She’s been beat up, blown up, and done even worse to her sworn enemies. Of course, we’re talking about Beth Dutton, the rancher’s slightly crazy and very bad-ass daughter on “Yellowstone,” which concluded with Season 5 in December 2024. The character lives on, though, with her very own cult following, and an inspired T-shirt with the slogan, “Don’t make me go Beth Dutton on you.” There’s rumors Beth will be a main character in a “Yellowstone” spin-off, too.

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Beth wouldn’t be Beth, though, without Kelly Reilly, the actor who’s been portraying the feisty redhead since the first episode of the series. Though she really had doubts about playing Beth in “Yellowstone,” the star went on to infuse so much life into her on-screen character, that it became hard to imagine Reilly as anything but a smoking, swearing, eyeliner over-doser with a slow Montana accent.

If you were ever to have a conversation with Reilly, however, the first thing you would notice is that she’s British, sounding more like Kate Middleton than Beth Dutton. The second thing you’ll notice is that she’s considerably more put-together than her TV alter-ego, and absolutely gorgeous.

“Yellowstone” character Beth Dutton is played by actor Kelly Reilly. While she may have not been well-known to American audiences before the series premiered in 2018, she actually has a full resume, and has starred in several high-profile movies. Calling on her British roots (she’s from south London), she starred as Caroline Bingley in the “Pride and Prejudice” movie starring Keira Knightley, and played Mary in the “Sherlock Holmes” films with Robert Downey Jr. 

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Her American parts include a role in the movie “Flight,” and when she stepped on the red carpet in October 2012 for the film’s Los Angeles premiere, she looked every bit the glamorous movie star. Her floor-length gown was both sophisticated and seductive, glimmering with sequins and hugging her curves. It was a perfect dress for Reilly, and nothing at all like something Beth Dutton would wear, even to a Hollywood premiere.

The star, though, has revealed that she’s had some influence on her character. “The floral dresses with the boots?” she told Town & Country, referring to one of Beth’s wardrobe staples. “That’s definitely something I’ve given to her.”

Beth Dutton knew her way around a boardroom, thanks to her wheeling and dealing both in her career in finance, and in her protection of her family’s ranch. Beth’s style on “Yellowstone,” though, leaned away from nine to five office attire, and more toward low-cut suit jackets, denim dresses, and cocktail attire for after-dark work shenanigans. 

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Kelly Reilly, however, has proven she’s skilled at mastering a professional front with a bit of style flair. For a visit with SiriusXM in April 2014, she donned a black pencil skirt and a long-sleeved white top, cropped below the skirt’s high-waist to reveal nothing but a waistband — not a slice of skin in sight. Topping it all off was a strawberry-blonde version of her tresses, as opposed to Beth’s dark red. And, of course, there wasn’t even a hint of smudged eyeliner. The look was both polished and chic.

“Everything about Beth is premeditated … there’s a reason why she’s wearing what she wears,” Reilly explained to Town & Country. “I’m not like that. I just want to wear something comfortable, or something I think is beautiful.”

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Even when actor Kelly Reilly goes full-out for a night out on the town, she’s telling a completely different tale from her most-famous on-screen character, Beth Dutton on “Yellowstone.” Whereas Beth would probably grab one of her floral dresses, slip on her boots, and top it with a denim jacket, Reilly knows how to pour herself into a red-hot gown.

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For the January 2013 London premiere of the film “Flight,” the star looked effortless in a strapless, scarlet dress. Her only visible accessories were a few simple rings and a solo bracelet on one wrist. Where she truly upped the glam quotient was with her hair and makeup. Her locks were styled smooth, but then casually tousled. Her makeup included a smokey eye, paired with a subtle lip and some cheek color. When Beth goes for the same elements with her hair and makeup, she has a tendency to look messy, as if she just got out of a fight (and she most likely has). But it’s all part of who the character is.

“I miss her when I’m not playing her,” the actor admitted on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” about becoming Beth. “I’m putting the dresses on, the boots, the eyeliner, and it’s like, ‘All right, let’s go,’ and I feel it.”

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Beth Dutton hangs out in bars, and though Kelly Reilly may have come from humble beginnings before she began her journey to fame, it all led her to hanging out on the red carpet at England’s equivalent of the Oscars. The “Yellowstone” star attended the Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) in London in February 2008, a month after she was tapped to officially announce the nominations.  

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The actor wore a deep blue gown with a deep V neck and a cinched waist. She also wore an accessory you haven’t seen Beth Dutton slip on with any regularity: sky-high stillettos. “I do have a cowboy hat, but I don’t walk around in cowboy boots,” Reilly admitted to Good Housekeeping, adding an exception to her rule. “Unless I’m riding a horse — it has to have a practical element for me.”

Reilly also wore her hair in lengths that fell to mid-back, infused with subtle volume, but worn straight with fringe that was swept all the way to the side — another move you won’t find in Beth’s mane wardrobe. The character’s lack of visible forehead on “Yellowstone” could be due to the scratches, scabs, and scars that are often populating Beth’s face, thanks to her knack for finding and causing trouble. “She’s like stepping into a sports car,” Reilly told ET. “And [figuring out] ‘How do I go from naught to 100 in three seconds.”

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Before she premiered as Beth Dutton on “Yellowstone,” Kelly Reilly was steaming up the silver screen with roles in blockbusters like the “Sherlock Holmes” franchise. She appeared in both “Sherlock Holmes” and its sequel, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” playing Mary, the wife of Jude Law’s Dr. Watson. In December 2011, she joined the cast at the London premiere of the second installment of the film.

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For the event, the star wore a stunning royal-blue dress with a subtle texture and a jeweled belt. Her hair was done in loose waves, and her makeup was flawless, with a glowy finish. At the time, it was years before Beth and Rip Wheeler became the big love story on “Yellowstone,” but it was only six months before Reilly married her husband Kyle Baugher in June 2012. 

Reilly has had her share of tragic details, but her romance with Baugher isn’t one of them. “He’s the love of my life,” she proclaimed on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in November 2024, after celebrating 12 years of being happily married. “The most beautiful thing that’s every happened to me is my marriage.”