Seattle area grad Lily Gladstone becomes first Native American actress nominated for an Oscar

Lily Gladstone has made history as the first Native American person nominated for an Oscar 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 person to win a Golden Globe for best actress earlier this month.

The Oscars will be awarded on March 10.

Gladstone moved to Washington from Montana in 1997 and graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in 2004. That's where she cultivated a love of acting, according to an interview she gave to the community news site MLTnews in 2012.

"For me, faculty and my friends understood the aspects and differences of a person's learning style, and many of my teachers supported my acting, and me personally — they knew the importance of finding a home," Gladstone told MLTnews, noting particular 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, a British actress born in India, who was nominated in 1936 for her role as Kitty Vane in Sidney Franklin's "The Dark Angel."

Yalitza Aparicio, a Mexican actress, was nominated in 2019 for her role Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón's "Roma."

And Keisha Castle-Hughes, an actress from New Zealand, was nominated in 2003 for her role as Paikea Apirana in Niki Caro's "Whale Rider."

In the ABC News interview Tuesday, Gladstone specifically recalled watching Castle-Hughes' success.

"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.