Rya Kihlstedt Siblings: Getting to Know Carla Kihlstedt
Actress Rya Kihlstedt PHOTO/IMDb
Rya Kihlstedt is an accomplished American actress and director known for her performances across film, television, and theater.
Born on July 23, 1970, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, she grew up in a family with artistic inclinations, which likely influenced her path toward the performing arts.
Kihlstedt graduated from Skidmore College in 1991 with a degree in Theater Arts, where she honed her skills in acting and stagecraft.
Of Swedish descent, she has built a reputation for portraying complex characters, from villains in family comedies to resilient figures in science fiction and drama.
Married to fellow actor Gil Bellows since October 3, 1994, the couple shares two children: a daughter, Ava Emanuelle, born in 1999, and a son, Giovanni, born in 2001.
Siblings
Rya has one sister, Carla Kihlstedt, a renowned Oakland-based violinist and composer celebrated in the avant-garde and experimental music scenes.
Carla has collaborated with diverse artists, blending classical violin techniques with contemporary improvisation, and has performed with groups like the Kronos Quartet.
Career
Kihlstedt’s screen debut arrived in 1993 with the action thriller Arctic Blue, opposite Rutger Hauer, marking her entry into film as a determined young woman entangled in a wilderness survival story.
She quickly followed this with television roles, including Lizzie Elmsworth in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers and Willa in the ABC miniseries Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III.
Breakthrough came in 1997 when she portrayed the cunning thief Alice Ribbons in the family hit Home Alone 3, a role that showcased her ability to blend menace with dark humor.
The next year, she appeared in the blockbuster disaster film Deep Impact as a NASA scientist, contributing to its ensemble cast amid global catastrophe.
Also Read: Wille Crafoord Siblings: Meet the Siblings Squad Behind the Swedish Actor
After a prolific late-1990s run, including the TV movie Brave New World with Peter Gallagher, Kihlstedt paused her career for nearly a decade to raise her young children, a decision that underscored her commitment to family.
She reemerged in 2009 with a supporting role in the ensemble comedy Women in Trouble, reuniting with friend Carla Gugino, and reprised elements in its 2010 sequel Elektra Luxx.
Recurring roles followed, notably as Dr. Michelle Ross on Dexter from 2011 to 2012 and Marilyn Rhodes on Nashville during its 2014 season.
Kihlstedt’s resurgence peaked in 2015 with lead turns in the indie horror The Atticus Institute, where she played a woman possessed during a chilling possession experiment, and as the enigmatic Erica Kravid in the NBC miniseries Heroes Reborn, a revival of the superhero saga.
She also portrayed Caroline, the mother of comedian Tig Notaro, in the Amazon series One Mississippi.
Subsequent projects diversified her portfolio: a recurring role as Julia Wagner in the CW’s Charmed reboot (2018-2019), opposite Gugino again in the Cinemax series Jett (2019), and the voice of CIA operative Kate Laswell in the blockbuster video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).
In the Canadian crime drama Cardinal’s third season, she delivered a standout performance that earned industry recognition.
More recently, Kihlstedt appeared in the FX miniseries A Teacher (2020) as Sandy Walker, the horror-comedy The Nowhere Inn (2020), and the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
In 2025, she stars as Darlene Campbell in the supernatural horror Final Destination: Bloodlines, continuing her affinity for genre-bending roles.
Accolades
In 2020, Kihlstedt received a nomination for the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama Series for her portrayal of a complex antagonist in Cardinal season three, highlighting her ability to command attention in intense dramatic narratives.
Beyond formal awards, Kihlstedt’s roles in cult favorites like Home Alone 3 and Heroes Reborn have garnered fan acclaim, with her villainous turn in the former often cited as a memorable highlight in franchise discussions.
Her video game work as Kate Laswell in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare contributed to the title’s multiple Game of the Year honors at events like The Game Awards, indirectly elevating her profile in gaming circles.