Evangeline Lilly: The Life Story Behind the Lost Star

Evangeline Lilly was born on 3 August 1979 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, and she became one of the most recognisable faces on television as Kate Austen in Lost, before moving on to blockbuster films including The Hobbit and Ant-Man. She grew up in a small town, studied international relations at university, and did missionary and humanitarian work before acting found her, almost by accident, through a modelling agency in Vancouver. Her career has been defined by strong, physical roles, by a willingness to speak her mind even when it cost her, and by a second career as a children’s author, with her Squickerwonkers books. In 2024 she announced that she was stepping away from acting, a decision that surprised her fans, and her story since has been about what comes after fame. Evangeline Lilly’s story is about a small-town Canadian girl who became a global star, and who walked away on her own terms.

Fort Saskatchewan: A Childhood in Alberta

Evangeline Nicole Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, a small city near Edmonton, Alberta, and she grew up in a family that was close, religious, and modest, with her father working as a home economics teacher and her mother as a cosmetics consultant. She has two younger sisters, Andrea and Heather, and the family lived in Fort Saskatchewan and in nearby communities, where Evangeline attended school and was active in sports and in church activities. As a child she was energetic, athletic, and curious, playing sports and spending time outdoors, and she has described herself as a tomboy who preferred climbing trees to playing with dolls. The small-town Alberta childhood gave her a sense of independence and a love of the outdoors that stayed with her, and it also gave her a desire to see the world, because Fort Saskatchewan, for all its charms, was a long way from the places she read about in books. The family was supportive, and her parents encouraged her education and her interests, without pushing her toward any particular career.

As a teenager Evangeline attended W. R. Myers High School in Taber, Alberta, and she was a good student, with an interest in languages, in politics, and in the wider world. She learned to speak French, and she developed an interest in international affairs, which would later lead her to study international relations at the University of British Columbia. She was also involved in church youth groups, and her Christian faith was an important part of her teenage years, shaping her values and her sense of purpose. The teenage years were also the years when she began to think about what she wanted to do with her life, and the answer, at that stage, was not acting but humanitarian work, a desire to help people in other countries. The Alberta childhood was the foundation, and the values she learned there, hard work, faith, and a sense of adventure, would shape everything that followed.

By the time Evangeline finished high school, she had decided to study at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where she enrolled in international relations, with the intention of working in humanitarian aid or in diplomacy. The move to Vancouver was a major step, taking her from a small town to a large city, and it exposed her to a world of ideas, cultures, and opportunities that Fort Saskatchewan could not offer. At university she was a serious student, and she worked to pay her way, taking jobs that included waitressing and working as a flight attendant for Royal Airlines, a small Canadian airline. The university years were formative, because they gave her an education in the world, and they also gave her the independence to make her own decisions. Acting was not yet part of the plan, and the idea that she would become a famous actress would have seemed absurd to her at the time.

University, Mission Work and the Decision to Act

While studying at the University of British Columbia, Evangeline became involved in humanitarian work, travelling to the Philippines as a missionary and working with children in remote communities. The experience, which she has described as life-changing, gave her a first-hand view of poverty and of the resilience of people living in difficult circumstances, and it deepened her commitment to helping others. She also worked as a flight attendant, a job that allowed her to travel and to earn money while studying, and that gave her a taste of the wider world. The humanitarian work and the travel were part of a young woman’s search for purpose, and they showed a seriousness and a compassion that would later show up in her acting, particularly in her portrayal of Kate Austen, a character who is defined by her moral complexity. The years at university were not a detour from her career; they were the education that made her the person she became.

The decision to act came almost by accident, when Evangeline was discovered by a modelling agency in Vancouver, the Ford Modelling Agency, which signed her and began sending her to auditions for commercials and for small television roles. She was initially reluctant, because acting had never been her ambition, and she has said that she took the modelling work mainly to pay for university. The early roles were small: a guest appearance in the television series Smallville in 2003, in which she played a minor character, and small parts in the series Kingdom Hospital and in the film The Lizzie McGuire Movie. She also appeared in commercials, including one for the cosmetics company Live Links, and she worked as an extra, learning how a film set worked from the ground up. The modelling and the small roles were a practical way to earn money, but they also gave her a taste of performing, and she discovered that she enjoyed it more than she had expected.

The turning point came in 2004, when Evangeline auditioned for a new television series called Lost, a drama about the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island, created by J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Jeffrey Lieber. The audition was one of many, and Evangeline, who had little acting experience, was not expected to win the role, but her performance impressed the producers, and she was cast as Kate Austen, one of the show’s central characters. The casting changed her life overnight, because Lost became one of the most successful and most discussed television series of the decade, and Kate became one of its most popular characters. The decision to act, which had begun as a way to pay for university, had become a career, and Evangeline, at twenty-five, was a star. The university years were over, and the acting years had begun.

Lost: Kate Austen and Six Years on the Island

Lost premiered in September 2004, and it became an immediate hit, with its mix of mystery, character drama, and science fiction drawing millions of viewers and winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in its first season. Evangeline Lilly played Kate Austen, a fugitive who is on the run from the law when the plane crashes, and whose backstory, revealed in flashbacks, shows a woman who killed her abusive stepfather and who has been running ever since. Kate is a complex character, brave, resourceful, and morally ambiguous, and Lilly’s performance, which showed Kate’s toughness and her vulnerability, made her one of the show’s most popular characters. The series ran for six seasons, from 2004 to 2010, with more than a hundred episodes, and Lilly appeared in almost all of them, becoming one of the most recognisable faces on television. The show’s success made her famous around the world, and it earned her a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the ensemble.

Kate Austen’s story on Lost was central to the show, because her relationships with Jack Shephard, played by Matthew Fox, and with Sawyer, played by Josh Holloway, formed a love triangle that was one of the series’ main storylines, and her backstory, as a fugitive, gave the show some of its most dramatic moments. Lilly’s performance in the flashback episodes, in which Kate’s past is revealed, was praised for its intensity and its emotional range, and the character’s development, from a woman on the run to a mother and a leader, was one of the show’s most satisfying arcs. The filming of Lost took place in Hawaii, where the cast lived for six years, and the experience of working on a remote island, with a large ensemble cast, created a close-knit community that Lilly has spoken about with affection. The show’s finale, in 2010, was one of the most watched and most debated finales in television history, and Kate’s fate, as one of the survivors who leaves the island, was a fitting end to her story. Lost made Lilly a star, and it remains the role she is most associated with.

The years on Lost were also the years when Lilly learned her craft, because the show’s demanding schedule, with long days, complex storylines, and a large cast, required her to work hard and to grow as an actor. She has spoken about the challenges of playing Kate, about the pressure of being a lead on a hit show, and about the experience of becoming famous while still learning to act. The show’s success brought her magazine covers, award nominations, and a level of public attention that was new to her, and she handled it with a professionalism that belied her inexperience. The Lost years were the foundation of her career, and they gave her the fame, the money, and the experience to choose her next roles carefully. When the show ended in 2010, Lilly was thirty years old, a star, and ready for the next chapter, which would take her from television to the biggest film franchises in the world.

The Hobbit, Ant-Man and the Blockbuster Years

After Lost, Evangeline Lilly moved into film, with her first major role in the action film Real Steel in 2011, in which she played Bailey Tallet, the owner of a boxing gym, alongside Hugh Jackman. The film, about robot boxing in the near future, was a commercial success, and Lilly’s performance showed that she could hold her own in a big-budget action film. She followed it with a role in The Hobbit trilogy, in which she played Tauriel, a Silvan Elf and captain of the guard, a character created for the films who does not appear in J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel. Tauriel, who appears in The Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and The Battle of the Five Armies in 2014, became a controversial character among Tolkien fans, some of whom objected to her invention and to her romance with the dwarf Kíli, but Lilly’s performance, with its physicality and its emotion, was praised, and the role made her a star in the fantasy genre. The Hobbit films were major commercial successes, and Tauriel became one of Lilly’s most famous characters.

The Hobbit role was followed by an even bigger franchise, when Lilly was cast as Hope van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, in the Marvel film Ant-Man in 2015, alongside Paul Rudd. Hope is the daughter of Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas, and Janet van Dyne, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, and she becomes a superhero in her own right, with a suit that allows her to shrink and to fly. Lilly’s performance in Ant-Man was praised for its strength and its humour, and the film’s success led to a sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018, in which Hope became a co-lead, with the film’s title reflecting her importance. She returned for Avengers: Endgame in 2019, in which the Wasp appears in the final battle, and for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023, in which Hope plays a central role. The Marvel films made Lilly a star in the superhero genre, and the Wasp became her most famous film character, alongside Kate Austen and Tauriel.

The blockbuster years were busy, with Lilly moving between The Hobbit, Ant-Man, and other films, including the thriller South of Heaven in 2021, and the experience of working in major franchises gave her a global audience and a level of fame that Lost had only hinted at. The Marvel films, in particular, required her to perform action sequences, to wear a superhero costume, and to work with green screens and special effects, skills that were very different from the character drama of Lost. Lilly has spoken about the physical demands of the roles, about the training required to play a superhero, and about the fun of working in the Marvel universe. The blockbuster years were the peak of her film career, and they established her as a leading actor in Hollywood, with a place in two of the biggest franchises in cinema. The girl from Fort Saskatchewan was now a Marvel superhero, and the journey from a small town in Alberta to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was complete.

The Squickerwonkers: Writing Books for Children

Away from acting, Evangeline Lilly became a children’s author, with her book series The Squickerwonkers, which she wrote and which was illustrated by Johnny Fraser-Allen. The first book, The Squickerwonkers, was published in 2014, and it tells the story of a young girl named Selma who meets a group of strange, marionette-like characters, the Squickerwonkers, each of whom has a distinct personality and a lesson to teach. The book was followed by a sequel, The Squickerwonkers: The Prequel, in 2018, and the series has been praised for its imagination, its illustrations, and its moral lessons. Lilly has spoken about the books as a labour of love, a project she worked on for years, and about her desire to create stories for children that are both entertaining and meaningful. The writing career showed a different side of Lilly, a creative, literary side that her acting roles had not revealed, and it gave her a second career that she could pursue alongside acting. The Squickerwonkers are a personal project, and they remain close to her heart.

The Squickerwonkers books are notable for their detailed illustrations, their quirky characters, and their themes of kindness, courage, and acceptance, and Lilly has said that she wrote them for her own children and for children like them, who need stories that celebrate difference. The books’ success, with strong sales and positive reviews, showed that Lilly’s creativity was not limited to acting, and that she had a talent for storytelling that went beyond performance. She has also spoken about the process of writing, about the years spent developing the characters and the world, and about the collaboration with the illustrator, which was essential to the books’ visual style. The children’s books are a reminder that actors are often writers, artists, and creators in other fields, and that a career in film does not have to be the only outlet for a creative person. The Squickerwonkers are a significant part of Lilly’s legacy, and they are likely to outlast many of her film roles, because children’s books are read for generations.

The writing career also gave Lilly a way to express herself that acting did not, because a book is a solitary, personal work, created over years, while a film is a collaborative, public one, created in months. The contrast suited her, because she has always been a private person who values her independence, and the books allowed her to work at her own pace, on her own terms. The Squickerwonkers series has also been adapted into other forms, with discussions of animated versions and with merchandise, although the books remain the core of the project. Lilly’s work as an author is a reminder that her talents are broader than her filmography suggests, and that the girl who studied international relations and did missionary work in the Philippines has always had a storyteller’s imagination. The books are a quiet, personal achievement, and they deserve to be mentioned alongside Lost and Ant-Man as part of her story.

Controversy, Candour and the Cost of Speaking Out

Evangeline Lilly’s public statements have sometimes been controversial, most notably in 2020, when she posted on social media about the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that she was living her life normally and refusing to self-isolate, and that she valued freedom over fear. The post drew widespread criticism, including from her Marvel co-stars, and Lilly later apologised, saying that her comments were insensitive and that she was taking the pandemic seriously. The episode was a reminder of the risks of speaking out on social media, and it showed that Lilly, who has always been candid, could be hurt by her own candour. She has also spoken about her political views, about her faith, and about her belief in personal freedom, and her statements have sometimes put her at odds with the Hollywood consensus. The controversy did not end her career, but it changed how some people viewed her, and it is part of her story, because it shows a person who is willing to say what she thinks, even when it is unpopular.

The controversy also highlighted the tension between Lilly’s public image as a superhero and her private views, which are more conservative than those of many of her colleagues, and the episode raised questions about the role of celebrities in public debates. Lilly’s apology was sincere, and she has since been more careful about her public statements, although she has not abandoned her views. The experience was a lesson in the power of social media, and in the speed with which a single post can change a reputation, and Lilly has spoken about the episode with regret, acknowledging that her words were hurtful to people who were suffering. The controversy is a reminder that actors are people, with views that may differ from their fans’, and that fame does not protect anyone from the consequences of their words. Lilly’s career survived the episode, but it was a turning point, and it is part of the reason she later decided to step away from acting.

In June 2024 Evangeline Lilly announced on social media that she was stepping away from acting, saying that she felt called to a new season of life and that she was ready to move on from the industry. The announcement surprised her fans, because she was still a working actor, with a role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023, and because she was only forty-four years old. She has since spoken about the decision as a personal one, about her desire to focus on her family, her writing, and her faith, and about the feeling that she had accomplished what she set out to do in acting. The retirement, if it is permanent, would make her one of the few actors to walk away from a successful career at its height, and it is a decision that has been respected by many, even by those who were surprised by it. Whether she returns to acting remains to be seen, but the announcement was a fitting end to a career that had always been defined by independence.

Retirement, Return and the Actor Today

Today Evangeline Lilly lives in Hawaii, where she moved during the filming of Lost, and she continues to write, to raise her children, and to work on projects that interest her, including her children’s books. She has two children, a son born in 2011 and a daughter born in 2015, with her partner Norman Kali, a production assistant she met on Lost, and her family life has been a central part of her story since the show ended. She has spoken about the importance of motherhood, about the decision to raise her children in Hawaii, away from Hollywood, and about the balance between her career and her family. The retirement from acting, if it holds, will allow her to focus on her writing and on her family, and her fans, while sad to see her go, have wished her well. The girl from Fort Saskatchewan who became Kate Austen, Tauriel, and the Wasp is now writing the next chapter of her life, and that chapter, like the ones before it, is likely to be interesting, independent, and entirely her own.

My Take:

Kate Austen is the role that defines Evangeline Lilly, and it deserves its reputation, because Kate is one of the most complex characters in the history of network television, and Lilly’s performance is the reason why. Kate is a fugitive, a killer, a lover, and a mother, and she is never only one of those things, and Lilly plays her with a moral ambiguity that makes the audience root for her even when she does terrible things. The flashback episodes, in which Kate’s past is revealed, are among the best in Lost, and Lilly’s performance in them, with its intensity and its emotional range, shows an actor who was learning her craft in front of millions of viewers. The love triangle with Jack and Sawyer is the show’s most famous storyline, and Lilly’s chemistry with both actors is part of its appeal, because Kate’s feelings for the two men are different, and Lilly plays that difference with subtlety. Kate Austen is a great television character, and Lilly is the reason why.

Tauriel is a controversial character, and I think the controversy is overblown, because Lilly’s performance in The Hobbit is strong, and the character, although invented for the films, adds something valuable to the story. Tauriel is a Silvan Elf, a captain of the guard, and a warrior, and Lilly plays her with a physicality and a grace that make her believable as an elf, and with an emotion that makes her romance with Kíli, the dwarf, touching rather than absurd. The objection from Tolkien fans, that Tauriel does not appear in the novel, is understandable, but it misses the point, because the films are adaptations, and adaptations are allowed to invent characters. The real question is whether Tauriel works as a character, and I think she does, because Lilly gives her a presence that the films need, a female warrior in a story that is otherwise dominated by men. Tauriel is not a perfect character, but she is a good one, and Lilly’s performance is the reason.

Hope van Dyne, the Wasp, is the role that shows Lilly at her best in the Marvel universe, because Hope is a character who is smart, capable, and funny, and Lilly plays her with a confidence that makes her a worthy partner for Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man. The first Ant-Man film, in 2015, introduced Hope as a supporting character, but the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018, made her a co-lead, with the film’s title reflecting her importance, and Lilly’s performance in the sequel is stronger, because she is given more to do, including action sequences and emotional scenes. The Wasp’s suit, which allows her to shrink and to fly, is a visual delight, and Lilly’s physicality in the role, with her training and her athleticism, makes the action believable. The Marvel films are often criticised for their writing, but Lilly’s Hope is a well-drawn character, and her performance is one of the best in the Ant-Man series. The Wasp is a superhero who deserves more attention, and Lilly is the reason.

Lost as a series is a phenomenon that is hard to explain to anyone who did not watch it when it aired, because its mix of mystery, character drama, and science fiction created a cultural moment that has not been repeated. The show’s first season, with its plane crash, its flashbacks, and its mysteries, was a revelation, and its ensemble cast, including Lilly, Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, and Terry O’Quinn, was one of the best on television. The show’s later seasons were more divisive, with some viewers finding the mythology confusing and the finale disappointing, but the first two seasons are among the best television of the 2000s, and Lilly’s Kate is central to them. The show’s legacy is not its ending but its beginning: the idea that a network drama could be mysterious, ambitious, and character-driven, and that audiences would follow it for six years. Lost changed television, and Lilly was part of that change, as one of its leads.

The Squickerwonkers books are a delightful surprise in Lilly’s career, because they show a creative, literary side that her acting roles never revealed, and they are genuinely good children’s books. The first book, published in 2014, tells the story of Selma, a young girl who meets a group of strange, marionette-like characters, each with a distinct personality, and the book’s illustrations, by Johnny Fraser-Allen, are detailed, quirky, and beautiful. The books’ themes, kindness, courage, and acceptance, are handled with a lightness that avoids preaching, and the stories are entertaining as well as meaningful. Lilly’s writing is imaginative and confident, and the books’ success, with strong sales and positive reviews, shows that her talent is not limited to acting. The Squickerwonkers are a personal project, and they are likely to outlast many of her film roles, because children’s books are read for generations, and the books’ world, with its strange characters and its moral lessons, is one that children will return to.

Real Steel is a film that deserves more attention than it gets, because it is a warm, entertaining action film, and Lilly’s performance as Bailey Tallet, the owner of a boxing gym, is one of its best features. The film, about robot boxing in the near future, could have been a silly, effects-driven movie, but its heart, the relationship between Hugh Jackman’s character and his son, and Bailey’s role as the moral centre, gives it an emotional weight that many action films lack. Lilly’s Bailey is tough, funny, and kind, and her chemistry with Jackman is natural and appealing, because the two actors play off each other with a warmth that feels real. The film was a commercial success, and its robot boxing sequences are spectacular, but its real strength is its characters, and Lilly’s Bailey is one of the reasons the film works. Real Steel is not a great film, but it is a good one, and Lilly’s performance is a major part of its charm.

The controversy over Lilly’s social media posts in 2020 is a difficult part of her story, and it is important to discuss it honestly, because it shows the risks of speaking out on social media and the speed with which a reputation can change. Her post, in which she said she was living normally during the pandemic and valued freedom over fear, was criticised widely, including by her Marvel co-stars, and Lilly later apologised, saying her comments were insensitive. The episode was a reminder that celebrities are people, with views that may differ from their fans’, and that fame does not protect anyone from the consequences of their words. Lilly’s apology was sincere, and she has since been more careful, but the episode remains a part of her story, because it shows a person who is willing to say what she thinks, even when it is unpopular, and who is willing to apologise when she is wrong. The controversy did not end her career, but it changed how some people viewed her, and it is a cautionary tale about social media.

The decision to step away from acting in 2024 is a brave one, and I respect it, because few actors walk away from a successful career at the height of their fame, and Lilly’s decision shows a clarity about what she wants from life. She has said that she feels called to a new season, and that she wants to focus on her family, her writing, and her faith, and those are legitimate reasons to leave an industry that demands constant attention. The decision also reflects a career that was always defined by independence, from the university student who did missionary work in the Philippines to the actor who took roles on her own terms. Whether the retirement is permanent remains to be seen, and many actors who announce a retirement later return, but Lilly’s announcement was sincere, and it deserves to be taken seriously. If she never acts again, her career, from Lost to Ant-Man, is a substantial one, and it will be remembered. If she returns, her fans will welcome her back.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, released in 2023, is a film that divided critics and fans, and Lilly’s Hope van Dyne is one of its better features, because her performance, with its strength and its humour, holds up even when the film’s plot becomes confusing. The film’s setting, the Quantum Realm, is visually spectacular, but its story is dense and hard to follow, and the film’s reception was mixed, with some viewers praising its ambition and others finding it overstuffed. Lilly’s Hope, as a co-lead, is given more to do than in the earlier films, and her scenes with Paul Rudd and with Michelle Pfeiffer are among the film’s best, because the three actors have a chemistry that comes from years of working together. The film’s commercial performance was respectable, although it did not match the earlier Ant-Man films, and its place in the Marvel universe is still being debated. Quantumania is not the best Marvel film, but Lilly’s performance is a reminder that she is a strong actor, even in a flawed movie.

My honest assessment is that Evangeline Lilly is a talented actor whose career is defined by three great roles, Kate Austen, Tauriel, and Hope van Dyne, and by a willingness to take risks, both in her choice of roles and in her public statements. Her strength is her physicality and her presence: she is believable as a warrior, a fugitive, and a superhero, and her performances have a directness that makes her characters feel real. Her weakness, if it can be called one, is that she has rarely been given a role that is purely dramatic, and her best work has been in genre television and film rather than in prestige drama. That is not her fault; it is a reflection of the roles available to her. Her legacy will be Lost, The Hobbit, and Ant-Man, and the children’s books that show her creativity. She changed what was possible for a small-town Canadian girl, and she did it by being herself, loudly and independently.

If a new viewer wants to approach Lilly, the order is straightforward: start with Lost for Kate Austen, then watch The Hobbit for Tauriel, then Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp for Hope van Dyne, and then read The Squickerwonkers for the children’s author. Real Steel will show her in a warm, entertaining film, and the interviews, in which she speaks about her humanitarian work and her faith, will show the person behind the roles. The order matters, because it shows the arc from a small-town girl in Alberta to a global star to a writer and a mother, and it avoids the temptation to judge her by a single role or a single post. Lilly’s career is a varied one, and it repays patience, because each role adds a layer to the last, and the whole is a portrait of an actor who has always done things her own way.

One final point about Lilly is that her humanitarian work, particularly her missionary trip to the Philippines as a university student, is an important part of her story, because it shows a young woman who was serious about helping others before she was famous. The experience gave her a first-hand view of poverty and resilience, and it shaped her values in a way that acting never could. Her later advocacy, for children’s books and for Lyme disease awareness, is a continuation of that early commitment, and it shows that her career has always had a purpose beyond fame. A viewer who only knows her from Lost should know about the Philippines, because it explains the person behind the actor.

Lilly’s life in Hawaii deserves a last word, because she moved there during the filming of Lost and stayed, raising her children in a place that is far from Hollywood and close to nature. The decision to live in Hawaii, rather than in Los Angeles, is a statement about her priorities, and it reflects a desire for a normal life, for her children and for herself. Hawaii’s beauty, its culture, and its distance from the industry have given her a perspective that many actors lack, and that perspective is visible in her work, in the calm and the independence she brings to her roles. The girl from Fort Saskatchewan found a home in Hawaii, and that home is part of her story.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where was Evangeline Lilly born?

Evangeline Lilly was born on 3 August 1979 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada. She studied international relations at the University of British Columbia and did missionary work in the Philippines before becoming an actor.

Who did Evangeline Lilly play in Lost?

She played Kate Austen, a fugitive who is on the run from the law when the plane crashes, in Lost, which ran from 2004 to 2010. Kate’s relationships with Jack and Sawyer formed a central storyline, and Lilly received a Golden Globe nomination for the role.

Who is Tauriel in The Hobbit?

Tauriel is a Silvan Elf and captain of the guard, played by Evangeline Lilly in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and The Battle of the Five Armies in 2014. The character was created for the films and does not appear in J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel, which made her controversial among some fans.

Who did Evangeline Lilly play in Ant-Man?

She played Hope van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, in Ant-Man in 2015, Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018, Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023. Hope is the daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne.

What are The Squickerwonkers?

The Squickerwonkers is a series of children’s books written by Evangeline Lilly and illustrated by Johnny Fraser-Allen. The first book was published in 2014 and tells the story of a girl named Selma who meets a group of strange, marionette-like characters.

Did Evangeline Lilly retire from acting?

In June 2024 Evangeline Lilly announced on social media that she was stepping away from acting, saying she felt called to a new season of life. She said she wanted to focus on her family, her writing, and her faith, although whether the retirement is permanent remains to be seen.