Lily Gladstone

Lily Gladstone
Gladstone in 2022
Born1986 (age 37–38)
Kalispell, Montana, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Montana (BFA)
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present
RelativesRed Crow (great-great grandfather)
AwardsFull list

Lily Gladstone (born 1986) is an American actress. She[a] made her film debut in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2012), and went on to collaborate with filmmaker Kelly Reichardt in the independent films Certain Women (2016) and First Cow (2019).[1] She earned critical acclaim for playing Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese's crime drama film Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), winning several awards, including making history by being the first Indigenous person to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.[2][3]

Gladstone has also appeared in episodes of HBO's Room 104 (2017–2020), Showtime's Billions (2016–2023), and FX's Reservation Dogs (2021–2023).

Early life and education

Gladsone was born in 1986.[4] Raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana,[5] she is of Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce, and European heritage and grew up on the reservation of the Blackfeet Nation.[6][7] Her mother is white and her father is Blackfeet and Nez Perce.[8][7] On her mother’s side, she is a 1st cousin, 4 times removed of William Ewart Gladstone, British Prime Minister.[9][10] One of her paternal great-great grandfathers was Red Crow, a Kainai Nation chief.[11]

She has cited the desire to portray an Ewok after watching Return of the Jedi at the age of 5 as inspiring her to become an actress.[12][13][14] One of Gladstone’s first acting experiences as a child was when the Missoula Children’s Theatre came to East Glacier to put on Cinderella and she was cast as one of the evil stepsisters.[15] Gladstone's family moved to the Seattle area during her middle school years[16] to be closer to her grandmother. There she was enrolled in Stone Soup Theatre, a non profit educational theatre company for the Seattle youth, which then led to starring in student films and theses.[17]

She graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington in 2004.[16] Gladstone attended the University of Montana where she studied Theatre of the Oppressed. At UM, she performed in Riders to the Sea (2006), Richard III (2006), Miss Julie (2007) and Coyote on a Fence (2008). She graduated in 2008 with a BFA in Acting/Directing and a minor in Native American Studies. Upon graduating, she taught acting classes and workshops in her native community. She taught an image theatre acting method she called a "sculpture garden" as violence prevention sponsored by the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center.[18] In 2010, she performed in The Frybread Queen, a co-production by Native Voices at the Autry, the UM School of Theatre and Dance and The Montana Repertory Theatre.

Career

Gladstone made her film debut in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2012). She then acted in Winter in the Blood (2012) and Buster's Mal Heart (2016) before making her career breakthrough as Jamie, a rancher, in Kelly Reichardt's film Certain Women (2016). The role earned Gladstone the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.[19][20] She also received nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.[21][22]

Gladstone performed the role of Kate Keller in the 2014 Montana Repertory Theatre's national touring production of The Miracle Worker. Gladstone was in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival acting company in 2017 and starred in the Yale Repertory Theatre production of Mary Kathryn Nagle's Manahatta in 2020.[23]

Gladstone at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival

Gladstone starred in the 2022 film The Unknown Country, directed by Morrisa Maltz, for which she received the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance.[24]

She had a small role in Reichardt's 2019 film First Cow[1] before being cast in the lead role of Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese's feature film Killers of the Flower Moon, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro,[25] which was released theatrically in October 2023.[26] Her performance received critical acclaim and was described as a highlight of the film.[27][28][29] Critic Josh Spiegel of /Film said that she "brought [Mollie] to life with incredible passion".[30] In 2024, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, becoming the first Indigenous woman to both be nominated for and win an acting Golden Globe.[3][31]

Personal life

Gladstone goes by both she/her and they/them pronouns.[32]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian Sunshine First Raise
2013 Winter in the Blood Marlene
2016 Certain Women The Rancher
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[33]
Quantum Cowboys[34] Linde
The Last Manhunt Maria
2023 Fancy Dance Jax
Killers of the Flower Moon Mollie Burkhart

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Scalped Carol Red Crow Pilot
2017 Crash Course Host 15 episodes
2017–20 Room 104 911 Operator / Abby 2 episodes
2019–23 Billions Roxanne 6 episodes
2021 Tuca & Bertie Hawk Mechanic (voice) Episode: "Bird Mechanics"
2022–23 Reservation Dogs Hokti 2 episodes
TBA Under the Bridge Cam Bentland In production

Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Lily Gladstone

Notes

  1. ^ Gladstone uses both she/her and they/them pronouns; this article uses she/her pronouns for consistency.

References

  1. ^ a b Smith, Orla (July 25, 2020). "Lily Gladstone on Kelly Reichardt and her love of linguistics". Seventh Row. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Meyer, Carla (November 28, 2023). "Don't know Lily Gladstone? The 'Killers of the Flower Moon' star is no newcomer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Zuckerman, Esther (January 7, 2024). "Lily Gladstone Becomes First Indigenous Person to Win a Golden Globe for Best Actress". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Seth, Radhika (May 25, 2023). "'She Survived Everything Imaginable': Lily Gladstone on the Real Story Behind 'Killers of the Flower Moon' and Working With Marty, Leo, and Bob". Vogue. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Buchanan, Kyle (January 6, 2024). "Lily Gladstone Won't Let Hollywood Put Her in a Box". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  6. ^ Bauer, Jennifer K. "Staying true to her heritage: 'Winter in the Blood' star Lily Gladstone talks about filmmaking, bucking Hollywood stereotypes". Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Abramovitch, Seth (May 16, 2023). "Cannes: Native Actor Lily Gladstone Almost Quit the Biz — Then Scorsese Requested a Zoom". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "Lily Gladstone Is the Breakout Star of Killers of the Flower Moon". Town & Country. October 20, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  9. ^ "The Ghosts of North Leith – The NEN – North Edinburgh News". The NEN - North Edinburgh News. October 25, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Nast, Condé (September 19, 2023). ""We Are Coming Towards A Great Reckoning": Lily Gladstone & Leonardo DiCaprio On Their Searing Period Drama, 'Killers of the Flower Moon'". British Vogue. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "Lily Gladstone: 'I lived in the reservations until I was 11'". The Guardian. February 12, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  12. ^ Wippel, Teresa (October 7, 2012). "Arts Around Terrace: MTHS grad Lily Gladstone's acting dreams coming true". MLTnews.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  13. ^ Seventh Row, An acting masterclass with Lily Gladstone and Frank Mosley (Lockdown Film School #9), retrieved October 24, 2023, I really wanted to grow up to be an Ewok. Loved that life. Was all about it.
  14. ^ KCTS 9, Lily Gladstone's Story | Native America: Northwest Stories, retrieved October 24, 2023, I realized I couldn't actually be an Ewok unless I became an actor.{citation}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Rising Star: UM Alumna Lily Gladstone Breaks Through". www.umt.edu. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Tall, Jonathan (October 19, 2023). "Lily Gladstone, a Mountlake Terrace grad, stars in new Scorsese epic". The Everett Herald. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Hutchinson, Chase (August 16, 2023). "Family and Seattle anchor Lily Gladstone in 'The Unknown Country'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  18. ^ Hailu, Selome (November 16, 2023). "Lily Gladstone on Welcoming 'Flower Moon' Criticism, Mollie's Agency and Scorsese's Limitations While Telling an Osage Story". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Shanley, Patrick (December 11, 2016). "'La La Land' Named Best Picture by Boston Society of Film Critics". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  20. ^ "42nd Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  21. ^ Warren, Matt (November 22, 2016). "2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced!". Independent Spirit Awards. Film Independent. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  22. ^ Cox, Gordon (October 20, 2016). "Gotham Awards Nominations 2016: 'Manchester By The Sea' Leads with Four". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  23. ^ "Manahatta: Lily Gladstone and Steven Flores". YouTube. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  24. ^ https://deadline.com/2023/11/gotham-awards-2023-winners-list-1235638894/
  25. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (February 11, 2021). "Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Adds Lily Gladstone to Cast". Variety. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  26. ^ Lang, Brett (March 27, 2023). "Martin Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' with Leonardo DiCaprio Gets October Release Date". Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Ryan, Jack (October 24, 2023). "'Certain Women', Lily Gladstone's breakout, is the perfect 'Killers of the Flower' Moon chaser". British GQ. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  28. ^ Willmore, Alison (October 20, 2023). "All Eyes on Lily Gladstone". Vulture. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  29. ^ Hutchinson, Chase (October 20, 2023). "'Killers of the Flower Moon' Is at Its Best When Lily Gladstone Is on Screen". Collider. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  30. ^ Spiegel, Josh (October 23, 2023). "Killers Of The Flower Moon Spoiler Review: One Of Martin Scorsese's Best Pictures". /Film. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 11, 2023). "'Killers Of The Flower Moon's Lily Gladstone Set As Golden Globes' First Indigenous Nominee For Female Actor In A Motion Picture". Deadline. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  32. ^ Lewis, Hilary (December 31, 2023). "Lily Gladstone on How Using She/They Pronouns Is Connected to Indigenous Background, "A Way of Decolonizing Gender for Myself"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 3, 2024. "...in most Native languages, most Indigenous languages, Blackfeet included, there are no gendered pronouns. There is no he/she, there's only they."
  33. ^ O'Malley, Sheila (July 28, 2023). "The Unknown Country". Roger Ebert. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  34. ^ Marslett, Geoff (September 24, 2022), Quantum Cowboys (Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi), Kiowa Gordon, Lily Gladstone, John Way, Fit Via Vi Film Productions, Artless Media, Minnow Mountain, retrieved October 30, 2023

External links