Lily Gladstone

Lily Catherine Gladstone (born August 2, 1986) is an American actress. Raised on the Blackfeet Reservation, Gladstone is of Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce, and European heritage. SheGladstone uses both she/her and they/them pronouns;

Gladstone made her feature film debut in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2012), and collaborated with filmmaker Kelly Reichardt on the independent films Certain Women (2016) and First Cow (2019). She also appeared in the television series Room 104 (2017–2020), Billions (2016–2023), and Reservation Dogs (2022–2023). Her performance in the crime drama miniseries Under the Bridge (2024) earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Early life and education Gladstone was born on August 2, 1986, in Kalispell, Montana. Raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, she is of Piegan Blackfeet (Siksikaitsitapi) and Nez Perce (Nimíipuu) ancestry on her father's side, and European and Cajun heritage on her mother's side. She is descended from the first cousin of British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. One of her paternal great-great-grandfathers was Kainai Nation chief Red Crow.

Gladstone's desire to portray an Ewok after watching Return of the Jedi at the age of five inspired her to become an actress. One of her first acting experiences as a child was when Missoula Children's Theatre came to her East Glacier, Montana, hometown and cast her as an evil step-sister in Cinderella. Gladstone's family moved to the Seattle area during her middle school years to be closer to her grandmother. There she enrolled in Stone Soup Theatre, a nonprofit educational theatre company for Seattle youth, starring in student films and theses.

In 2004 she graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. 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 began her career in independent film, gaining early critical recognition for her role in Kelly Reichardt's Certain Women (2016), which earned her the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her 2022 film The Unknown Country, which she co-wrote with director Morrisa Maltz, earned her the Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Performance. She also received nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.

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. In 2017, Gladstone hosted a series on the educational YouTube channel Crash Course about film production. Gladstone had a small role in Reichardt's 2019 film First Cow

Career progression (2023–present)

Gladstone was cast in the lead role of Mollie Kyle in Martin Scorsese's 2023 feature film Killers of the Flower Moon, which was released theatrically in October 2023. Her performance received critical acclaim and was described as a highlight of the film. Critic Josh Spiegel of /Film said that she "brought [Mollie] to life with incredible passion". In January 2024, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama; she was the first Indigenous (Native American) person to win an acting Golden Globe. She also became the first Native American nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Earlier in 2023, Gladstone starred in Fancy Dance which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and was distributed worldwide by Apple TV+. In 2024, Gladstone starred in the crime drama miniseries Under the Bridge, about the murder of Reena Virk. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Gladstone also costarred in Jazzy, written and directed by Maltz. Gladstone appeared in The Wedding Banquet, which began filming in May 2024. Also in May, Gladstone served as a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. In June 2024, Gladstone was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In October 2024, it was announced that Gladstone would join Sharon Stone in the comedy film, In Memoriam, which was released in 2026.

Gladstone is a signatory of the Film Workers for Palestine boycott pledge that was published in September 2025.

Acting style and critical reception Critics have described Gladstone's performances as understated and emotionally restrained. Rather than relying on dramatic expression, her performances often emphasize stillness and quiet intensity. IndieWire noted that her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon earned her the publication's annual Performance Award, describing her as an actress who consistently centers the perspectives of the communities whose stories she tells. She became the first Native American woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the first Indigenous recipient of the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. Film historian Monica Roxanne Sandler of Emory University described Gladstone as an unusual example of a Native American actress cast in a strong Native American role, and noted that it remained to be seen whether her recognition would lead to broader opportunities for Indigenous performers or prove to be an isolated case. She also referenced the historical practice in Hollywood of requiring Native actors to record their lines in English, which were then reversed in post-production to simulate Native speech.

Personal life Gladstone goes by both "she" and "they" pronouns. She explained in 2023, "In most Native languages, most Indigenous languages, Blackfeet included, there are no gendered pronouns. There is no he/she, there's only they... my pronoun use is partly a way of decolonizing gender for myself." Gladstone is "middle-gendered" and a member of the LGBTQ community.

Gladstone stated in 2025 that she "can’t put a label on" her sexual orientation, and referred to herself as queer, pansexual, straight, and demisexual.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2012 Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian Sunshine First Raise 2013 Winter in the Blood Marlene 2015 Subterranea Heather 2016 Certain Women Rancher Buster's Mal Heart Morning Shift Concierge 2017 Walking Out Lila 2019 First Cow Chief Factor's Wife 2020 Two Eyes Enola 2021 Freeland Mara 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 Kyle2024 Bring Them Home Narrator Also executive producer Jazzy Tana Also executive producer 2025 The Wedding Banquet Lee 2026 In Memoriam Samantha 2027 The Thomas Crown Affair Post-production Lone Wolf Post-production

Television

Accolades