Early life
Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada to a devoutly Christian family.[1] Her father is a home economics teacher, and her mother is a beauty consultant. Lilly also has a younger sister, whom she has described as "the actor in the family." During her childhood, the family did not have a television.[1]
Before leaving the city of Fort Saskatchewan at the age of 10, she attended three elementary schools. She briefly attended Fort Elementary, Rudolph Henning and James Mowat Elementary. During a phone interview with the local paper, The Record, Evangeline was quoted saying, "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." She also recalled a favorite memory saying, "I remember that there was a drunk driver who was wheeling through town. I remember literally the men sending the women and children into the homes. Then they gathered themselves and ran after this truck. They actually jumped into the cab and jumped onto the window and forced the guy to pull over and go to the cop shop."[citation needed]
Lilly served briefly as a foreign missionary and lived in a grass hut in the Philippines at the age of 18. She was offered a missionary post there for two years, an offer she nearly accepted but eventually declined because of her parents' wishes.[2] She founded and ran a world development and human rights committee while studying international relations at the University of British Columbia.[citation needed] She has been a volunteer for children's projects since she was 14.[citation needed] Lilly is a former flight attendant of Air Canada,[citation needed] and speaks French fairly well.[3]
Career
Lilly was discovered on the streets of Kelowna, British Columbia by Ford modeling agency. Although she initially decided to pass on a modeling career, she went ahead and signed with Ford anyway, to help pay for her University of British Columbia tuition and expenses. Despite being signed to Ford Models, she was never actually a fashion model, working instead with their acting branch.[4]
She was previously featured in several LiveLinks Chatline television commercials and on G4's Judgment Day. She appeared uncredited in the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason as a high-school girl leaning against a locker, and in an episode of Smallville in a pool hall scene. She also had a guest appearance on the ABC supernatural horror series Kingdom Hospital (2004). Lilly's first speaking role was on Lost.[1] She also appeared in the 2003 teenager film The Lizzie McGuire Movie as an (uncredited) Italian police officer.
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. Although Lilly placed 8th in the FHM "100 Sexiest Women in the World" of 2006 and initially placed 2nd on Maxim's "Hot 100" list of 2005,[5] she slipped to 67th in Maxim's 2006 list. On December 14, 2006, Lilly 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.[1]
Personal life
Lilly was once married to Canadian hockey player Murray Hone,[6] but is believed to be engaged to her former Lost co-star Dominic Monaghan.[7] Her known nicknames include "Evie" and "Monkey". Her Lost castmates nicknamed her "Monkey" because of her ability to climb trees with ease, a skill which has been incorporated into her character.[8] 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 her tomboyishness, Christian faith, and her "potty mouth."[9]
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.[1] She has also said that she would not appear in a nude scene or perform in sexual scenes that she would consider "gratuitous".[1]
On the 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 she decided to be a ditzy "cheerleader" type and acting 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 the poor in Rwanda.[1]
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.[10] The cause of the fire has now been determined as an electrical fault.
Awards
Nominated for a 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. (Lost)
Nominated for a 2007 Saturn Award for Best Actress on a Television Series. (Lost)
Filmography
Film
Magma Suit working title (2010)
Afterwards (2008) shooting begins June 4, 2007
The Long Weekend (2005) as Simone
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) as School Student - Next to Locker (uncredited)
The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) as Police Officer (uncredited)
Television
Punk'd (2007) as herself
Lost (2004–present) as Kate Austen
Kingdom Hospital (2004) (guest appearance) as Benson's Girlfriend
Tru Calling (2003) (guest appearance) as Party Guest
Smallville (2002) (guest appearance) as Wade's Girlfriend (Season 1, Episode 13 "Kinetic")
Judgment Day (2002) (guest appearance) as JD Girl
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