Kate Austen


Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly.

Character biography

Prior to the crash

Born in 1977 and raised in Iowa, Kate is the daughter of diner worker Diane, and Sam, a U.S. Army Ranger and Gulf War Veteran. At an early age Kate's parents divorced, and Diane married an abusive alcoholic named Wayne Janssen. As an adult, Kate killed Wayne, which she confessed to her mother before disappearing. Wayne had always been abusive to her mother, but Kate decided to kill him upon learning that he was her biological father. Diane called the authorities; thereafter Kate was pursued and ultimately arrested by Edward Mars.
Kate fled to Miami under the alias "Monica", where she dated and soon married a police officer named Kevin Callis. After a pregnancy scare and Kevin's purchase of two Oceanic tickets to Costa Rica for their honeymoon, Kate confessed her fugitive past and laced his drink with a sedative before disappearing. After months of traveling around the country under numerous aliases, Kate learned that Diane was dying of cancer, and decided to visit her. She reunited with her high-school sweetheart, Dr. Tom Brennan, who arranged a meeting between Kate and Diane. As Kate tried to apologize to her, Diane started screaming for help, prompting Kate to flee the hospital with Tom. A policeman opened fire on their getaway car, killing Tom and forcing Kate to flee the scene of the accident.
Months later Kate staged a robbery in New Mexico with several criminals to infiltrate a bank's safe deposit box. Tom's toy airplane was being stored in box 815, the same number as the crashed flight number. She fled to Australia where, while sleeping in a barn, she was discovered by a farmer, Ray Mullens. Posing as a Canadian hiker, Kate worked on the farm for three months. When the farmer caught her attempting to sneak away, he offered her a ride into town the next morning. During the journey however, Kate discovered that the farmer had found out her true identity and notified Edward Mars of her whereabouts. Kate grabbed the wheel and crashed the truck into a field but instead of running, she helped the unconscious farmer from his vehicle, giving Mars time to pursue and arrest her. Escorting her to the airport in handcuffs, Mars briefed local security officers on Kate's fugitive past and revealed his locked carry-on case containing four firearms. As the plane was bombarded with escalating turbulence, Mars was knocked unconscious by luggage from the overhead compartment. Kate stole the keys to the handcuffs and attached an oxygen mask to Mars and for herself, as the plane splintered and crashed onto the island.

After the crash

Season 1

Having survived the crash, Jack Shephard noticed Kate walking out of the jungle and asked her to stitch his wound, to which she agreed reluctantly. During their second day on the Island, Jack, Kate, and Charlie Pace went to retrieve the cockpit's transceiver from the plane debris. They tried to rescue the injured pilot, but the Smoke Monster attacked them. When they returned, Kate, Sayid Jarrah, and several other survivors hiked to higher ground of the Island to transmit a distress signal on the transceiver.
Back at the camp, Kate visited the injured marshal, who attempted to strangle her. Kate told Jack that he should euthanize the dying man, but Jack questioned her true motives when he learned about her criminal record. She went on a mission to triangulate the distress signal, and helped an injured Michael Dawson back to the camp. Jack suggested that the survivors move to the caves that he had discovered, but Kate refused because she was afraid of "digging in" and settling down.
When Kate discovered the marshal's case, she and Sawyer had several fights to possess it. Eventually Kate asked Jack for his help; he retrieved the case and decided that he should open it with Kate. Inside the case was Tom's toy plane. Jack questioned her about the toy, and she admitted the plane belonged to a man that she loved who was killed.
Kate, along with Jack, attempted to track down Claire and Charlie when they were kidnapped by Ethan. They were able to find and revive a hanging Charlie. Later she helped to capture Ethan. Kate was forced to deliver Claire's baby by herself while Jack was trying to save Boone's life.
Kate tried to gain a place on Michael's raft by stealing Sawyer's and Jin's places. She convinced Jin's wife, Sun, to poison his water to ensure that he would not be able to travel on the raft. In preparation for the trip, Kate stole a dead woman's passport to assume her identity. However, Michael accused Sawyer of Michael's poisoning, which led to Sawyer revealing her fugitive status to the other survivors.
After Rousseau arrived on the beach to warn the camp of the Others' imminent arrival, she directed Kate, Jack, Locke, and Hurley to the Black Rock, where they attempted to carry dynamite to the hatch that was discovered in the jungle.

Season 2

Kate and Locke descend into the hatch, Kate entering first. Once inside, she is locked up by Desmond. Kate arrives in a room with a computer, where she overpowers Desmond after Jack arrives. She accidentally damages the computer in the crossfire, causing Desmond to panic and flee. Kate is placed on a rotation to enter a certain set of numbers every 108 minutes into the computer, supposedly saving the world.
While picking fruit Kate sees a black horse from her past. When she returns to the hatch she hallucinates that Wayne is channeled through unconscious injured Sawyer and Kate freaks out. Jack finds her alone in the jungle and tries to comfort her. Kate kisses Jack on impulse, then runs away once she realizes what she's done. She eventually returns to the Hatch to tend Sawyer. They venture outside and both witness the black horse lingering nearby. When Michael runs off in search of his son, Kate follows him, but is kidnapped. After Jack refuses Tom's demands to hand over the guns, Kate is brought out and held at gunpoint to force the men to give up their guns.
When Claire's baby falls ill, Kate joins her on a trek into the jungle to seek Rousseau's help. The three head inland, where they discover the Staff station. Later, Kate and Jack discover a mysterious and unnoticed food drop in the jungle. They return to the hatch, where hostage "Henry Gale" is exposed as an impostor. Later, Kate joins Jack on a trek back to where they encountered the Others. The two make camp and Kate apologizes for kissing him in the jungle. Jack tells her that he is not sorry that she kissed him and they are about to kiss again when an exhausted Michael stumbles out of the bushes. Michael invites her to follow him to the Others' camp when he recovers. The next day, Kate, Jack, Sawyer, and Hurley join Michael Dawson as they head for the Others' camp. They are ambushed, gagged, tied up, and taken to a pier.

Season 3

Kate is placed in a cage opposite Sawyer to work for the Others, under the eye of Pickett. Sawyer discovers they are actually on another island, and tries to keep the information from Kate so as to give her hope. When Jack contacts her via Pickett's radio, informing her that she has a head-start to escape, she and Sawyer run towards the beach. They encounter Alex, who gives them her boat
When arriving on the beach, she scolds Sayid and Locke for not bothering to rescue Jack. They head into the jungle and find Rousseau, who agrees to help them after learning of Alex's status. The four trek into the jungle, where they discover the Flame station. There they confront the Other Mikhail and take him hostage. The four resume their hike, eventually arriving at the Others' barracks, and see Jack socializing with the Others. That evening, Kate approaches Jack, but the Others capture Sayid and her. When they are alone, Jack explains to Kate that he has made a deal with The Others. In exchange for saving Ben's life, Jack will be allowed to return home. He promises Kate that he will come back for her and the rest of their friends. But Locke blows up the Other's submarine before Jack can leave. The following day, Kate is gassed by the Others and wakes up in the jungle, handcuffed to Juliet. They eventually return to the beach with Jack and Sayid.
Upon returning, Kate is still wary of Juliet, and becomes especially jealous of Juliet's developing relationship with Jack. Later, she learns of Naomi's arrival. Kate is then shown Jack and Juliet's plan to deal with the Others' imminent attack while the majority travels to the radio tower. En route, Sawyer tells Kate that he's turning back to help the survivors on the beach. Kate wants to go with him, but Sawyer won't let her, and Jack defends Sawyer's actions, knowing that Sawyer is trying to protect Kate. When Kate asks why he is sticking up for Sawyer because she knows Sawyer would never stick up for Jack, Jack replies that it's because he loves her. They eventually encounter Ben and Alex in the jungle, at which point Ben is taken hostage.

Season 4

Kate follows a trail of Naomi's blood until being attacked by Naomi, who suddenly dies. After a confrontation between Jack and Locke, Kate decides to stay with Jack, but questions Sawyer when he decides to go with Locke. Later, they come across Daniel Faraday, whom they believe has arrived to rescue them. After finding Miles, Kate and Jack find themselves at gunpoint until she takes them to Naomi's body.
Later, they team up with Frank, who managed to arrive on the island with the helicopter. Upon learning of the location of the final team member, Charlotte Staples Lewis, Kate accompanies Sayid and Miles to the barracks. They are eventually captured by Locke. Kate decides to remain at the barracks, in an attempt to extract information from Miles. She arranges for him to speak to Ben, but is caught by Locke. She spends the night with Sawyer and tells him that she is not pregnant. They argue over his exaggerated show of relief. Sawyer accuses her of bouncing back and forth between him and Jack. Kate slaps him on the face and then heads back to the beach. When Sawyer returns with Miles and Aaron, she also takes over as Aaron's primary caretaker when Sawyer reveals that Claire has gone missing. Later, Sayid and Kate follow Jack and Sawyer to avoid them being attacked by the boat's soldiers. They meet up with the remaining Others and join forces to defeat the boat's soldiers. They all board Lapidus' helicopter, but as they travel back to the freighter a fuel leak is discovered, and after all the excess weight is thrown out, Sawyer kisses Kate, then asks her to do a favor for him back home and jumps out.