Kiawentiio

Kiawentiio (also credited as Kiawentiio Tarbell and variants) is a Canadian Indigenous actor, singer, and visual artist born April 28, 2006, in Akwesasne, Ontario. A member of the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne, she is widely known by her first name, which translates to “Nice Morning” and is pronounced “Gya-wuhn-dee-yo.” She grew up on Cornwall Island along the St. Lawrence River and attended the Akwesasne Freedom School before continuing her studies in Cornwall.

Her breakout arrived in 2019 with a standout recurring role as Ka’kwet on CBC’s Anne with an E, after emerging from a large open casting search. In 2020, she earned major acclaim leading Tracey Deer’s drama Beans as Tekahentahkhwa (“Beans”), a coming-of-age story set against the 1990 Oka Crisis. The film’s awards momentum helped cement her as one of Canada’s most promising young screen talents.

She expanded into U.S. television with Rutherford Falls and voiced Wahta in Marvel’s animated anthology What If...?. In 2024, she stepped into a global spotlight as Katara in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, a role that connected her lifelong fandom with a career-defining opportunity. She also appears in n’x̌ax̌aitkʷ as Zarya and is set for IT: Welcome to Derry as Necani.

Beyond acting, Kiawentiio writes and performs music, releasing the EP In My Head in 2021 and contributing vocals to the Beans soundtrack. She is also an active painter and illustrator, sharing her artwork with a large online following.