An actress based in and around Seattle, WA, for many years, screen performer Misty Upham drew heavily from her Native American ancestral background in selecting roles, which often reflected an ethnic angle; the majority of her early film projects also dealt explicitly with Native American issues.
Upham first bowed onscreen in the early 2000s, in two projects helmed by the celebrated Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals): Skins and Skinwalkers (both 2002). Upham essayed one of her first leads in the 2008 Frozen River, as a Mohawk Indian who sustains herself economically by smuggling illegal immigrants over the border. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide. 