Tinsel Korey (born March 25, 1980) is a Canadian actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for portraying Emily Young in The Twilight Saga film series.
Scholars have written that she falsely adopted a Native American identity.
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Life and career
Prior to her move to Vancouver, Korey had already found work through her multiple appearances in commercial advertisements. She then decided in late 2002 to move to Hollywood, but was "stopped at the border because she couldn't prove she was going to come back to Canada. She couldn't go home though so she called her friend and got on a flight to Vancouver and she's been there ever since."
In 2006, Korey was given a small role as a rape victim opposite Callum Keith Rennie in the film Unnatural & Accidental, which told the story of a series of murders of mostly First Nations women. The film's director, Carl Bessai, recalled: "It was one of her first gigs and it was harrowing. She was terrified and Callum is so method, so intense. It was one of those moments where you watch a young actor and you think, 'This will either really give them the power to act or it will just alienate them.'"
Career under Native American identity
Korey performed as a singer at the 2008 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. Academic Natalie Wilson wrote that Korey is East Indian, and had claimed to be Native American when cast to play Emily Young in The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
In 2015, Korey was cast in an episode of Z Nation where the protagonists meet a group of Native Americans. Her casting was criticized by Native American viewers. Scholar Léna Remy-Kovach writes that Korey is an Indo-Canadian actress who changed her name to conceal her identity, and adjusted her appearance to pass as Native American. She compares her to the Italian-American actor Iron Eyes Cody, saying Korey was accused of taking roles from Native American actors.
