Yellowstone has captivated the US, with millions of viewers tuning in each week to see the fifth season of the neo-western drama.
Starring Kevin Costner (John Dutton), it follows conflicts along the shared boundaries of Yellowstone Ranch, a large cattle ranch, and land developers in Montana.
The show threw the spotlight on British actress Kelly Reilly as she portrays Beth Dutton – a manipulative and emotionally unstable financier who is fiercely protective of her father and husband Rip Wheeler.
The modern ranch show’s runaway popularity is often compared to HBO’s “Succession” — they came out the same year and are both family-owned dramas — but breaks with the usual hit series because it’s not set on the East or West Coast.
Here we take a look at who Kelly is – from her humble upbringing, fighting for her big break as an actress, to taking America by storm.
Bullseye: Yellowstone has the US in its grip, with millions of viewers tuning in every week to see the fifth season of the neo-western drama
Who is Kelly Reilly? The show has spotlighted British actress Kelly Reilly as she portrays Beth Dutton
What is Kelly’s real name?
Kelly’s notoriously private life is a bit of a mystery — despite her starring in one of America’s biggest dramas.
The actress keeps her private life away from the public eye. At some point during her career, she shortened her name from Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly — to Kelly Reilly.
Who does she play in Yellowstone?
Kelly quickly became a fan favorite when she played Bethany Dutton, a financier and the third child and only daughter of John and Evelyn.
Although highly educated, highly intelligent, and a master manipulator, Beth is embittered, emotionally unstable, and suffers from a drug problem.
She is loyal to her father and in love with Rip Wheeler (played by Cole Hauser).
Flashbacks of Bethany’s character see Kylie Rogers portray young Beth.
How did Kelly get into acting?
Outstanding work: At the age of 26, Kelly received a Laurence Olivier Theater Award nomination in 2004 after starring in After Miss Julie in London’s West End in 2003 (pictured with Richard Coyle).
Born and raised in Chessington, London, Kelly attended Tolworth Girls’ School in Kingston where she studied acting for GCSE under the watchful eye of her mother, a hospital receptionist, and father, a police officer.
Before discovering her talent for acting, she loved working with horses and thought there would be a future in equestrian sports.
Kelly said she wasn’t born natural and was “very introverted and shy” growing up.
What was Kelly’s big break?
Scary: Kelly’s first leading role was in the 2008 horror film Eden Lake, starring Hollywood heavyweight Michael Fassbender
The 45-year-old actress first hit television screens in 1995 with a role in Prime Suspect 4: Inner Circle.
Aged just 16, Kelly wrote a letter to be in an actor’s case at a bar off Tottenham Court Road, asking if she could do a monologue.
Prime Suspect’s casting director was in the audience and offered her a small role opposite Helen Mirren.
In addition to her roles on television, Kelly managed to make a name for herself in the theater world by collaborating with Terry Johnson in four productions: Elton John’s Glasses (1997), The London Cuckolds (1998), The Graduate (2000) and Piano/ Forte (2006).
At the age of 26, Kelly received a Laurence Olivier Theater Award nomination in 2004, becoming the youngest actress to receive such an honor, having starred in After Miss Julie, a 2003 production by Michael Grandage at the Donmar Warehouse in London’s West End , had played along.
Where have you seen her before?
Leading lady: Hollywood soon beckoned to Kelly, who starred in both 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and the 2011 sequel, playing Mary Watson (pictured with co-star Jude Law)
Kelly’s first leading role was in the 2008 horror film Eden Lake, starring opposite Hollywood heavyweight Michael Fassbender as a young couple who are terrorized by a group of murderous teenagers on a weekend getaway, earning her a Best Actress nomination at the British Independent Film Awards
The following year, Kelly kept her star profile alive with a role on the British prime-time series Above Suspicion, in which she played an inexperienced detective determined to prove herself in the male-dominated police department.
Hollywood soon lured in after Kelly, who starred in both 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and the 2011 sequel A Game of Shadows, playing Mary Watson.
After counting Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as co-stars, she went on to work with Vince Vaughn and play his wife Jordan Semyon on the critically acclaimed second season of the television series True Detective.
Since 2018, she has seen her star rise further with her performance in Yellowstone, a Paramount Network drama that debuted June 20, 2018. Reilly plays Beth Dutton, daughter of John Dutton, played by Kevin Costner. The characters of Reilly and Costner are constantly at war with several outsiders who seek control of the Dutton family lands.
Is Kelly married?
Love life: Kelly became engaged to Israeli actor Jonah Lotan in 2007, but the couple split two years later
Happy: In 2012, Kelly met financier Kyle Baugher and the couple got engaged and married that same year
Kelly became engaged to Israeli actor Jonah Lotan, best known for his role on HBO’s Iraq war drama Generation Kill, in 2007, but the couple split two years later.
Asked about the breakup at the time, Kelly told The Independent, “I’d… prefer not to talk about it. Just because I’m trying to protect myself and my life. I’m sorry, I don’t want that… but ah, it’s not, it’s a bit complicated.’
Urged if this is a function of the actors’ “pillar-to-pillar life”? she confessed ‘yes’.
In 2012, Kelly met financier Kyle Baugher and the couple got engaged and married that same year with an intimate ceremony in Somerset, England.
Where does Kelly live now?
Career change: Kelly moved to New York for a new life after feeling burned out in the UK (pictured Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley)
Kelly moved to New York to start a new life after feeling burnt out playing three tragic women, Desdemona, Miss Julie and the unfortunate Irina, the youngest Prozorov sibling, in Chekhov’s The Three Sisters.
She told The Independent last year, “I really didn’t know how to part with the characters I was playing at that point.”
The titanic upheaval proved a huge success and within a year she had a starring role in Robert Zemeckis’ Flight opposite Denzel Washington (2012).
It was here that she met her husband, Kyle Baugher.
The couple split their time between Southampton, New York on Long Island, where they grew up in a 300-year-old cottage next to the South Downs, and Big Sky, Montana, where they film Yellowstone as their “home away from home.”
But Kelly plans to return to England one day in the future. She said: “The first place I’m going to go is my garden for six months.
“I’ve never had an interest in celebrity or anything like that. If anything, the appeal of acting was almost the opposite. It was really getting lost in work and being a stage actress.’
Future: Kelly plans to return to England one day in the future. She said, “The first place I’ll go is my garden for six months” when her fame in Yellowstone wanes