Template:Infobox Lost character Katherine "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Evangeline Lilly. She is the female leading character.

Kate was born and raised in Iowa. Her mother, Diane, worked at a diner while her father, Sam, was a soldier, who also taught Kate how to track deer in the wild. However, her parents divorced and her mother married Wayne, an alcoholic who often abused Diane. Kate soon learned that Sam was in Korea when she was conceived, and that Wayne was actually her biological father. One night, Kate took out an insurance policy on her mother's home and blew it up, with Wayne inside. She informs her of this and immediately leaves. However, Kate is caught at a bus station by Edward Mars, a US marshal whom Diane called and informed of Kate's crime. Whilst being taken to the hearing for Wayne's murder, a black horse appears in the middle of the road, causing the Marshal to swerve off the road. Kate uncuffed herself, knocked the marshal out of his car and drove off ("What Kate Did").

Under the alias of Lucy, Kate returns to Iowa in a bid to explain her motive to her mother. However, after meeting con artist Cassidy Phillips, Kate realizes how difficult the task is. With the help of Phillips, she manages to meet with her mother in the restroom of the diner where the latter works. Kate learns that Diane still loved Wayne despite his actions toward her, and warned Kate that if she saw her again, she would scream for help. With this, Kate fled the state again ("Left Behind"), traveling with a car trunk full of license plates from different states, also using hair dye to disguise her appearance. However, after some time, Kate receives news that her mother is dying of cancer, and decides to visit her ("Born to Run"). Whilst at the hospital, she meets Tom, her childhood love, who is happily married and working as a doctor. They meet up one night to dig up a time capsule they made as children, containing a tape recording and some old toys, one in particular being Tom's toy airplane. Kate convinces him to arrange a meeting with her mother, since she was under guard. When she meets Diane again, she begins screaming for help, and Kate is pursued by the police and forced to flee in Tom's car. Tom insisted on joining her, and she obliged. During the escape, she drove through a police barricade while being shot at. Kate then crashes the car and finds Tom already dead. She then flees the scene, leaving behind the toy airplane.

Some time later, under the name Maggie Ryan, Kate visited a bank in New Mexico claiming to be a photographer looking for a loan. However, the bank was soon under siege by bank robbers, and Kate wound up as one of the hostages. One of the hostages overpowers a robber, causing his gun to drop near Kate. Kate claims not to know how to use one, and ends up being taken into an office by the leader. It is revealed that Kate is in on the robbery and the male robber is her apparent significant other. The two continue to act, with the robber eventually threatening to kill Kate should the bank manager not open the vault. He complies and takes the two inside, where the robber finally reveals Kate's involvement with the robbery. Kate shoots the robber in the leg, not allowing him to kill the bank manager. She forces the manager to open a safe deposit box, containing the toy airplane that belonged to Tom ("Whatever the Case May Be").

Whilst on the run in Miami, under the alias Monica, Kate meets and becomes engaged to a police officer named Kevin. On the day of their wedding, Kevin's mother gave Kate a gold chain with a trinket meant for her first daughter (she had only boys). After the wedding, Kate called Edward Mars from a payphone, using an egg-timer that went off before they could trace her call. She begged him to stop looking for her, to which they complied - only if she really did settle down. However, the marshal knew that this was something Kate was not capable of doing. Kate soon took a pregnancy test, which came up with two blue lines. After learning that Kevin bought two Oceanic tickets to Costa Rica, Kate decided to confess. She spiked his tea so he would not remember the conversation, and told Kevin she was a fugitive who almost became pregnant. As he fell unconscious, Kate placed the gold chain in his hand before leaving ("I Do").

An unknown amount of time later, Kate winds up in Australia. Under the name Annie, while claiming to be Canadian, she is found by a farm owner on whose property she is sleeping. The man offers her a home and wage, which she accepts. After three months, Kate decides to sneak out, but is caught by the homeowner and offered a ride into town the next morning. However, on the way, Kate discovers that Edward Mars is tagging along behind. She learns of the $23,000 reward for her capture from the man, and immediately grabs the wheel, causing the man's truck to swerve off the road and crash. Instead of fleeing, she pulls the man from the truck to save him, allowing the marshal to catch her with her kind act("Tabula Rasa").

At the airport, Kate and Edward are stopped by an Australian law enforcement officer as a result of Mars's case containing five guns. Mars tells him he has been chasing Kate, an American fugitive, for three years, and that he has a case containing five guns to ensure she doesn't escape again. On board the flight, Kate is still handcuffed and seated next to the marshal. Before turbulance hits, Kate begins to ask the marshal a favor (later revealed to make sure the farmer received the reward money). The turbulence escalates, and the marshal is injured badly. Kate steals his keys to uncuff herself, but makes sure that he is wearing an oxygen mask before taking her own ("Exodus, Part 1"), ("Pilot, Part 2").

Upon landing on the island, Kate discards her handcuffs and emerges from the jungle to encounter Jack, and agrees to sew up his open gash as he tells her a story from his early days as a surgeon. That night, the two decide to head inland and search for the cockpit. They are also joined by Charlie, and the three eventually discover the cockpit. Once inside, they recover a radio transceiver, but are sent fleeing when the "Monster" arrives and kills the pilot. Kate returns to the beach with Jack and Charlie, and later joins Sayid as he attempts to transmit a distress signal, along with a few other survivors. After Sawyer shoots and kills a polar bear, Kate is unanimously voted to keep hold of the gun. Upon returning, Jack tells Kate that he knows she is a fugitive. She examines the injured Marshall, only to be strangled. She asks Sawyer to kill him on her behalf, but Jack is the one who eventually does it. Later, after Jack discovers the caves, Kate decides to remain on the beach. She prepares to help Sayid locate the source of the looped distress call, but after Sawyer informs her of Jack being in a cave in, she abandons her post to help. She also extracts the truth of Shannon's missing asthma inhalers from him, revealing he doesn't have them.

Kate is often the sight of attention for Jack and Sawyer. When she discovers the Marshall's case, she and Sawyer fight to gain possession, but she eventually informs Jack, who confiscates it from her. She later informs Nikki and Paulo of its original whereabouts. Kate helps Sun with her garden, learning that she understand English. Kate continues to maintain a helpful attitude throughout the camp, as she joins the search party for the kidnapped Claire and Charlie, returning only with the latter. When Claire returns two weeks later, Kate also helps capture Ethan. Later, Sawyer seeks Kate's help in tracking a boar he claims to be constantly harassing him. Kate jokes about his predicament, but agrees to help nonetheless. She abandons him, however, after he exhibits aggressive behavior. Whilst in the caves with Jack, she is sent to retrieve alcohol when Locke carries a mortally wounded Boone. She becomes sidetracked when she discovers Claire in the jungle going into labor, and must deliver the baby without Jack's help.

Kate grows concerned over Jack's well-being, and drugs him in order for him to get some deserved sleep. However, Kate and Jack later discover that the key to the gun case is missing; they find Shannon holding Locke at gunpoint later in the jungle. After Rousseau arrives on the beach to warn the camp of the Others' imminent arrival, she takes Kate, Jack, Locke, Hurley and Arzt to the Black Rock, where they attempt to carry dynamite to the hatch discovered in the jungle. After the sudden demise of Arzt, Kate volunteers to carry dynamite in her backpack; she discovers that Jack switched her bag moments before handing it to her. Arriving at the hatch, Kate helps prepare the dynamite. Once the hatch door is blown open, she and the others peer inside.

Despite Jack's objections, Kate and Locke descend into the hatch, Kate entering first. Once inside, she is caught by Desmond, and tells her to tie up Locke, until he reveals Kate's criminal past. Kate is tied up and locked in the food pantry, where Locke slips her a knife to free herself with. Kate crawls through the air vents and arrives in a room with a computer, where she overpowers Desmond after Jack arrives. She accidentally damages the computer in the crossfire, causing Desmond to panic and flee. When Jack returns, Kate is placed on a rota to enter the numbers into the computer. As she and Jack play golf one day, they encounter Mr. Eko carrying a critically injured Sawyer. When the rest of the tail-section survivors arrive, along with Jin and Michael, Kate decides to skip Shannon's funeral in order to care for Sawyer. However, her father, Wayne, is channeled through Sawyer and attacks her. Kate flees, where she encounters a black horse from her past. When Michael runs off in search of his son, Kate volunteers to follow him, only for her offer to be rejected by Jack. Adamant to help, Kate follows them from a distance, but gets captured, tied up and gagged by Tom. She is held ransom for the weapons from the armory. Sawyer sympathizes with her actions, while Jack gives her the cold shoulder.

Later, Kate finds herself a victim of a long con, conducted by Sawyer, in order to gain access to the armory's remaining weapons and the camp's medicine. When Claire's baby falls ill, Kate joins her on a trek into the jungle to seek Rousseau's help. The three head inland, where they discover the Staff station. Inside, Kate examines the locker room, where she discovers a box of theatrical props and costume, including a fake beard worn by Tom. Failing to find what Claire was looking for, Kate returns her to the camp. Sun confides in Kate when she learns that she is pregnant, who helps her come to terms with the sudden news. Later, Kate and Jack discover a mysterious and unnoticed food drop in the jungle. They return to the hatch, where hostage "Henry Gale" is exposed as an imposer. Later, Kate joins Jack on a trek back to where they encountered the Others. On the way, they fall for one of Rousseau's traps, and are momentarily caught in a net together. The two discover Michael stumbling out of the bushes in exhaustion.

Michael invites her to follow him to the Others' camp when he recovers, to which she accepts. However, upon learning that Ana Lucia has stolen Sawyer's personal gun, Kate, Jack, Locke and Sawyer rush to the hatch to find her dead, and Michael and Libby severely injured. Kate scolds Jack when he decides to find the escaped Henry, reminding him that Libby is in dire need of medical assistance. Kate helps carry the two bodies to the beach, where she comforts Hurley over the loss of Libby. The next day, Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Hurley join Michael as they head for the Others' camp. On the way, Kate and Sawyer kill two of the Others who attempt to ambush them, causing Michael to reveal his true reasons for bringing them along. They are then ambushed, gagged, tied up and taken to a pier. Kate witnesses Michael leaving the island with Walt, while she, Jack and Sawyer are taken away with the Others.

Kate wakes up in a locker room, with Tom supervising her. She is forced to strip naked and shower, but is also forced to wear a dress as she accompanies Ben for breakfast. Ben forces her to handcuff herself. She is then placed in a cage opposite Sawyer. The two are forced to work for the Others, under the watchful eye of Pickett. When Sawyer rebels against the majority, Kate is held at gunpoint until he cooperates. Later, Kate climbs out of her cage and attempts to escape with Sawyer, until on one occasion she climbs into Sawyer's cage. The two have sex, unaware that they are being watch by Jack. Kate is then forced to watch as Pickett is about to kill Sawyer, in revenge for his dead wife. When Jack radios her via Pickett's radio, informing her that she has a head-start to escape, she and Sawyer locks Pickett inside the cage and run towards the beach. They encounter Alex, who gives them her boat in exchange for rescuing her brainwashed boyfriend, Karl. Upon arriving on the beach, however, they are held at gunpoint by Pickett, until Juliet arrives and kills him. Jack radios her again, and tells her never to return for him. However, Kate is unable to abide by his request.

Upon arriving back on the main island, Kate demands that she and Sawyer head back to rescue him. When arriving on the beach, she scolds Sayid and Locke for not bothering to rescue Jack. She heads into the jungle, with the two in pursuit, and finds Rousseau, who agrees to help her after learning of Alex's status. The four trek into the jungle, where they discover the Flame station. They are greeted by Mikhail, who poses as an innocent surviving DHARMA member, but is exposed as an Other. Kate and Sayid take him hostage, as well as Bea, found hiding in the basement. Upon leaving the station that night, Kate witnesses its destruction. The four, along with Mikhail, resume their hike, eventually coming across a set of sonar panel fences. Kate suggests climbing over them to avoid the sonic barrier, and the four eventually arrive at the Others' barracks, where Kate is appalled to see Jack bonding with Tom. Kate rushes in that night to rescue him, but is captured. She is gassed the next morning, and wakes up in the jungle, handcuffed to Juliet. The two constantly bicker as they are chased by the "Monster." They soon trap it outside the sonar fencing when Juliet unlocks the handcuffs. Kate finds Jack unconscious in one of the barracks, and apologizes for the trouble she caused. She returns to the beach with Jack, Sayid and Juliet.

Upon returning, Kate is still wary over Juliet. When Claire falls ill suddenly, Juliet explains to her and Jack about the deaths of pregnant women on the island. Kate grows concerned over the fate of Sun, and cautions her when she begins questioning Juliet. She also uses Sawyer for sex when she sees Jack alone with Juliet. Later, she discovers Sayid with a satellite phone. She learns of Naomi's arrival, and of Juliet's true purpose for being in the camp. She breaks Sayid's word, and immediately informs Jack of Naomi's presence. That night, during a camp discussion, Jack and Juliet admit to being dishonest. Kate is then shown their plan to deal with the Others' kidnap attempt the next morning. However, after Karl arrives to warn then of the Others' imminent arrival, Kate travels to the radio tower with Jack and the majority of the camp. She witnesses the backfire of Jack's plan, but presses on. They eventually encounter Ben and Alex in the jungle, to which Ben is taken hostage, while Alex is reunited with Rousseau. Kate arrives at the radio tower, where she witnesses Naomi's death. She watches as Jack makes contact with her freighter.

In Through the Looking Glass, it is revealed that Jack and Kate leave the island sometime in the future. At first, Jack cannot get hold of Kate. She hangs up on him whenever he calls and is avoiding him. However, after he manages to call her she agrees to meet him at the airport to discuss something. Jack informs her of an unidentified person's funeral and she asks him why would she go. After Jack tells her that they need to return to the island, she leaves, saying that, "he's gonna be wondering where I am." It is not clear to whom "he" refers, but it is widely assumed that she is referring to Sawyer (it is not, however, impossible that Sawyer is the deceased, which would explain why Jack expected Kate to be in the funeral). Jack then pulls her close as she goes to walk away, explaining that they made a mistake. They have to go back. Kate is cold towards Jack and leaves him screaming in the parking lot as she takes off.

• In the original plot for Lost, in which Jack dies when the group finds the cockpit, Kate was to emerge as the leader for the survivors, motivating them to build shelter and begin considering life as permanent residents of the island.^[1]
• In the original description for Kate, she was a slightly older woman separated from her husband, who went to the bathroom in the tail-section of the plane. However, that idea ended up being used for Rose and her husband Bernard.
• Yunjin Kim originally tried out for Kate. The producers liked her but didn't think she was right for the part, so they wrote the role of Sun-Hwa Kwon for her.^{[citation needed]}

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