Actor reveals James Cameron modeled her likeness for Avatar.
A lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court against filmmaker James Cameron and The Walt Disney Company by actress Q’orianka Kilcher. The complaint claims that Cameron used a photograph of Kilcher, then 14, from a 2005 LA Times article of her role as Pocahontas to model the character Neytiri in the 2009 film “Avatar.”
The suit alleges that Cameron requested his design team to base Neytiri’s facial features on Kilcher’s portrait, producing sketches, maquettes and laser‑scanned digital models that were incorporated into the film’s visual effects pipeline. The likeness was later used on posters and merchandise. Kilcher was not contacted for permission, nor was she credited or compensated.
Kilcher learned of the alleged use only after a 2023 interview with Cameron that referenced her photo. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, disgorgement of profits linked to the use of her image, injunctive relief, and public disclosure of the allegations.
Cameron and Disney have not yet issued a response.