Lilly was born on August 3, 1979, in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada. Her family members are devout Christians, with her father being a home economics teacher and her mother a beauty consultant and owner of a day care center. Throughout her childhood, spent with her younger sister who is considered the actor in the family, there was never a television in their home. Obtaining a degree in international relations from the University of British Columbia, Lilly supported herself through college with various jobs as a flight attendant, waitress, and even completing oil changes in big rigs.

Noticed on the streets of Kelowna, British Columbia, by the Ford Modeling Agency, Lilly initially thought of turning down the offer, not wanting to do any actual modeling, but eventually signed with them, only doing commercials and never any actual modeling, again to help support herself through college. Lilly’s first role was on the television show Judgment Day as a hardware girl. The series, which was later renamed Reviews on the Run, reviews video games and computer software and hardware.

Next up for Lilly was a handful of television and movie roles so small they were all non-speaking. She played a minor character’s girlfriend on an episode of Smallville and a party guest on an episode of True Calling. In the Stephen King mini-series Kingdom Hospital she played yet another girlfriend and appeared along with stars Andrew McCarthy, Bruce Davison, and Diane Ladd. In the film Stealing Sinatra Lilly didn’t have to stretch herself too much, appearing as a model in a commercial. The Long Weekend gave Lilly yet another small part, which coincidentally had her appearing with Angelika Libera who had also appeared in Stealing Sinatra.

The same agent who discovered Lilly and hooked her up with the Ford Modeling Agency, Jeff Palffy, had a hand in her being cast for the part of Kate Austen in Lost. With her being Canadian and the series being shot in Hawaii, she was in need of a work visa. Just a few days prior to the beginning of production, Lilly still hadn’t received her visa and the show was forced to look for a replacement for the role of Kate. Eventually she received her visa allowing her to keep the part, but it was a day after the production had already begun.

Lilly moved to Hawaii with her sister, and because the show didn't help the cast out with their lodging, they were forced to live in a place with no sheets or telephone, sleeping on the linoleum floor. With the show taking off the way it has, they have since found a much nicer place, yet still don’t own a television. Starring with Matthew Fox, Naveen Andrews, and Josh Holloway, Lilly’s costars have nicknamed her Monkey after her great tree-climbing ability, something that the show made sure to work into her character. She is also known around the show for her Christian faith and for cursing often, two things that definitely don’t go together.

Outside of her acting, Lilly spent a short term as a missionary in a grass hut in the Philippines. While earning her international relations degree, she began and organized a world development and human rights committee. She now helps promote Just Yell Fire, a video that has a goal of teaching teenage girls how to defend themselves if attacked, and she also helps out the poor in Rwanda. She is divorced from hockey player Murray Hone, yet rumors persist that she is with co-star Dominic Monaghan and that they are engaged.

YUDDY