Crystle Lea Lightning (born February 5, 1981) is a

Canadian-American Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship. The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadians ...

film actress, musician, DJ, and hip-hop MC.

Early life

Lightning holds

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

with the United States and Canada. She is the daughter of director and actress

Georgina Lightning Georgina Lightning is a First Nations film director, screenwriter, and actress. Biography Born in Edmonton, Alberta, she is an enrolled member of the Samson Cree Nation. She was raised off-reserve, near the Samson community in Edmonton, Albert ...

, and her brother is actor

Cody Lightning Cody Lightning (born August 8, 1986) is a Cree actor from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Kerry Benjoe, "Indigenous film world filled with people passionate about their art". ''Regina Leader-Post'', December 12, 2015. He is the son of Georgina Lightning ...

. A First Nations Hobbema/ Enoch Cree artist, Crystle began performing in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, 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 Lori Ann Piestewa ( ; December 14, 1979 – March 23, 2003) was a United States Army soldier killed during the Iraq War. A member of the Quartermaster Corps, she died in the same Iraqi attack in which fellow soldiers Shoshana Johnson and Piestewa' ...

in '' Saving Jessica Lynch''. She played the lead role of Jo in ''

3 Ninjas Knuckle Up ''3 Ninjas Knuckle Up'' is a 1993 American martial arts comedy film taking place in between ''3 Ninjas'' and '' 3 Ninjas Kick Back''. The film was directed by Shin Sang-ok, using the pseudonym "Simon Sheen". The film was shot in 1992, the same yea ...

'' (1995). Since then, she has been cast in a recurring role on the daytime NBC soap ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', played Chloe in 2005's '' American Pie Presents: Band Camp'', BET's ''The Game'' (2006); and in '' Older Than America'' (2008) alongside

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...

. She also voiced Jen, the girlfriend of the game's protagonist, Tommy, in the 2006 video game ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

''. At the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the p ...

in 2021, she won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for ''

Trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...

''.

Music career

Lightning is also an

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...

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 futurist 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. In 2013, LightningCloud won the "Who's Next: Battle for the Best" contest on

Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studio ...

. As winners, LightningCloud received a cash prize, a performance with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

, 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, LightningCloud received the opportunity to work with

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

in the recording studio.

Filmography

Film

Short film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightning, Crystle 1981 births Cree people First Nations actresses Canadian emigrants to the United States Living people Actresses from Edmonton Musicians from Edmonton American female models American film actresses 21st-century Canadian rappers First Nations musicians Canadian film actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people Canadian women rappers Canadian female models People with acquired American citizenship Best Actress in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners 21st-century American women 21st-century women rappers