Kali Reis

Kali Reis was born on August 24, 1986, in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Of Cherokee, Nipmuc, and Seaconke Wampanoag descent, Reis was raised with a strong connection to her Indigenous roots and has been an active and powerful advocate for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement. Before entering the worlds of cinema and television, she began her career as a professional boxer, earning the ring nickname "KO Mequinonoag." Throughout her boxing career, she won world championships in multiple weight classes, cementing her place in boxing history, and later seamlessly integrated this rigorous physical and mental discipline into her acting profession. Her acting career made a striking debut with the 2021 thriller film "Catch the Fair One," which she developed alongside director Josef Kubota Wladyka and starred in as the lead role.

With her performance in this debut film, where she portrayed a former boxer who infiltrated a dangerous human trafficking ring to find her missing sister, she garnered critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Actress at the prestigious Independent Spirit Awards during her first acting attempt. Following this powerful start, Reis furthered her screen experience by appearing in "Asphalt City" (2023) alongside Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan. Her breakthrough moment, which brought her global recognition and marked a pivotal turning point in her acting career, came with HBO's globally renowned anthology series "True Detective." In the show's fourth season, "True Detective: Night Country" (2024), she shared lead roles with veteran actress Jodie Foster, bringing to life the character of Detective Evangeline Navarro, who possesses a dark and complex past. Her charismatic screen presence and intense dramatic performance captured Hollywood's attention, earning her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Anthology Series at the Emmy Awards.

In an inspiring career journey spanning from boxing rings to Hollywood's most ambitious sets, the successful actor whose star is rapidly rising continues to ascend in the film industry with highly anticipated major projects such as "Mercy" (2026), a science fiction-action film co-starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson; "Rebuilding" (2025); and the neo-Western sequel "Wind River: The Next Chapter."