Evangeline Lilly: How the Star of Lost Almost Wasn't

The Unusual Story of the Show's Breakout Star

Evangeline Lilly, who stars as the fiery, troubled heroine Kate Austen on ABC’s hit show Lost, is an unlikely candidate for a television icon. Before landing the lead role of Kate, acting novice Evangeline Lilly had barely spoken a line in front of the camera. But, her natural presence and quick intelligence quickly made her a huge star of the small screen; just ask her legions of fans, or take note of her Emmy nomination. To be sure, Evangeline Lilly has helped make Lost a hit, and Lost has helped make Evangeline Lilly a star. But, this down-to-earth Canadian beauty’s journey to fame has been anything but a typical Hollywood story.

Evangeline Lilly didn’t go looking for the spotlight; it literally came looking for her. A mere four years before she would make her television debut in a leading role on Lost, Evangeline Lilly was stopped on the street by an agent from Ford Modeling. Being picked out of an anonymous crowd and swept into the modeling limelight is the stuff of many girls’ daydreams, but when it came true for Evangeline Lilly she was anything but thrilled. In fact, she turned down the offer of representation, and the promise of a modeling career, in order to pursue a future working in international relations. While other future Lost cast members were fighting for minor roles in made-for-tv movies in Los Angeles, Evangeline Lilly was knee-deep in textbooks in Vancouver, studying to work in diplomacy.