What happened to Lost star Evangeline Lilly? Inside her quiet life after retiring from Hollywood

Return to HomepageEntertainment: Celebs making literature look chicKelly Clarkson's shop fight'Social Reckoning' flopsGillis on 'SNL'Darth Vader's lightsaberNicolas Cage casting slipMichael Douglas's indiscretionHayden Panettiere's estateNew movies this weekend'Yellowstone' spinoffsEvangeline Lilly attends the premiere of Disney And Marvel’s “Ant-Man And The Wasp” at the El Capitan Theater on June 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images)Evangeline Lilly broke through as Kate Austen in Lost. But, 16 years after the show wrapped, she lives a quiet life outside of Hollywood.

Evangeline, 47, started acting in her early 20s with small roles on TV shows like Smallville and Kingdom Hospital. Fans know her best from the science fiction drama Lost, which she starred on for six years. Evangeline continued on in her career after Lost concluded, appearing in The Hobbit films, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Avengers: Endgame.

But, in June 2024, Evangeline announced she was taking an indefinite hiatus from acting. Keep reading to learn more about Evangeline's quiet life off-screen.

The actress starred in all six seasons of Lost (@ Mario Perez)

On June 3, 2024, Evangeline announced she was "stepping away" from Hollywood to her Instagram alongside a 2006 video of herself sharing her dreams for the future, which just happened to include her becoming a "retired actress," a mother, and a humanitarian.

"I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision," she wrote to her 2.6 million followers. "Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment. I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong. A new season has arrived, and I AM READY…and I AM HAPPY."

Evangeline is focused on her health after retiring from acting (@ Evangeline Lilly/Instagram)

A huge motivation for Evangeline's hiatus was her children. The actress has two children with her then partner Norman Kali. She welcomed son Kahekili Kali in May 2011, and another son whose name she has not shared publicly in October 2015.

While the actress keeps her children's lives out of the public eye, she shares tidbits about parenting to social media. "Sometimes I look around my house at the 'signs of life' and see signs of BOYS everywhere," Evangeline wrote to Instagram in April 2024. "One day they will be gone…replaced by order and style. And it will feel sad…and beautiful all at once."

Evangeline is still focusing on her creative pursuits. She launched her Substack, 100 Deep Questions with Evangeline Lilly, in May 2025 with an essay about her health battles. "I fainted at the beach. And fell face first into a boulder," she wrote, adding that she has "had 'absent' and fainting spells" since she was a little girl.

The actress shared a gory photo of her punctured face after falling into a boulder on the beach (@ Instagram)

The incident occurred in Hawaii where Evangeline lives with her children.

Seven months later, she updated her fans on her health. "It's late on January 1st. The first day of 2026," Evangeline said in a video on Instagram. "I'm entering into this new year, the year of the horse, with some bad news about my concussion."

The actress revealed the scary news that she has brain damage from the fall

She went on: "The results came back from [my brain] scan, and almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity. I do have brain damage from the TBI (traumatic brain injury) and possibly other factors going on. My job now is to get to the bottom of that with my doctors."

Evangeline is focused on recovery and healing, spending time in Hawaii as well as meeting with Lost fans at major events.