Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category.
Gladstone, a member of the Blackfeet Nation who attended Mountlake Terrace High School, was nominated for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s film “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The movie is a Western crime drama based on David Grann’s book “The Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” which documented the real murders of members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.
In the film, Gladstone plays an Osage woman married to Ernest Burkhart, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, whose family is systematically murdered for their money.
Gladstone also became the first Indigenous actress to win the Golden Globe for actress earlier this month.
The Oscars will be handed out on March 10.
Gladstone moved to Washington from Montana in 1997 and graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in 2004. There he cultivated his love for theater, according to an interview he gave to the network’s data platform MLTnews in 2012.
“For me, teachers and friends understood the facets and differences of a person’s learning style, and many of my teachers supported me in my performance, and I knew the importance of finding a home,” Gladstone told MLTnews, singling out some teachers: “Jeanne Brzovic, Heather Hillman, Mr. Marino, Ellen Antonelli, Nancy Payne and Professor Ross. “
In an interview with ABC News Tuesday, Gladstone said the moment was overdue, recalling those who came before; Gladstone is the first Native American actress nominated for an Oscar but the fourth Indigenous person to earn a nomination in the category.
The first was Merle Oberon, an Indian-born British actress, nominated in 1936 for her role as Kitty Vane in Sidney Franklin’s “The Dark Angel. “
Yalitza Aparicio, Mexican actress, nominated in 2019 for her role as Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma. “
And Keisha Castle-Hughes, New Zealand actress, nominated in 2003 for her role as Paikea Apirana in Niki Caro’s “Whale Rider. “
In the interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Gladstone in particular recalled seeing Castle-Hughes’ good fortune.
“Seeing a young woman lead that kind of immense work and that kind of groundbreaking shift in the world — that was such an inspiration to me,” she said.
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