Lilli Kay: The Rising Star of “Your Honor” and “Yellowstone”

Family

Born on 18^th March 1996, in Brooklyn, New York City USA, actress Lilli Kay grew up in a creative household, the only child of actor and director Stephen T. Kay; her mother is still unnamed. For those who were unaware, Stephen was born in 1963 and has directed episodes of “Sons of Anarchy”, “Mayor of Kingstown”, and “Yellowstone”, although he initially began his career as an actor with small cameos in TV series’“Quantum Leap” and “Murder, She Wrote”.

Stephen isn’t exactly Hollywood royalty, but he’s been in the industry for decades, and most probably helped Lilli snag her first acting gigs. As far as we’re aware, the director and Lilli’s mother were never married, and broke up during their daughter’s childhood. Any other information regarding Lilli’s mother, such as her name and profession, are as yet unknown.

Although Stephen has been married to actress Piper Perabo since 2014 – and previously directed and produced the show she starred in – he’s also known to have dated the “Desperate Housewives” co-stars Eva Longoria and Teri Hatcher, whom he directed in the 2004 TV movie “The Dead Will Tell”.

Various news outlets and websites including IMDb state that Lilli Kay has another famous family member – namely, the actress Julia Goldani Telles, who is allegedly her sister. Julia was born to a Brazilian mother and Mexican father and relocated to Rio de Janeiro at the tender age of two before returning to her birthplace of Los Angeles; however, the “Bunheads” star has always presented herself to the public as an only child, and we’ve yet to see her and Lilli in the same room.

Career

Lilli’s first credited acting role was in the 2018 TV movie “Paterno”, in which she played Dori. The following year, the actress guest-starred in an episode of “Madam Secretary” and landed her first recurring role playing Penelope Fowler in the gripping drama fantasy “Chambers”, about a woman who develops different personality traits after surviving a heart transplant.

Although 2020 was an understandably slow year for those in the entertainment industry due to travel restrictions and other public health safety measures, Lilli was cast as Fia Baxter in “Your Honor” – considered by many to be her breakout role – and gave a convincing performance in the artistic short “This Is Not a Love Letter”.

When asked to discuss the most challenging performance of her career during an interview with Photobook Magazine, the actress candidly referred to her “Your Honor” character. ‘Fia has experienced so much more than most people her age,’ she said. ‘I think it’s been a real gift to get to explore that with her.’

Throughout seasons one and two, Lilli appeared in every single episode of the award-winning series, which also received a BAFTA nod for its outstanding photography and lighting. As the only daughter of Jimmy Baxter – the most feared gangster in New Orleans and head of the notorious Baxter crime family – Fia enjoyed plenty of screentime and juicy storylines; however, the Showtime Original drama was quietly shelved in December 2023, with the news being confirmed almost a year and a half after the season two premiere.

In 2022, Lilli portrayed Emily Walker in the coming-of-age movie “August at Twenty-Two” and had a short but unforgettable recurring role in “Yellowstone” as Clara Brewster, John Dutton III’s assistant. During one episode of season five, Lilli and her real-life partner made history as they briefly kissed in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. According to Newsweek, Lilli’s partner didn’t actually have a role in the episode, but ‘jumped into a scene to give the character Clara someone to kiss’.

The show’s first LGBT+ interaction to date received overwhelmingly positive feedback, and Lilli told news outlets that ‘it was just a really wonderful thing to be able to very nonchalantly, with very little fanfare, just have a queer moment in the show.’

An early Christmas gift: The latest episode of the Official #YellowstoneTV Podcast has arrived! Lilli Kay joins Jen Landon and @_JeffersonWhite. Listen here: https://t.co/BDnr9RRH6V pic.twitter.com/Y1RNnOoe9h

— Yellowstone (@Yellowstone) December 23, 2022

Lilli already had a solid fanbase thanks to her previous works, but the “Yellowstone” kiss took her career to the next level, and led to her and her partner being recognized in the street. For some reason, a few online outlets also claimed that the actress is transgender, and was born a male. A few months after the rumors began circulating, the “Your Honor” star set the record straight with a brief statement via her social media.

Following previously mentioned appearances, amongst Lilli’s most recent projects is the 2023 historical movie “Rustin”, which focuses on Bayard Rustin, one of the most overlooked but influential figures of the civil rights movement.

Colman Domingo’s compelling portrayal of Bayard, who was responsible for orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington, stole the show – which is no easy feat taking into account the movie’s star-studded cast which included the likes of Chris Rock, Gus Halper and Glynn Turman. Despite playing a minor secondary character, Lilli’s depiction of fellow activist Rachelle Horovitz was also well-received. The real-life Rachelle, who is still alive and now in her 80s, has yet to comment on the project.

Personal Life

Lilli was previously linked to actor Nicholas Galitzine back in 2019. It appears that the attractive former co-stars met while filming “Chambers”, and despite sparking dating rumors after uploading photos of each other on their social media, neither party confirmed the allegations.

Juli Kocemba, Lilli’s current girlfriend with whom she did the “Yellowstone” kiss, has racked up over 16,000 Instagram followers since being unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight. Juli’s sexual orientation and gender identity are something of a mystery, but she’s posted plenty of shirtless pictures on her social media, which show that she’s undergone male chest reconstruction by removing her breasts to gain a more masculine appearance. For what it’s worth, she states in her Instagram biography that she is ‘enby’ – a slang term for those with non-binary gender identities.

Represented by New York Models agency, Juli has appeared in Marc Jacobs, done catwalk shows for Y Project, and graced the pages of Numero Magazine. It’s unclear how long she and Lilli have been dating, but the model first posted the brunette in May 2022, with the caption ‘lilli ricecake’, meaning that they’ve been in a relationship for almost two years.