Q'orianka Kilcher | |
|---|---|
 Kilcher in 2004 | |
| Born | Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher (1990-02-11)February 11, 1990 (age 35) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Relatives | Jewel (first cousin once removed) Yule F. Kilcher (great-grandfather) Ray Genet (grandfather) |
Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher (/ˌkɒriˈæŋkəˈkɪltʃər/;[1] born February 11, 1990) is an American actress. Her best known film roles arePocahontas inTerrence Malick's 2005 filmThe New World, andKaʻiulani inPrincess Kaiulani (2009). In 2020, she starred in a recurring role on the Paramount Network showYellowstone.
Kilcher was born inSchweigmatt,Baden-Württemberg,West Germany. Her nameQ'orianka means "Golden Eagle" inQuechua. Her father is ofQuechua–Huachipaeri background fromPeru, while her mother, Saskia Kilcher, is an American human rights activist ofSwiss German origin. When Kilcher was two, she and her mother moved toKapaʻa, Hawaii where her brother Kainoa was born.
Her father, from whom she isestranged, was absent for much of her life. Growing up in Hawaii, Kilcher was inspired by the local culture and startedhula dancing at the age of five. She also trained inTahitian dance and West African, as well as ballet, hip hop and modern dance. In 1997, Kilcher won Ballet Hawaii's Young Choreographer Award at age seven.
She was selected to compete at the international Tahitian Dance Competition inSan Jose, California, in 1996 and 1997. She performed in over fifty professional dance performances island-wide. As a member of the Waikiki Singers, she was chosen to be the soprano soloist, performing Schubert'sMass in G andAmahl and the Night Visitors byGian Carlo Menotti. At the age of six years, Kilcher was the first child to study classical voice at theUniversity of Hawaii with Laurance Paxton. She also studied drama with Bill Ogilvie at the Diamond Head Theater. When she was six, her mother booked her at venues as a featured singer and opening act to some of Hawaii's greats, such asWillie K (Kahaiali'i) among others.
In 1999, her mother moved the family to California. Kilcher started to sing and dance for tourist donations,busking on theThird Street Promenade inSanta Monica.
At the age of ten, Kilcher was cast as Choire Who inRon Howard'sHow the Grinch Stole Christmas. She was 12 when she received a full scholarship to the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, where she studied vocal performance, music theory and songwriting.
She also studied martial arts and stunts: she is an accomplishedblack belt inWushukung fu and astunt performer and has trained at the National Wushu Training Center and Impact Stunts.
At age 15, Kilcher portrayed Pocahontas in theAcademy Award-nominated motion pictureThe New World (2005), directed byTerrence Malick. Her performance was critically acclaimed and won her theNational Board of Review's best breakthrough performance of 2006, the 2006Alma Award for best Latin American actress in a feature film, and numerous other award nominations. The film was released in December 2005.[2] The film was a critical success, receiving several positive reviews and award nominations, but it was shown in only 811 theatres worldwide. It yielded a relatively low box office gross.[3][4]
In the summer of 2006, Kilcher began filming the independent filmThe Power of Few, which she produced through her own production company, Entertainment On-Q.[5] She played the title role in the 2009 feature filmPrincess Kaiulani. The film, about theoverthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, was released in May 2010 to negative reviews. But Kilcher received positive feedback for her role, withRoger Ebert writing that "she evokes great depth and sympathy in her role and seems to have created Kaiulani from the inside out."[6]
In 2009, Kilcher performed inThe People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of common people in the U.S., based on historianHoward Zinn's "A People's History of the United States".[7]
A year later, she played Pinti in the family dramaShouting Secrets. The film won Best Film at the 36th American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, and Kilcher was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She also portrayed Kerrianne Larkin, daughter of Chibs Telford and Fiona Larkin, in the television seriesSons of Anarchy.
In 2011, Kilcher playedTiger Lily inNeverland, a version of thePeter Pan story that aired on theSyfy Channel.
In 2012, Kilcher starred inFirelight alongsideCuba Gooding Jr. and played the role of Caroline Magabo, a young Latina inmate who finds a new lease on life by becoming a volunteer firefighter along with other female juvenile delinquents.[8][9][10] In 2013, she portrayed Rayen inRunning Deer, an award-winning short film produced and directed byBrent Ryan Green throughToy Gun Films.[11]
Kilcher starred as theChickasaw Nation representative and actressTe Ata in the 2017 filmTe Ata.[12]
In 2018, Kilcher appeared inTNT'sThe Alienist as Mary Palmer. Kilcher appeared in the 2019 adventure filmDora and the Lost City of Gold as theInca princess.
In 2020, Kilcher joinedYellowstone to play Angela Blue Thunder across the last three seasons of the show.[13]
In 2022, Kilcher appeared inChanning Tatum's directorial debut,Dog, as Niki, the estranged wife of Tatum's character.[14] Kilcher will produce and star in the upcoming filmYesteryear alongsideScott Haze,Wes Studi andNick Cassavetes.[15]
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Kilcher has made a commitment tohuman rights andenvironmental activism. She speaks on behalf of causes to achieve what she regards asenvironmental justice and basic human rights. Traveling frequently to speak at youth events, colleges and universities, she has been a featuredkeynote speaker for organizations such asAmnesty International, the International Forum on Globalization,[16]Amazon Watch IFIP[17] and theUnited Nations panel discussions titled "Indigenous Peoples: Human Rights, Dignity and Development with Identity", in collaboration with theDeclaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
She lends her celebrity, voice, and energy as spokeswoman, collaborator, and supporter to several international and national NGOs and organizations, such asyouth ambassador for Amnesty International (Global Youth Ambassador for Woman's Rights),AIDESEP[18] (spokesperson and voice), Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest Federations, the Community School for the Arts foundation (volunteer/spokesperson) and Thursdays Child (youth counselor) Turning The Tides[19] (volunteer/spokesperson), Save Americas Forests,[20] IDEM (South Dakota Youth Project) and is a spokesperson for the American Literacy Campaign.
Working with theNational Endowment For the Arts on their "The Big Read" campaign, she recorded a book review. Kilcher has readHoward Zinn'sThe People Speak in staged readings. She joined the cast for the firstPeople Speak film series.
In 2010, Kilcher launched her own youth-driven human rights and environmental organization "On-q Initiative",[21] to connect young Hollywood with youth activist leaders and projects from around the world in support ofenvironmental sustainability,corporate accountability, and basichuman rights. Through her production company, IQ-Films, Kilcher is producing several cause-driven documentaries and youth-programming projects.
On June 11, 2009, she visitedLima to support indigenous peoples' rights in the Amazon inBagua, Peru. In 2007, Kilcher won theBrower Youth Award, an environmental award, for her work in persuadingOccidental Petroleum to withdraw from the Peruvian Amazon valley. She also received the Young Hollywood Green Award.[22]
On June 1, 2010, Kilcher and her mother were arrested after Kilcher chained herself to the gates in front of theWhite House in Washington, D.C. while her mother poured black paint on her to signify oil. They were protesting PresidentObama's meeting with Peruvian PresidentAlan García, accusing the latter of selling land in theAmazon rainforest to corporations while suppressing indigenous protests.[23] Both were charged withdisorderly conduct.[24] The charges were dropped on June 6, 2011, after the two completed community service.[25]
On September 4, 2015, Kilcher was part of a group that sang "Love Song to the Earth".[26] The song aims at raising awareness of climate change, with all proceeds benefitingFriends of the Earth U.S. and theUN Foundation. She and several "Love Song" singers performed in Washington, D.C. beforePope Francis' address to theU.S. Congress.
Kilcher has two brothers, Kainoa and Xihuaru Kilcher, both of whom work as actors and stunt performers. Her first cousin once removed is the singerJewel.[27]
Her mother Saskia Kilcher is the daughter ofRay "Pirate" Genet, a Swissmountaineer who later immigrated to the United States, and Wurtilla Dora "Wurzy" Kilcher, who was born in Alaska to Swiss immigrant parents. Kilcher's great-grandfather wasYule F. Kilcher, a member of theAlaska Senate and delegate to the Alaskan constitutional conference.[28]
In 2018, Kilcher severely injured her neck and shoulder during the filming ofDora and the Lost City of Gold.[29] She received disability benefits from the insurance company after being treated for her injuries by third-party doctors. In May 2022, Kilcher was charged with allegedworkers' compensation fraud after an investigation found that she had filmed scenes for the television seriesYellowstone before receiving $96,838 in disability benefits. She pled not guilty at her arraignment in May.Variety reported that she was due to appear in court on August 7, 2022.[30] In February 2023, all charges were dropped.[31]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Little Choir Member | |
| 2005 | The New World | Pocahontas | |
| 2009 | The People Speak | Herself | Documentary film |
| Princess Kaiulani | Princess Ka'iulani | ||
| 2011 | Shouting Secrets | Pinti | |
| 2013 | The Power of Few | Alexa | Also producer; direct-to-video |
| 2015 | Ben & Ara | Gabrielle | |
| Sky | Missy | [32] | |
| 2017 | Hostiles | Elk Woman | |
| The Vault | Susan Cromwell | Direct-to-video | |
| Te Ata | Te Ata | ||
| 2019 | Dora and the Lost City of Gold | Inca Princess Kawillaka | [33] |
| 2020 | Color Out of Space | Mayor Tooma | [34] |
| 2022 | Dog | Niki | [35] |
| 2024 | The Life of Chuck | Ginny Krantz | |
| 2025 | The Unholy Trinity | Running Cub | Filming[36] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sons of Anarchy | Kerrianne Telford | Recurring role, 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Neverland | Aaya | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Firelight | Caroline Magabo | Television film |
| The Killing | Mary / Maid | 2 episodes | |
| Longmire | Ayasha Roundstone | Episode: "Unfinished Business" | |
| 2013 | The Birthday Boys | Beautiful Native | Episode: "Rock and Roll" |
| 2018 | The Alienist | Mary Palmer | Main role, 10 episodes |
| 2019 | Drunk History | LaNada Means | Episode: "National Parks" |
| 2020 | Yellowstone | Angela Blue Thunder | Recurring role, 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Spirit Rangers | 'Ayatulutul (voice) | Episode: "Caterpillar Camp"[37] |
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| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | National Board of Review | Breakthrough Performance | The New World | Won |
| 2015 | Blow-Up International Arthouse Film Festival | Best Actress – Monica Vitti Award[38] | Winter Light | Nominated |
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