Yellowstone's Kelly Reilly Has Undergone A Major Transformation

Kelly Reilly became one of the most watched women on TV as the feisty and confident Beth Dutton on "Yellowstone." A massive 6.8 million people tuned in to the pilot episode, according to the Television Academy, a number Deadline reported surged to 13.1 million when "Yellowstone" bowed out in 2024 and aired its final episode. But while the Western hit may have firmly put Reilly in the spotlight, she was a star with a thriving acting career long before the show came along. You just may not have realized, because Reilly's not your typical Hollywood actor posing on every red carpet or sharing every second of her life on social media.

"I'm not interested in Hollywood. It's far too pressured. You have to fit into their mould," the star refreshingly told The Scotsman in 2005. "Fame and celebrity don't interest me at all. I don't want to be doing fashion shoots and being interviewed about where I shop. Who cares?" she continued. "I act because I have to, because I need to find out whether I can do it or not — that's what drives me and excites me and lights me up," she added. That need to appear on stage and screen began manifesting when Reilly was just a young girl growing up in the U.K. (yep, despite her authentic-sounding twang on "Yellowstone," she's British), which marked the start of a major transformation.

Kelly Reilly was born in Surrey, England, in 1977. Unlike a lot of actors who have confidence in spades from a young age, Reilly was no precocious stage kid who thought she'd be a superstar. "I was just very private," she told The Scotsman. But while she may not have been the most outspoken little girl, that didn't stop her discovering her calling. "When I was very young I was always grabbing all my friends from down the street and making them put on plays with me," she told Netribution Film Network. "But I never, ever, ever, in my wildest dreams, thought that I could be an actor because I come from a working-class family," she added. Thankfully, Reilly is proof that with hard work and perseverance, anything can happen.

At 15, she attended a production of "Angels in America" that changed the trajectory of her life. "It was like a drug. Nothing made me feel like that. I had never experienced the excitement and rawness I saw with actors onstage performing in plays that were very serious," she told Town & Country. "I wanted to run off to the circus with them. I wanted to do that," she added. And she did.

By the time she was a teenager, Kelly Reilly was ready to kick start her career. She started on a high, as the fresh-faced actor soon booked a gig alongside Helen Mirren in the British TV series "Prime Suspect: Inner Circles." "I remember it being intimidating, but brilliant. I just loved working with Helen, but it was terrifying and exciting," she told the Nottingham Post. 

On the advice of her new friend and co-star, Reilly decided against drama school and instead focused on finding work. "She said [drama school] was the worst idea I could possibly have," Reilly recalled. Later, she told the Netribution Film Network that she was glad she listened to Mirren. "At that age, if I'd gone to drama school, I think my confidence levels could have dropped. I think drama school is tough, I think it's hard, and I think you have to be a tough cookie to go through it," she said. "My strength lies in other places than that." 

Instead, Reilly was ready to stand on her own two feet and, at 17, the up-and-coming actor moved out of her parents' home. "I wasn't an easy teenager. I'm rather strong-minded, so I needed to go and to spread my wings. I think they would say that life's a lot easier when I'm not living with them," she told The Scotsman. Her headstrong qualities paid off though, as Reilly saw a good amount of success early on. She appeared in several British TV shows, including the comedy "Pie in the Sky" and booked multiple period dramas, like "Bramwell," "Poldark" and "Rebecca." While many had high hopes for "Poldark," it didn't set the world on fire, and the ever-honest star wasn't afraid to admit it. "It was really bad, wasn't it?" Reilly later told The Telegraph.

In 2000, following a slew of British TV roles, Kelly Reilly was ready for a new acting challenge. "I'm kind of getting typecast with comedy at the moment, or I have been, and the next week I'll get something like 'Blasted,' which is a play at the Royal Court and completely at the other extreme," she told Netribution Film Network, admitting she was actively looking for different roles to keep her talent sharp. But, ironically, while searching for something new, she came across an old friend.

That same year, Reilly landed a role in the drama movie "Last Orders," which saw her reunite with Helen Mirren and act alongside Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins. "'Last Orders' was one of the jobs in my life that I have wanted so badly and I have got, and I can't believe that I have," Reilly said shortly after landing the role. The actor also revealed plans to do more movies after dabbling in theatre. "If I could do one really nice play a year — this is my plan at the moment," she said.

In 2003, Reilly got another taste of stardom when she worked with Minnie Driver, Hank Azaria, and Matthew Perry on the stage show "Sexual Perversity in Chicago." Due to the high-profile nature of her co-stars, Reilly experienced attention in a way she hadn't in other stage shows. "That was a mad experience. There I was doing what I'm always doing — working on stage in London — then suddenly everything is thrown into this intense spotlight," she told What's On Stage.

Now a full-fledged theatre star, Kelly Reilly was ready to take on the major movie world in the mid-2000s. She appeared in several huge productions in 2005, including "Pride & Prejudice" with Keira Knightley and "Mrs. Henderson Presents" with Judi Dench and her former co-star Bob Hoskins. The accolades were starting to roll in too, as she took home the Empire Award for Best Newcomer. That was followed by her first lead role in a major movie, "Puffball" alongside Miranda Richardson and Donald Sutherland. "I'm very excited — and crapping myself at the same time, because so much of the time I've not had the responsibility," she told Empire of her then-upcoming role. Sadly, "Puffball" was far from a runaway success, making just $3,844 at the international box office.

At this stage in her career, "Yellowstone" fans may not have even recognized Reilly. She looked drastically different in comparison to her appearance at the height of her fame, as her hair was a darker red than her signature shade with a brunette tint. Her mantra though? That never changed. Though she was on big screens across the world and working with some of the biggest stars, she told The Times "I don't think I would ever do a big, glitzy film just to be in a big, glitzy film. I still have to love the film and feel good about the script."

In 2008, Kelly Reilly had one of her biggest movie hits in the horror flick "Eden Lake" with Michael Fassbender, which became an unexpected success after amassing almost $4 million worldwide. Reilly would later reveal the movie's success would lead to her getting a host of horror movie offers over the years. Not that she was always interested. "['Eden Lake'] was an unexpectedly huge hit. Ever since then, I've been approaching a lot. I'm wary of them. They're difficult to get right," she told The Playlist.

But while she may not have been keen on another horror gig, the Brit would go on to appear in some huge blockbusters over the next few years. While working alongside Robert Downey Jr. on "Sherlock Holmes," the talented actor told Nottingham Post, "It's the biggest film that I've ever worked on and everyday there's numerous producers on set, American producers and it's just a whole other world. It's very intimidating." Despite not feeling totally at home on big scale productions, she'd be surrounded by A-listers again while appearing in Denzel Washington's "Flight" in 2012 and Greg Kinnear's "Heaven is for Real" in 2014. 

Afterwards, the star was looking for more girl power. "I'd love to work on a real girl piece with some fabulous actresses. I feel like I've worked with so many men. That's what I'd like. Some sister love now," she told The Telegraph in 2009. Also part of the next chapter in her transformation? A new home. As her career went from strength to strength on both sides of the pond, Reilly was splitting time between the U.K. and Los Angeles.

Kelly Reilly gave us a masterclass on balancing a personal life and public career in 2011. She told The Guardian she had serious a boyfriend, but kept her partner's identity private. "I'm not saying any more about him except that he's not an actor, not in the business," she said. However, things were clearly going well as she moved for her partner, swapping the west coast for the Big Apple. "I live between my house on the borders of Sussex and Surrey and New York, where my boyfriend lives ... I'm probably going to do the move soon. I'd like my life to be in one place," she said. 

Reilly's man was later confirmed to Kyle Baugher and the two got married in the U.K. the following year. Speaking about their private romance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" 12 years later, Reilly sweetly shared, "He's the love of my life. The most beautiful thing that's ever happened to me is my marriage." And she's not the only "Yellowstone" leading lady with a real-life partner they can't stop gushing about.

As Reilly continued to flirt with Hollywood, she still wasn't being taken in by typical celebrity fads. That included treatments to help her look younger. "I love actresses who embrace ageing, like Robin Wright Penn; she hasn't had anything done. You can see the laughter lines and she is so beautiful and when I see her playing a character I believe in her, unlike an actress who can't move her face," she told The Guardian, adding her voice to the celebrities who are open about avoiding plastic surgery. 

Kelly Reilly was a full-blown movie star with a string of blockbusters in her wake by 2014, but she still wasn't a household name. That looked poised to change when Reilly landed the main role in the ABC series "Black Box," playing the role of a neuroscientist with bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after a single season and without much fanfare. Reilly stayed on the TV trail though, appearing in Season 2 of "True Detective" as the wife of Vince Vaughn's character. 

We also noticed a few intentional changes to her fashion as she aged. Speaking to Vanity Fair, she admitted, "The older I get, I just want to be comfortable, but still stylish." She also made it clear again that she had no problem with the natural aging process. "There's a richness and sensuality that age brings to your work; you're considered more of a heavyweight. I'm a dinosaur and I welcome it. Bring it on," she told The Telegraph.

Despite getting a handful of huge roles following her move to the U.S., though, Reilly wasn't totally happy. In 2017, she made plans to head back to her own home country and return to theater acting. "I have always loved my job, but the business can sometimes present challenges that I didn't feel I was cut out for," she told Town & Country of the difficult period. "I just wanted to go back to theater and do two or three plays a year, and live quietly," she added. But, thankfully for us, a huge role was about to keep her in the country and on TV.

In 2018, Kelly Reilly landed what would become one of her most-loved and notable roles as "Yellowstone" came knocking. "I remember reading [the script] as I was packing up our apartment and thinking, 'Oh, s**t.' It was like laying down a bit of a gauntlet. The challenge of it pepped my interest," she told Town & Country. Showrunner Taylor Sheridan had reached out about the character, and Reilly landed the role without even auditioning. With a new gig on the horizon, the thespian stayed in the States to shoot the exciting project. And the rest is history. The actor would appear in the hugely popular drama for all five seasons and receive a slew of award nominations, including a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. 

She also changed up her aesthetic to take on her iconic character. There's been much speculation about if Reilly donned a wig to play Beth, as the character's locks veer on the lighter, strawberry blond side. Reilly, on the other hand, usually wears her tresses in a rich, red hue that's seriously gorgeous. Like many of her "Yellowstone" co-stars who sound completely different in real life, Reilly also needed to change her voice for the role. On "The Drew Barrymore Show," she explained she worked with a dialect coach to get Beth's Montana accent down.

While still working on "Yellowstone," Kelly Reilly changed things up. In 2021, she took on a project totally different to western show via the supernatural thriller "Eight For Silver" (also known as "The Cursed"). She told ScreenRant that doing something different was intentional, sharing, "As an actor, you really want to keep changing it up for yourself and dipping into different things to keep your own taste bud[s] alive." She added, "Playing someone so utterly different from this character that I had been so immersed in for a few years, I was just like, 'Yes, I'm in!'"

Despite her newfound fame, Reilly also continued to seek the quiet life. Even as one of the breakout stars of "Yellowstone" and with millions of eyeballs on her every week, the Beth Dutton actor (who is gorgeous in real life) wasn't interested in the traditional life of a celebrity. "In my life away from 'Yellowstone,' I live between New York and the middle of the countryside in England. Even in New York, I'm out by the end of the island, by the sea. I'm cut off a lot from the world," she told Esquire.

All good things must come to an end and, in December 2024, Kelly Reilly said an emotional goodbye to "Yellowstone" after it aired its fifth and final season. "Words cannot convey how I feel about the people I got to work and create with," she wrote, in part, on Instagram. "The support from the crew and the trust and dedication of the cast ... It changed me. It lit me up. It challenged me in every way possible and I will forever be grateful for it," she added. But little did Reilly know, she wouldn't be saying goodbye to Beth Dutton forever. 

In August 2025, it was announced that Reilly would reprise her "Yellowstone" character for a spinoff with the working title "The Dutton Ranch." The show, which started filming that same month, also signed up Rip Wheeler actor Cole Hauser and Annette Bening, a newcomer to the franchise. Clearly, "Yellowstone" holds a special place in Reilly's heart, but that doesn't mean she didn't have her sights set on other characters too. In August 2024, it was confirmed she'd landed the lead role in the TV series "Under Salt Marsh," which would see her return across the pond to film in Wales. 

Despite a dramatic transformation and slow rise to notoriety, Reilly is still the same girl inside. "At the heart of everything I want to achieve is steely focus," she told Simply The Best. "What motivates me is working hard, enjoying what I am doing and getting the next job. I'd like to think I am unassuming and committed to my profession ... these are the standards that have got me to where I am," she added. And there's no sign of those standards slipping anytime soon.