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James Cameron and the Walt Disney Company are currently facing a lawsuit for the unauthorised use of an actress's facial features in the Avatar franchise. The actress bringing the lawsuit is Q'orianka Kilcher. According to her complaint, Kilcher alleges that her facial features were used without her consent to create the character Neytiri in Avatar. The filing claims that when she was 14 years old, Cameron extracted her facial features from a published photograph and directed his design team to use them as a basis for the character's design. If you're curious about the actress, further details are provided below.

Who is Q'orianka Kilcher?

Q'orianka Kilcher was born in Schweigmatt, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, to parents Quechua–Huachipaeri and Saskia Kilcher. Her mother is an American human rights activist of Swiss origin. At the age of 5, Q'orianka was inspired by Hawaii's local culture and started hula dancing. She is also trained in Tahitian dance, ballet, hip hop and modern dance.

She made her acting debut at the age of 10 in 2000 with the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas. However, she earned widespread fame when she portrayed Pocahontas in the Academy Award-nominated motion picture The New World. She was only 15 when the world recognised her. Since then, she has starred in several films, including Shouting Secrets, Princess Kaiulani, The Vault and The Unholy Trinity.

Apart from movies, she has also featured in TV shows, including Sons of Anarchy, Firelight, Spirit Rangers and The Killing.

Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards and nominations, particularly for The New World.

When Q'orianka Kilcher met James Cameron

According to her complaint, Kilcher and Cameron first met briefly at a charity event following the 2009 release of Avatar. Cameron allegedly later invited her to his office, where she was presented with a framed sketch and a handwritten note reading, "Your beauty was my early inspiration for Neytiri. Too bad you were shooting another movie. Next time," as per ANI. The actress said she initially believed the gesture was harmless.

"When I received Cameron's sketch, I believed it was a personal gesture, at most a loose inspiration tied to casting and my activism," Kilcher said. She added, "I never imagined that someone I trusted would systematically use my face as part of an elaborate design process and integrate it into a production pipeline without my knowledge or consent. That crosses a major line. This act is deeply wrong."

It came to her attention when a video interview resurfaced in which Cameron reportedly identified her as a reference for Neytiri, saying, "The actual source for this was a photo in the L.A. Times, a young actress named Q'orianka Kilcher. This is actually her...her lower face. She had a very interesting face," as per the outlet.

The complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages, disgorgement of profits attributable to the use of Kilcher's likeness, injunctive relief, and corrective public disclosure.