Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born August 3, 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She gained popularity for her first leading role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama series Lost (2004–2010), which garnered her six nominations for the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Lilly has also appeared in the war film The Hurt Locker (2008) and sports drama Real Steel (2011), and starred as Tauriel in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film series, appearing in The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). She has since portrayed Hope van Dyne / Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lilly is the author of a children's book series The Squickerwonkers.