Katy M. O'Brian is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as bodybuilder Jackie in '' Love Lies Bleeding'', Imperial communications officer Elia Kane in the second and third seasons of ''

The Mandalorian ''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise and begins five years after the events of the fil ...

'', George in Syfy's zombie show '' Z Nation'', Major Sara Grey in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's superhero series ''

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...

'', Kimball in ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, ...

'', Jentorra in '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and'' Kodiak in '' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning''.

Early life

O'Brian is mixed race, with African-American and European-American ancestry. O'Brian began studying martial arts at five years old, and at age nine earned her brown belt in Shorei Goju Ryu

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. Throughout her youth, she participated in numerous sports programs and also in music programs as a

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

. She attended

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

, majoring in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

. She was one of the first members of the university's short-form improv troupe Hoosonfirst. She received law enforcement certification through the university's Cadet Officer Program. At university, she received her black belt in

hapkido Hapkido ( , , ), also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do'' is a Korean martial art. It is a hybrid form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, chokeholds, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. ...

through the US Hapkido Federation. After graduation, she was a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

for seven years at the Carmel Police Department in

Carmel, Indiana Carmel () is a suburban city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 99,757 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city spans across Clay Township, Hamilton County, Indi ...

, including the department's Crisis Intervention Team, which specialized in helping individuals with various conditions such as psychosis, depression, Alzheimer's, and autism. She obtained her personal trainer certification and began competing in

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

figure competition Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events mainly for women but also men. While bearing a close resemblance to bodybuilding, its emphasis is on muscle ''definition'', not size. The class was introduced when bodybuildi ...

s, and training at the Indy Actors Academy. She competed twice in figure, in September 2014 and May 2015, but stopped because of the expense and because she did not want to take steroids like some other competitors. In 2016, O'Brian moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue a career in film and television. While waiting to land a role, she worked with the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Martial Arts Program, helping with self-defense classes and instructing the Hapkido program. Through the same program she also studied

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Career

O'Brian's first television role was as a Savior named Katy on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

's '' The Walking Dead'', followed by roles on '' Halt and Catch Fire'', '' Tosh.0'' and ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal drama thriller television series that premiered on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk and pro ...

''. In 2018, O'Brian booked her first regular role on the comedy action series '' Z Nation'' where she played George, a budding leader of the apocalypse. In 2019, she appeared in the CW series ''

'' as an ASA antagonist, Major Sara Grey. She appeared in season 3 of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...

''. In 2020, O'Brian was cast as Elia Kane, a key recurring character in Seasons 2 and 3 of the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' series ''

''. She had been featured in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

: in 2020 as Kimball in ''

''; and in 2023, in a leading role as Jentorra, leader of the Freedom Fighters in the Quantum Realm in '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania''. She is one of the many actors who has appeared in both the ''Star Wars'' and Marvel franchises. In 2022, it was announced that O'Brian would star opposite

Kristen Stewart Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe ...

in ''Love Lies Bleeding'', her first major film role. The film was released theatrically by

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

on March 8, 2024. In March 2024, O'Brian joined the cast of '' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning'', playing a U.S. Navy diver. The film was released on May 23, 2025.

Personal life

Shortly after moving to

in 2016, O'Brian met her partner, Kylie Chi, on a student film project set. The couple live together in Los Angeles and married in July 2020. She has

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

and underwent bowel surgery after shooting '' Love Lies Bleeding''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrian, Katy Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American LGBTQ people African-American LGBTQ people American film actresses Actresses from Indianapolis 21st-century African-American actresses American hapkido practitioners American television actresses People with Crohn's disease Indiana University Bloomington alumni LGBTQ people from Indiana American LGBTQ actresses Year of birth missing (living people)