Misty Anne Upham (July 6, 1982 – October 2014) was a Native Americanactress best known for her role in the 2008 film Frozen River, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. She appeared with Benicio del Toro in Arnaud Desplechin's Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013).

Background

Misty Upham was born on July 6, 1982 in Kalispell, Montana and raised in Auburn, Washington, about 28 miles south ofSeattle. She was a member of the Blackfoot Tribe.

Career

Upham's film credits include Expiration Date, Edge of America, Skins and Skinwalkers. In 2010, she appeared on HBO'sBig Love. In 2013, she played a major supporting role in Arnaud Desplechin's Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian, selected in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 66th Festival de Cannes. She played housekeeper Johnna in August: Osage County. She also played Liz in Cake with Jennifer Aniston.

Death

On October 5, 2014, Upham left her sister's apartment in the Seattle suburb of Muckleshoot, Washington on foot. The following weekend, her family announced via Facebook and other media that she had not been heard from since that time, and that they were concerned for her welfare, citing past mental health issues. A spokesman for the Auburn Police Department told CNN that police had not opened an investigation and were not regarding Upham's absence as a missing persons case at that time. He confirmed that family members had contacted police on several occasions within the past year to report Upham missing, but that she had been located and determined to be safe within a few days in each previous case.

On October 16, 2014, Auburn police announced that they had found a body at the bottom of a cliff in a wooded area which, though unidentified, they thought likely to be Upham. Later that day, it was confirmed that Upham had been found dead in the woods of Auburn, Washington after going missing earlier that month.