
