Take the BuddyTV Personality Quiz: What Lost Character Are You? Evangeline Lilly as
Kate Austen Nicole Evangeline Lilly was born on August 3, 1979 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada. She grew up with no television in the house, and studied at three different elementary schools before her family moved out of Fort Saskatchewan. She started getting involved in various advocacy projects when she was only 14 years old. While she was completing her international relations studies at the University of British Columbia, she established and took charge of a world development and human rights committee. In addition, Lilly did some missionary work in the Philippines for a short period of time and once worked as a flight attendant.
Lilly’s career in the entertainment industry began when she was recruited by Ford Modeling Agency. She was, at first, reluctant to work as a model, but eventually decided to do so in order to pay for her schooling at the University of British Columbia. Her initial projects included commercials for LiveLinks Chatline and a spot on G4’s Judgment Day. She managed to land several yet uncredited roles in productions like Freddy vs. Jason and The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Her other television credits include
Smallville and Kingdom Hospital.
In 2004, Lilly was cast in the hit television series, Lost, but almost did not get to portray the character Kate Austen because her work visa had not yet been approved at the time. Her role on the show earned her a place on Entertainment Weekly’s prestigious roster of Breakout Stars in 2004 and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Lead Actress-Drama in 2007. On the set, her co-stars affectionately refer to her as “Evi” and “Monkey,” the latter having been coined from Lilly’s uncanny ability to climb trees. Currently, Lilly is engaged to English actor Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie Pace on the show.