Abby Connolly
She made her on-screen debut in the drama film “Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian” in 2013 and was cast in several other dramatic roles in films like “Certain Women” in 2016, which earned her several awards, like the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress.
A real breakthrough moment in Lily’s career happened when she was cast as Mollie Burkhart, a prominent Osage woman in American history, in “Killers Of The Flower Moon,” which is based on the horrific murders of Osage people in Oklahoma from 1918 to 1931.
Starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily delivered a moving and brilliant performance that led her to be the very first Native American woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Fun fact: in Lily’s high school yearbook, she was named one of two students voted “Most Likely To Win an Oscar.”
Lily was also the first Native American woman to be nominated for and win an acting Golden Globe award. Additionally, she was the first Native woman to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Female Actor.
While accepting her historical Golden Globe award, Lily dedicated her win to “every little ‘rez kid,’ every little urban kid, every little Native kid who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented and our stories told by ourselves in our own words with tremendous allies and tremendous trust with and from each other.”
While she did not win the Oscar for Best Actress, winner Emma Stone made sure to mention her tremendous performance in her acceptance speech.
Since gaining a larger platform after starring in Scorsese’s film, Lily has passionately spoken out about the importance of representation in film and allowing Native people to tell Native stories properly.
Lily has already been cast in several more film projects since her breakout role, and we cannot wait to see what she does next.
