Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born August 3, 1979) is a Golden Globe-nominated Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.Early life:
Evangeline Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, to a devoutly Protestant family. Her father is an economics teacher, and her mother is a beauty consultant. Lilly also has two sisters. Her youngest sister, Andrea, has been described by Evangeline as "the actor in the family."
Before leaving the town of Fort Saskatchewan for Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, Evangeline briefly attended three elementary schools, Fort Elementary, Rudolph Hennig and James Mowat Elementary. Lilly recalled, "When I was a kid, the Fort was tiny. I could ride my bike at five years old from one end of town to the other.... To me Fort Saskatchewan holds a lot of really great memories. I just consider it a little happy hideaway." In Abbotsford, Lilly completed her high school years at W. J. Mouat Secondary School, and went on to study international relations at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Lilly also served briefly as a foreign missionary and lived in a grass hut in the Philippines. She was offered permanent missionary work there for two years, an offer she nearly accepted but eventually declined because of her parents' wishes. Lilly was a flight attendant with Royal Airlines. She speaks French fairly well. She also worked at Green Bay Bible Camp near Kelowna and at the Earls Restaurant in Abbotsford.
Career:Before starring on Lost (2004), Lilly worked a variety of other jobs. She apparently worked as a flight attendant, waitress, and completed oil changes on big rigs. To fund her university education, she also did TV commercials (i.e. "LiveLinks Chatline") and modeling although she never considered herself a model. She appeared on G4's Judgment Day and in an uncredited role in the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason as a high-school girl leaning against a locker, as well as in several episodes of Smallville as an extra. She had a guest appearance on the ABC supernatural horror series Kingdom Hospital (2004). Lilly's first speaking role, however, was on Lost. She studied acting at The Yaletown Actors Lab with writer, director David Palffy and was first discovered by agent Jeff Palffy, formerly of Ford Models, now with PMG Management in Vancouver, who was instrumental in her first break on Lost.
When Lilly was cast as Kate in Lost, her main concern was acquiring a work visa to enter the United States. With production literally days away and no news about the visa, casting directors were forced to grudgingly begin re-casting the role of Kate. After nearly 20 auditions, Lilly's work visa was approved/cleared but she arrived on set a day late.
Her salary in 2004 for Lost was $80,000 per episode. On the heels of her role in Lost, she was voted one of the Breakout Stars of 2004 by Entertainment Weekly and on December 14, 2006, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Lead Actress-Drama. Action figures of Lilly's Lost character were released during the holiday season of 2006.Once she has finished filming Lost, Lilly plans to stop acting and pursue a career as a humanitarian worker; however she has not ruled out returning to TV at some point in the future. On May 11, 2010, Lilly stated on The View, when Whoopi Goldberg asked her if she really is quitting acting, by saying 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.
Personal life:Lilly was once married to Canadian hockey player Murray Hone. Her fellow Lost actor Josh Holloway also calls her "Freckles", sharing the nickname his on-screen character Sawyer gave her. She is also known on set for being a tomboy, Christian, and "potty mouth".
Lilly has stated that she "live[s] in a bubble", specifying that she is not familiar with popular culture and does not watch television or own a TV set. She has also said that she would not appear in a nude scene or perform in sexual scenes that she would consider "gratuitous".
On May 9, 2007, Episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Evangeline Lilly described her deep need to leave her home town after her high-school graduation. She did much travelling at this point in her life, moving from town to town approximately every six months. She stated that in each town she took on a persona; for example, she would decide in one town to take on the role of a "nerdy bookworm" and in another, a ditzy "cheerleader" type. She has jokingly stated that, as such, she would frequently date different men.
Lilly has also used her celebrity status to help promote Just Yell Fire, a video aimed at teaching teenage girls how to defend themselves against rapists. During the summer break between the first and second seasons of Lost, Lilly spent time visiting African countries.
On December 20, 2006, Lilly's house in Kailua, Hawaii, was completely destroyed by fire while she was on the Lost set with one of her two roommates, both of whom work as her stand-ins on the show. The second roommate was off-island at the time of the blaze, which occurred on the final day of shooting before the show’s holiday break. The cause of the fire was an electrical problem.
Filmography:Film
2003
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Stealing Sinatra
Freddy vs. Jason
2005
The Long Weekend
2008
Afterwards
The Hurt Locker
Television:
2002
Judgment Day (television)
2002-2004
Smallville
2003
Tru Calling
2004
Kingdom Hospital
2004–2010
Lost
