Lily Gladstone Bio
Lily Catherine Gladstone (born August 2, 1986) is an American actress celebrated for her grounded performances and dedication to Indigenous storytelling. Raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, she brings Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce, and European heritage to her work, shaping a singular voice in contemporary cinema. Gladstone first drew widespread acclaim for her collaborations with filmmaker Kelly Reichardt and later became internationally recognized for her leading role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). Her achievements include a Golden Globe Award win, a Screen Actors Guild Award win, and a historic Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Early Life and Background
Lily Catherine Gladstone was born on August 2, 1986, in Kalispell, Montana. She was raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, growing up within a household shaped by Piegan Blackfeet (Siksikaitsitapi) and Nez Perce (Nimíipuu) ancestry on her father’s side, and European and Cajun heritage on her mother’s side. Among her paternal ancestors is the Kainai Nation chief Red Crow, who is her great-great-grandfather. She is also a descendant of the first cousin of former British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.
Gladstone’s desire to become an actress was sparked at the age of five after watching Return of the Jedi, when she became fascinated with the idea of portraying an Ewok. One of her earliest acting experiences came when the Missoula Children’s Theatre visited her hometown of East Glacier, Montana, and cast her as an evil step-sister in Cinderella. Her family later relocated to the Seattle area during her middle school years, where she enrolled in Stone Soup Theatre, a nonprofit educational theatre company for Seattle youth, and began starring in student films and short projects.
Path to Acting
Lily Catherine Gladstone graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, in 2004. She went on to attend the University of Montana, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting/Directing along with a minor in Native American Studies in 2008. During her time at the university, she discovered Theatre of the Oppressed and performed in productions including Riders to the Sea (2006), Richard III (2006), Miss Julie (2007), and Coyote on a Fence (2008). These experiences helped shape her commitment to using performance as a tool for social reflection and community engagement.
After graduating, Gladstone taught acting classes and workshops in her Native community. She developed an image-theatre method she called a “sculpture garden,” which was sponsored by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center as a form of violence prevention. In 2010, she performed in The Frybread Queen, a co-production by Native Voices at the Autry, the University of Montana School of Theatre and Dance, and the Montana Repertory Theatre. These formative experiences laid the foundation for her transition into professional film and television work.
Lily Gladstone Career
Early Career (2012–2016)
Lily Catherine Gladstone made her feature film debut in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian in 2012, the same year she appeared in Winter in the Blood. She continued building her resume with a role in Buster’s Mal Heart in 2016. Her career breakthrough came with Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women (2016), in which she played Jamie, a rancher living in rural Montana. The performance earned her the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, along with nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.
Beyond her film work during this period, Gladstone performed the role of Kate Keller in the 2014 Montana Repertory Theatre national touring production of The Miracle Worker. She also joined the Oregon Shakespeare Festival acting company in 2017 and in 2017 hosted a film-production series on the educational YouTube channel Crash Course, expanding her presence in both stage and digital media.
Breakthrough (2019–2024)
Gladstone continued her collaboration with Kelly Reichardt with a small role in First Cow (2019), a quietly observed period film. She then starred in The Unknown Country (2022), which she co-wrote with director Morrisa Maltz, earning the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance. In 2023, she starred in Fancy Dance, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and was later distributed by Apple TV+. That same year, she was cast in the lead role of Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, released theatrically in October 2023. Her portrayal of Mollie, an Osage woman surviving the Osage Indian murders, drew widespread praise, with critics describing her work as a highlight of the film.
In January 2024, Lily Catherine Gladstone won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, becoming the first Indigenous (Native American) person to win an acting Golden Globe. She was also the first Native American nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In February 2024, she became the first Indigenous actor to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. In 2024, she starred in the Hulu crime drama miniseries Under the Bridge, about the murder of Reena Virk, earning a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Notable Works and Milestones
Lily Catherine Gladstone’s signature work includes her roles in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Certain Women (2016), First Cow (2019), and Under the Bridge (2024). Her career-defining achievements include a Golden Globe win, a Screen Actors Guild Award win, a Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Performance, and a historic Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She also served as a jury member for the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2024.
Lily Gladstone Award Nominations
Lily Catherine Gladstone has earned nominations across major industry awards bodies throughout her career. Her nominations include the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Under the Bridge (2024), the Academy Award for Best Actress for Killers of the Flower Moon (2024), the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for Certain Women (2017), and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor for Certain Women (2017). These nominations reflect a career defined by consistent critical recognition and groundbreaking representation.
Lily Gladstone Awards Won
Lily Catherine Gladstone has won several major awards across her career. Her wins include the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Killers of the Flower Moon (2024), the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (2024), the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance for The Unknown Country (2022), the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for Certain Women (2016), and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for Certain Women (2016). She was also the first Indigenous person to win an acting Golden Globe and the first Indigenous actor to win the SAG Award for Female Actor in a Leading Role.
Lily Gladstone Family
Lily Catherine Gladstone comes from a mixed-heritage family with Piegan Blackfeet and Nez Perce roots on her father’s side and European and Cajun heritage on her mother’s side. One of her paternal great-great-grandfathers was Kainai Nation chief Red Crow, a significant figure in Blackfoot history. She is also a descendant of the first cousin of former British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Her family relocated to the Seattle area during her middle school years to be closer to her grandmother, a move that helped shape her early theatrical training.
Personal Life
Lily Catherine Gladstone uses both “she” and “they” pronouns, explaining in 2023 that most Indigenous languages, including Blackfeet, do not have gendered pronouns, making “they” a natural choice. She has described herself as “middle-gendered” and as a member of the LGBTQ community. In 2025, she stated that she “can’t put a label on” her sexual orientation, referring to herself as queer, pansexual, straight, and demisexual. At the 81st Golden Globe Awards, she opened her acceptance speech in the Blackfeet language, marking the first time the language had been spoken at the ceremony, and dedicated the award to Native youth across the country.