THE BIOGRAPHY OF LILY GLADSTONE
Who Is Lily Gladstone?
In the United States of America, Lily Gladstone is an actress who possesses Blackfeet and Nimíipuu heritage. Her most notable role is in the 2023 Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon, where she portrays an Osage woman residing on an Oklahoma reservation during a string of 1920s homicides. It is said that Gladstone’s performance was her breakthrough role in the mainstream, which led to her receiving her first nomination and winning the Golden Globe.
A number of independent films and television shows, including Reservation Dogs, were among the works that Gladstone had previously appeared in before being cast in this part. A nomination for the Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Supporting Female, in addition to other honors, was bestowed upon her for her role in the film Certain Women in the year 2016.
- Quick Facts
| FULL NAME | Lily Gladstone |
| BORN | August 2, 1986 |
| BIRTHPLACE | Kalispell, Montana |
| ASTROLOGICAL SIGN | Leo |
The Formative Years of Lily Gladstone
- Birth and Childhood
Lily Gladstone was born on August 2, 1986, and grew up in Browning, Montana. Her father, employed in the field of broadcast journalism, has ancestry from the Blackfeet and Nimíipuu tribes, whilst her mother, a specialist in early childhood education, is of Caucasian stock. Gladstone resided inside the confines of the Blackfeet Nation reservation until the age of 11. During the initial years of her existence, the family resided in a log cabin equipped with a wood-burning stove.
Lily Gladstone stated that there was poverty, violence, substance misuse, and unemployment everywhere in Browning. The love of family and the love of land were the things that brought people together in the community. She was a chubby mixed girl living on the reservation who had a little bit too much creative energy and not enough outlets, according to Gladstone, in addition to being an exuberant and performing child who was frequently made fun of. Her father and grandfather were both huge movie fans.
As a child, Lily Gladstone viewed a great deal of films that her father and grandfather had recorded and watched on cable television. She finished high school in a suburb of Seattle and then went on to attend the University of Montana.
Her family had relocated away from Browning because there were poor economic options in the area. In 2008, she received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a minor in Native American Studies. Her studies included acting and theatre, and she graduated with their respective degrees. During her time in college, she participated in theatrical plays with Montana Repertory Theatre. Her teacher and director, Greg Johnson, described her as an exceptional actor who stood out among the outstanding students at UM. He emphasized that she possessed extraordinary skill and the theatre was fortunate to have her.
Lily Gladstone emphasized the importance of maintaining personal interest and engagement with the world during her time at UM. She believed that this approach was crucial for her to be a captivating performer. Nevertheless, once she also felt that the moment detaches herself from the human encounter, she will become devoid of depth or complexity.
Highlights of Lily Gladstone’s Professional Acting career
- Theatre Work and Movies
“Living Voices”, an educational touring theatre company that presents works about marginalized history, is a company that Gladstone was a member of starting in 2009 and continuing until 2013. Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2012), a film about a Blackfeet World War II veteran portrayed by Benicio Del Toro, was the film in which she made her official debut in the film industry. In the following year, she made her second appearance in the hallucinogenic film Winter in the Blood (2013), which was about a Native American man living in a small town in Montana.
Winter in the Blood relied so largely on the Montana community, so many locals, and so many individuals who have a close relationship with the legacy of the novel, according to Gladstone, who described it as a labor of love for people from Montana. The film Buster’s Mal Heart (2016) also used her as a character. Kelly Reichardt, an indie director, lauded Gladstone for her performance portraying a rancher in the film Certain Women (2016). It was referred to as her “big break” by The Guardian, particularly because it featured her with actors such as Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, and Kristen Stewart.
In 2017, Lily Gladstone participated in a Native American youth theatre program called Red Eagle Soaring during which she also gave a performance onstage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The television shows Room 104(2017-2020) on HBO, Billions (2019-2023) on Showtime, and Reservation Dogs (2022) on FX were among the shows in which she appeared. Additionally, she worked with Kelly Reichardt once more in the independent film First Cow (2019), in which she played a small role. She also made an appearance in the production of Manahatta by Mary Kathryn Nagle which was staged at Yale Repertory Theatre in the year 2020.
- Killers of the Flower Moon
When the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in August of 2020, Gladstone began to worry if she could continue to support herself through acting. She also pondered making a change in her job and intended to submit an application for seasonal work with the United States Department of Agriculture, where she would be responsible for tracking murder hornets.
However, around this time, she was contacted by director Martin Scorsese, who had been pleased by her performance in the film Certain Women. Scorsese expressed his desire to meet with her via Zoom. Her participation in the film Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Scorsese and released in October 2023, was a direct result of this. Killers of the Flower Moon is a sequence of killings that took place on the Osage Nation Reservation in Oklahoma during the 1920s. The story is based on the nonfiction book of the same name written by David Grann.
Mollie Kyle Burkhart, a character played by Gladstone, is based on a real-life Osage lady whose friends and family members are the victims of a strange serial killing.
Lily Gladstone spent a considerable amount of time researching Burkhart, even going so far as to visit with her actual granddaughter. She also participated in a large number of discussions with Osage leaders in order to have an understanding of the legacy of the community and to make certain that their suggestions were well received and adopted.
Despite the fact that she and Burkhart were from different time periods and tribes, Gladstone stated that she drew inspiration for the performance from her own life and where she was raised. She stated that she held Mollie Burkhart with both arms, near to her heart, and that she saw the casting as both a wonderful gift and a big duty. It was a tremendous gift to be welcomed by Osage Nation, and it was a privilege to be able to relay the narrative, she noted.
Lily Gladstone expressed her deepest gratitude to Osage Nation. Scorsese remarked of Gladstone that he could see that she had a strong belief in the value of simplicity. As an expressive instrument that could speak for itself, she knew that her own on-screen presence was a useful tool. As Mollie, her silences were frequently more poignant than the words she said. Gladstone became a source of direction for all of them, including Scorsese, in terms of how they told the story.
Her castmate Leonardo DiCaprio said that she had an incredible presence and strength and that as a Native American actor, Gladstone served as an inspiration to all of them. According to reports, Gladstone garnered the most Oscar buzz out of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. This role has been characterized as Gladstone’s crossover role into the mainstream.
There are a number of prominent performers in the picture, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, but Gladstone is considered to be the “real star” of the movie. It is also anticipated that Gladstone will appear in the upcoming true crime series Under the Bridge on Hulu, which will star Riley Keough and is based on Rebecca Godfrey’s nonfiction book of the same name. Gladstone will play the role of Cam Bentland, a member of the Canadian police force living in Victoria, British Columbia, who is one of the few women of color working in the force.
- Awards and Honors
~ Over the course of her career, the emerging actor was nominated for and won a number of honors. One of the awards she received was for Best Supporting Actress from the Boston Society of Film Critics.
~ Lily Gladstone also won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.
~ The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female was another category in which Gladstone was considered for nomination.
~ In recognition of her work in the film Killers of the Flower Moon, she was nominated for a Golden Globe on December 11th, in the category of Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture. The event took place on January 7, 2024, and she went on to win. During her acceptance speech, Gladstone thanked her mother, who was there, as well as her film co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. She also paid tribute to her Blackfeet background.
Lily Gladstone stated in her statement that the award was intended for every single little rez kid, every single little urban kid, and every single little native kid out there who had a dream, who was seeing themselves represented, and who was having their stories told by themselves, in their own words, with tremendous allies and tremendous trust with and from each other among them.
- Net Worth
From the beginning of her acting career until the present day, Lily Gladstone has amassed a substantial amount of wealth and saved it. According to estimates, her net worth is currently projected to be one million dollars.
The Personal Life Trajectory of Lily Gladstone
During her red-carpet appearances, Gladstone frequently is seen wearing clothing designed by Native American designers as well as Native American jewelry. Frequently featured in her Instagram postings is her dog, Birdy, which she calls by that name.
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