AP BREAKTHROUGH ENTERTAINER: Lily Gladstone standing on the cusp of history

NEW YORK — Lily Gladstone is named after her great-grandmother.

The elder Lily bore many similarities to Gladstone’s character in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Mollie Burkhart. Both women, born 10 years apart in the late 19th century, were traditional in nature, well-loved by their Native communities and devout Catholics.

Growing up between Seattle and the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, Gladstone was familiar with the stories of older generations of Native women — of their encounters with a fast-modernizing America and the brutal attempts to extract resources from tribal lands.

The Osage murders of the early 20th century, a reign of terror in which the Osage were targeted for the headrights to their oil-rich land, took place many miles away, in Oklahoma. But as a tragedy about the sinister exploitation of Native people, “Killers of the Flower Moon” told a tale Gladstone knew intimately.

“I carry my family’s legacy. And I’m expected to carry my family legacy, in a way,” Gladstone said in a recent interview. She added: “Even though I’m not Osage, it did very much feel like it was in my blood.”

Gladstone is the anguished heart and compassionate conscience of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” She embodies not just Mollie but generations of Native joy, grace and pain.

It’s a performance that’s thrust the 37-yearold Gladstone, who first made an impression in Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 indie “Certain Women,” onto a much larger stage. The Associated Press names her one of its Breakthrough Entertainers of 2023 for an indelible performance that deftly digs into one of American history’s darkest chapters.

It’s just one of many accolades already bestowed on Gladstone, who was nominated for a Golden Globe on Monday. She’s poised to make history, herself. If Gladstone were to win best actress at the Academy Awards, she would be the first Native American to ever win a competitive Oscar.

Has Gladstone pondered what such a momentous moment would mean? She lowers her head and smiles.