I Just Found Out Both Lottie Actors On "Yellowjackets" Are Māori, And This Is A Huge Win For The Pacific Islander Community
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Definitely late to the party, but I recently started watching Yellowjackets, and let me tell y'all, I am obsessed! The past vs. present storylines, the acting, the twists and turns – everything is phenomenal.
Though all the characters are intriguing, Lottie Matthews is easily my favorite. I love all the mystery surrounding her visions and the quiet power of her presence. I'm so excited to see where the show takes her!
And beyond the character's storyline, something really drew me to Courtney Eaton and Simone Kessell, the actors who play Teen Lottie and Adult Lottie respectively.
After a quick Google search, I realized what it was: they're both Pacific Islanders!
Simone is Māori and white while Courtney is Māori, Cook Islander, Chinese, and white.
Before Simone was cast for Season 2, Courtney seemed to imply in a Vulture interview that she wanted her adult counterpart to be of a similar background as her. When asked if she had anyone in mind to play Adult Lottie, she said, "It’s hard! I’m part Asian, part Islander, and I don’t often see that many actresses who are a similar heritage to me." When Jordana Brewster and Fairuza Balk were mentioned, Courtney replied, "Okay...Yeah, I’m not sure." I'm so happy the casting directors ended up picking Simone!
If you didn't grow up as a Polynesian girl in the US like me, you might not appreciate what a big deal this is. Historically, there have been very few Pacific Islander women in Hollywood. I'd argue that Moana and Lilo are still our biggest examples of female representation, and while they're obviously awesome, they're animated characters.
So, to have not one but two (!!!) Pacific Islander women in a hit show like Yellowjackets is a HUGE win for our community.
In an interview with Glamour, Simone said she's struggled to find roles in the past due to her ethnicity. "I never was right for any character because I wasn't white, but I wasn't Black. And the character, if she was brown-skinned, was Hispanic, and I'm not Hispanic, so I never got the roles."
"I was always here. Just the roles weren't written for people of brown skin, and the roles don't come along often, and if they do, they're specific. It's usually to tick a diversity box in a cast where ultimately, the male and the female are white, and then it trickles down to the friends or friends of. So roles like this don't come along often, but I see a shift," she continued.
"I loved that they honored Courtney's ancestry and where her parents are from. Thank goodness her mother is Māori from New Zealand, and I got cast."
I'm so glad you were cast, too, Simone! Love seeing more Pacific Islander women on screen!
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