Natalie Krill is a Canadian actress and dancer, who’s probably best known for her work in the independent film, “Below Her Mouth.”
Early life and Education
Natalie Krill was born on 4 February 1983, in Saskatchewan, one of the Prairie Provinces in Canada, of Estonian and Swedish descent, She and her siblings were raised by their mother, Rose Ray Krill, and stepfather, Allan along with her Swedish grandmother, Ruth Treiberg.
Her love for dancing started at the age of six, and her mom enrolled her in various dance classes such as ballet, tap, and jazz.
When she was aged 12 in Middle School, a dance teacher told her that she was good, but needed to lose weight, so she developed an eating disorder, and had a weird concept of an ideal body shape. Until that comment, she was very happy with her body, but became conscious of not only her weight but also of her height which was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) at that time; these insecurities would haunt her into adulthood. Through all this, her family encouraged her not to give up. Her mother said in News-Optimist interview, “She has hardly wavered. There’ve been times when it was very tough, but she’s very determined, she always was.”
When Natalie was in high school, she started singing and acting in school performances. When she matriculated from North Battleford Comprehensive High School, she decided to pursue her acting dreams instead of going to Vancouver for her college education, even if she also dreamt of becoming a brain surgeon, for a year or two when she was growing up. She gave in to the lure of the stage and her love for performing.
Career
First step
After high school, she went to Toronto to meet with an agent her mother had already chosen when Natalie was 16 years old. Her mother was a go-getter, and believed that professional help would be needed in pursuing one’s dream.
The agent practically took Natalie under her wing and was the primary reason why Natalie was able to easily give up going to Vancouver.
When she reached the big city of Toronto with only $60 in her pocket, the 18-year-old Natalie was pretty overwhelmed. Coming from a small town, her fears started creeping in, and her insecurities were taking over as there were so many beautiful and talented girls everywhere. She had depression, and her fears paralyzed her so that she failed to attend her weekly acting workshops and dance and singing classes. Her agent found out one day and told her that even those professional hockey players, no matter how talented they are, practice every single day, and so she should do the same thing if she badly wanted to achieve her dreams.
She was motivated again and continued with her classes until she was given roles in theatre, film and on television.
In 2002 she played the role of Lorraine Fleming in the Moscow version of the Broadway musical, “42nd Street,” which was based on the 1987 popular box office movie “Dirty Dancing.” Her first TV appearance was in 2005 in the film made for TV, “Twitches,” followed by another small role in the movie “Hollywoodland,” in 2006. Her first lead role was in the Canadian TV series about trophy wives of hockey players called, “MVP,” aired in 2008. She played the role of Molly McBride, the wife of the team captain whose recent death left his family penniless.
While the Canadian TV run was cut short due to poor ratings and expensive production cost, it was rebranded and shown in the US and UK along with the unaired episodes.
Further success
Natalie’s performance in “MVP” led to several appearances on TV and in movies. Most notable were her recurring role as Alex Kendrick in the fantasy TV series “The Listener,” during the fifth season, and as Phoebe in the teen drama “The Next Step.” It was also a recurring role, and she appeared in 29 episodes, which aired in 2014-2015.
Her biggest break to date was a lead role in the movie, “Below Her Mouth,” released in 2017 in the US but premiered in 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was a controversial erotic lesbian romantic indie movie with actress Erika Linder. While most critics had written it off as a pornographic fantasy flick, with too many scenes focused on writhing bodies, Natalie gained a bit of prominence not only with fans but with other producers as well. A series of movie and television appearances followed, and one of the most noteworthy was “Molly’s Game” released in 2017, which gave her the chance to work with famous Hollywood actors such as Kevin Costner, Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.
This was Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut, the man behind hit movies such as “A Few Good Men,” “The American President,” “To Kill a Mocking bird,” and popular TV series such as “The West Wing.”
Personal Life
On 20 July 2019, Natalie married an Estonian, Daniel Kannimäe, in his homeland. They only started dating back in 2016, as revealed in her Instagram posts, even if they had known each other for a long time since their mothers are best of friends. Her wedding had a Woodlands or Boho theme, and it was a private affair with just family and close friends in attendance in Lääne County Forests, which is the very place where Daniel proposed. The couple even planted a tree on their wedding day, which is an Estonian tradition.
Interesting Facts and Rumors
- During her solo performance in the musical, “42nd Street,” she practically blanked out in front of 1,500 people when she forgot the lyrics of the song that she was singing. Eventually she was able to finish her part after singing something gibberish. This moment led to her extreme stage fright; she needed to practice the whole script every single day during the run of the musical. Her paranoia of forgetting her lines stretched for the next three years, but got help through therapy sessions, although today she still gets nervous but can manage it well.
- Two of her favorite actors are Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie.
- She lost her stepfather on 23 May 2016, and has shared photos of him on her Instagram account with the caption, ‘One month today. At the rising of the sun and at its setting, we remember him. As long as we live, he too will live. For he is now a part of us, as we remember him’.
- Natalie believes in the quote, “Happiness is the ultimate success,” and that her proudest moment is when she is happy. She had problems when she was in her 20s, and it took some time before she felt really good about herself.
- During an interview with Franq Girl Magazine, she said, “My favorite part in dancing is when I lose myself in the music and nothing else matters. I find it very cleansing and I always feel better after I dance. It is part of my daily practice, I put the music on and I dance around my house. It’s like having a shower…in a way.”
- She was rumored to be in a lesbian relationship with her co-star Erika Linder in the movie “Below Her Mouth.” It was making rounds online during the promotion of the film, but it died a natural death after fans realized she had a boyfriend. Fans also took to heart when she said in an interview that she’s open to any type of relationship, and she does not want to be labeled.
Appearance
The actress-dancer is 5ft 8ins (1.76m) tall and weighs around 125lbs (57kgs). She is Caucasian with blond-brownish hair and brown eyes.
Net worth
Sources estimated her net worth at around $1.2 million as of early 2020.