Crystle Lea Lightning (born February 5, 1981) is a Canadian-American film actress, musician, DJ, and hip-hop MC.
Early life[]
Lightning 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[]
Lightning 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[]
Lightning 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. They perform regularly at Los Angeles venues, as well as throughout the United States.
LightningCloud[]
Moving 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. 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 futurists, MC RedCloud and Crystle Lightning, are L.A.'s subterranean Bonnie and Clyde." 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[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Last Chance Detectives: Mystery Lights of Navajo Mesa | Winnie | |
| 1995 | 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up | Jo | |
| Tecumseh: The Last Warrior | Star Watcher | ||
| The Last Chance Detectives: Legend of the Desert Bigfoot | Winnie | ||
| 1996 | The Last Chance Detectives: Escape from Fire Lake | ||
| 1998 | Yellow Wooden Ring | Velma Blea | Short film |
| 6/29 | Paula Cooper | ||
| 2003 | Saving Jessica Lynch | PFC Lori Piestewa | |
| 2005 | American Pie Presents: Band Camp | Chloe | |
| 2008 | Older Than America | Diane | |
| 2010 | Sardines | Tiffany | Short film |
| The Ricochet | Misty | ||
| Search for the World's Best Indian Taco | Rose | ||
| 2014 | Unmatched | Candi | |
| Death Factory | Girl in Trunk | Uncredited | |
| 2015 | Tamales and Gumbo | Gloria's Cousin |
Television[]
| 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" |
| Live! From the Future | Herself | ||
| 2008 | Days of Our Lives | Sasha | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Tease | Tina | 3 Episodes |
| 2012 | Femme Fatales | Candela | Episode: "Hell Hath No Furies" |
| 2013 | Southland | Tia | Episode: "The Felix Paradox" |
| 2020 | Trickster | Maggie | |
| 2021 | Hudson & Rex | Kiera Laford | Episode: "Blood on the Tracks" |
| 2022 | Ghosts | Shiki | Recurring role |
| 2023 | Lawmen: Bass Reeves | Nita |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Prey | Jen/Radio Caller #2 | Voice |
Roles[]
(Femme Fatales)
References[]
- ↑ Furdyk, Brent (March 30, 2021). Television Nominees Announced For 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, 'Schitt's Creek' Leads The Pack With 21 Nominations. ET Canada. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021.
- ↑ 2012 Winners. Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards (November 1, 2012). Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved on March 15, 2013.
- ↑ Who's Next 2 in the Mix. Power 106 FM (February 25, 2012). Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved on March 12, 2012.
- ↑ LightningCloud Win Best of the Best at South By Southwest. Indian Country Today Media Network (March 19, 2013). Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved on March 18, 2013.
External links[]
- Crystle Lightning at Femme Fatales Wiki
Crystle Lightning at the Internet Movie Database- Crystle Lightning at Facebook
- Crystle Lightning at Instagram
- Template:Twitter
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