Crystle Lea Lightning (born February 5, 1981) is a First Nations film actress, musician, DJ, and hip-hop MC.
Crystle Lightning | |
|---|---|
 Lightning on the Femme Fatales red carpet | |
| Born | Crystle Lea Lightning February 5, 1981 |
| Occupation(s) | Recording artist, actress, DJ, Indigenous rights activist |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Label | 1491 Nation |
Early life
editLightning holds dual citizenship with the United States and Canada. She is the daughter of director and actress Georgina Lightning, and her brother is actor Cody Lightning. A First Nations Hobbema/Enoch Cree artist, Crystle began performing in Edmonton, Alberta, when she was 4 years old before her family relocated to Hollywood, California, when she was 9.
Film career
editLightning started acting in 1994 and has been in several films, with her most notable role portraying Lori Piestewa in Saving Jessica Lynch. She played the lead role of Jo in 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995). Since then, she has been cast in a recurring role on the daytime NBC soap Days of Our Lives, played Chloe in 2005's American Pie Presents: Band Camp, The CW/BET/Paramount+'s The Game (2006), the spinoff of Girlfriends; and in Older Than America (2008) alongside Bradley Cooper. She also voiced Jen, the girlfriend of the game's protagonist, Tommy, in the 2006 video game Prey.
At the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, she won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for Trickster.[1]
Music career
editLightning is also an electro house DJ. Inspired by a mix performed by DJ Lady Tribe at a local Los Angeles nightspot, Lightning sought a musical apprenticeship with Christi Mills, later partnering with her mentor to form a performance crew called Ladies of the House.[citation needed] They perform regularly at Los Angeles venues, as well as throughout the United States.[citation needed]
LightningCloud
editMoving from the DJ booth to the center-stage mic, Lightning paired up with MC RedCloud to form the hip-hop group LightningCloud. The pair released their self-titled debut, LightningCloud, in 2012 with RedCloud's long-term musical collaborator, DJ Hydroe.[citation needed] Sam Slovik of L.A. Weekly called the group, "a near-earth object inventing new realms of the Electro-House-Hip-Hop revolution on the planet. Urban futurist[s], MC RedCloud and Crystle Lightning are L.A.'s subterranean Bonnie and Clyde."[citation needed] The Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards (APCMA) honored the group with recognition for Best Hip Hop Album in November 2012.[2] In 2013, LightningCloud won the "Who's Next: Battle for the Best" contest on Power 106.[3] As winners, LightningCloud received a cash prize, a performance with Kendrick Lamar, and the honor of representing west coast hip hop against Hot 97's Brooklyn-based east coast representative, Radamiz, in a freestyle battle in Austin, Texas, on March 15, 2013. After winning that MC battle,[4] LightningCloud received the opportunity to work with Timbaland in the recording studio.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Last Chance Detectives: Mystery Lights of Navajo Mesa | Winnie | |
| 1995 | 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up | Jo | |
| 1995 | Tecumseh: The Last Warrior | Star Watcher | |
| 1995 | The Last Chance Detectives: Legend of the Desert Bigfoot | Winnie | |
| 1996 | The Last Chance Detectives: Escape from Fire Lake | Winnie | |
| 2003 | Saving Jessica Lynch | Pfc Lori Piestewa | |
| 2005 | American Pie Presents: Band Camp | Chloe | |
| 2008 | Older Than America | Diane | |
| 2014 | Death Factory | Girl in Trunk | Uncredited |
| 2015 | Tamales and Gumbo | Gloria's Cousin | |
| 2023 | Fancy Dance | Sapphire |
Short film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Yellow Wooden Ring | Velma Blea | |
| 1998 | 6/29 | Paula Cooper | |
| 2010 | Sardines | Tiffany | |
| 2010 | The Ricochet | Misty | |
| 2010 | Search for the World's Best Indian Taco | Rose | |
| 2014 | Unmatched | Candi | |
| 2022 | Stripper | Ashley |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | ABC Weekend Special | Keah Nez | Episode: "The Secret of Lizard Woman" |
| 2001 | Touched by an Angel | Anna Hernandez | Episode: "Mi Familia" |
| 2006 | The Game | Scantily Clad Girl #2 | Episode: "Mi Casa Es Su Casa" |
| 2006 | Live! From the Future | Herself | |
| 2008 | Days of Our Lives | Sasha | Episode: #1.10981 |
| 2009 | Tease | Tina | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Femme Fatales | Candela | Episode: "Hell Hath No Furies" |
| 2013 | Southland | Tia | Episode: "The Felix Paradox" |
| 2018 | Yellowstone | Verda Stands Alone | Episode: "Daybreak" as Crystle Lea Lightning |
| 2018 | Outlander | Giduhwa | Episode: "Common Ground" |
| 2020 | Trickster | Maggie | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | Hudson & Rex | Kiera Laford | Episode: "Blood on the Tracks" |
| 2021 | The Good Doctor | Val | Episode: "One Heart" |
| 2021–2022 | Diggstown | Michelle Knockwood | 8 episodes |
| 2022 | Rutherford Falls | Shauna | Episode: "Halloween" |
| 2022 | Three Pines | Missy Two-Rivers | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | Ghosts | Shiki | Recurring role |
| 2023 | Lawmen: Bass Reeves | Nita | Episode: "Part II" |
| 2024 | Spirit Rangers | Twigs | Episode: "Summer's in Charge/Barracuda Brouhaha" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Prey | Jen/Radio Caller #2 (voice) |
References
edit- ^ Brent Furdyk, "Television Nominees Announced For 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, 'Schitt's Creek' Leads The Pack With 21 Nominations". ET Canada, March 30, 2021.
- ^ "2012 Winners". Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-03-15. (November 1, 2012). APCMA, And the Winners Are. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ "(February 25, 2012). Who's Next @ 2. Retrieved 2012-03-12". Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ "(March 19, 2013). LightningCloud Win Best of the Best at South By Southwest. Retrieved 2013-03-18". Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2013.