{{short description|Canadian musician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Lili Haydn | image = Lili haydn photo.jpg | caption = | background = solo_singer | alias = "Helicopter" | instrument = Vocals, violin, piano | genre = Classical rock, jazz rock, rock, alternative rock | occupation = Musician, songwriter, actress | birth_date = | birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | years_active = | label = Atlantic, Nettwerk, Arista, Private Music | website = {{URL|lilihaydn.com}} }}
'''Lili Haydn''' is a Canadian-born violinist, film and TV composer, singer-songwriter, and former child-actress. She won a Grammy Award in 2019 for ''Opium Moon'' and was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics" in the TV series, ''Ginny & Georgia'' in 2023. In 2025, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for ''Lullabies For The Brokenhearted'' for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.<ref name="GA"/> As a solo artist she has released four albums.
She was the opening act for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Sting, and George Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars and has collaborated with Roger Waters, Hans Zimmer, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, B. B. King, Seal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sting.com/tour/date/198|title=Sting tour dates|publisher=Sting.com|date=|access-date=March 1, 2025}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Haydn was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is the daughter of comedian Lotus Weinstock and video artist David Jove, who was one of the first people to mass-produce LSD.<ref name="chelin">{{cite news|url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/while-making-her-new-album-lili-haydn-suffered-brain-damage-5110431|title=While Making Her New Album, Lili Haydn Suffered Brain Damage|last=Chelin|first=Pamela|newspaper=L.A. Weekly |date=September 29, 2014|publisher=laweekly.com|access-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104152211/http://www.laweekly.com/music/while-making-her-new-album-lili-haydn-suffered-brain-damage-5110431 |archive-date=January 4, 2018}}</ref> Haydn's parents allowed her to choose her own first name. She reportedly chose the name "Helicopter" by which she was known briefly.<ref name="idiva.com interview">{{cite web|last=Turakhia|first=Dipali|title=Diva in Focus: American violinist Lili Haydn|url=http://idiva.com/interviews-entertainment/diva-in-focus-american-violinist-lili-haydn/2177|work=idiva.com|access-date=December 11, 2011|date=October 25, 2010}}</ref>
When she was three years old, Haydn and her mother moved to the United States.<ref name="rubin">{{cite journal|last=Rubin|first=Chris|date=June 1997|title=The Violin Femme|journal=Los Angeles Magazine|publisher=Emmis Communications|volume=42|issue=6|page=24|issn=1522-9149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X10EAAAAMBAJ&q=lili+haydn+colombo&pg=PA24}}</ref> For a time, they lived at the Brotherhood of the Source, a commune in the Hollywood Hills led by Father Yod. Haydn's father eventually rescued the two from the commune cult.<ref name="chelin"/> As a child, she pursued a career as an actress; at age eight she discovered the violin and began to focus on classical music. By the time Haydn was 15, she had played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/people-news/lotus-weinstock-1116674955/ |title=Lotus Weinstock |date=September 10, 1997 |work=Variety |access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Official site/bio/1">{{cite web|url=http://www.lilihaydn.com/bio.jsp |title=Lili Hayden/Bio |last=Hayden |first=Lili |year=2009 |publisher=Official website |access-date=October 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519201254/http://www.lilihaydn.com/bio.jsp |archive-date=May 19, 2009}}</ref> After graduating from Brown University with a BA in political science, Haydn started composing original songs and became one of the most requested session violinists around Los Angeles.
==Career==
===Acting=== Haydn began her career as a child actress at the age of seven. She initially appeared in commercials and moved on to television and film roles. From 1979 to 1980, she played Jenny Columbo, daughter of Lt. Columbo and his wife, Kate Columbo/Callahan (Kate Mulgrew) in the ''Columbo'' spin-off series ''Mrs. Columbo''. In 1983, she starred as Belinda Capuletti, the smart and sassy daughter of Rodney Dangerfield's character in the comedy film ''Easy Money''.<ref name="rubin"/> She also appeared in the first ''Not Quite Human'' TV movie in 1987, and was a regular cast member on the syndicated sitcom ''The New Gidget''.
She has a bit part in the Michael Keaton movie ''Jack Frost''.
===Music=== Haydn began playing the violin at the age of eight. She played her first professional gig in 1990. In 1992, Haydn graduated from Brown University with a BA in political science and began to pursue a career in music.<ref name="rubin"/>
By the time she signed with Atlantic in 1997 and released her debut album, ''Lili'', she had embraced a variety of genres, having played with Quwaali musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Porno for Pyros, Tracy Chapman, The Jayhawks, Brandy, Tony! Toni! Tone!, No Doubt, Tom Petty and more. In addition, she has played with, sung with, and opened for Sting, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Matchbox 20, Seal, and George Clinton, who calls her "the Jimi Hendrix of the violin".<ref name="Official site/bio/1"/>
Following the album's release, she toured as an opening act for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's 1998 tour of North America. Her second album, ''Light Blue Sun,'' was released in 2003, followed by 2008's ''Place Between Places'', which she promoted with television and radio appearances such as ''The Tonight Show'' with Jay Leno, and NPR. NPR described "Place Between Places" as "A mix of neo-psychedelic flower child and rock star virtuoso...Heifetz meet Hendrix." She contributed to the score of the Edward Burns/Jennifer Aniston film ''She's the One'' (1996),<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370768/ IMDb]</ref> as well as several films with Hans Zimmer, including Disney's ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End''.
Haydn won a fellowship to the Sundance Film Institute composing in 2009, and has composed the film scores for three films, ''Jacklight'', ''The Horse Boy'' (premiered at Sundance Film Festival and released in 2009 by Zeitgeist Films), and ''The Lightmaker''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jacklight (1999) – Full cast and crew|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479688/fullcredits|publisher=IMDb|access-date=December 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lightmaker (2001) – Full cast and crew|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133063/fullcredits#cast|publisher=IMDb|access-date=December 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Horse Boy (2009) – Full cast and crew|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333668/fullcredits#cast|publisher=IMDb|access-date=December 11, 2011}}</ref>
In 2008, Haydn accompanied Roger Waters at the Coachella music festival when they played "The Dark Side of the Moon".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/28/coachella-day-three-roger-waters-my-morning-jacket-and-justice-send-revelers-home-happy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430035455/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/28/coachella-day-three-roger-waters-my-morning-jacket-and-justice-send-revelers-home-happy/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 30, 2008 |title=Which Band Will Reunite Next? Placing Odds on 14 Groups, from Led Zeppelin to N'Sync Pictures |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 15, 2014}}</ref> Haydn also performed on Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour 2008. That same year she appeared on the cable TV series ''Californication''. In 2009, Haydn sustained neurological damage after being exposed to the pesticide Chlordane. While she was unable to write lyrics, she was still able to compose music. For the next five years, she continued working on film scores and composed music for her fourth album, ''Lililand'', released in September 2014.<ref name="chelin"/>
Since the release of ''Lililand'' in 2014, Haydn has scored seven films, including Academy Award winner Freida Mock's ''Anita'', ''The House that Jack Built'', and Sundance Selects' ''Driver X''. She has also worked on the score for Seasons 2 and 3 of the Emmy-winning series ''Transparent'', and has done four high-impact TED presentations.
In 2018, Haydn joined with musicians Hamid Saeidi, MB Gordy, and Itai Disraeli to create the group Opium Moon. Their eponymous album was awarded a Grammy in the category of Best New Age Album.
In 2021, Haydn released a new single, "Sayonara". She has since been working on scoring a number of TV and film projects, including the feature documentary ''"Strip Down, Rise Up'' by Oscar-nominated director Michele Ohayon and Freida Mock's latest documentary, ''RUTH: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words''.
In 2025, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for ''Lullabies For The Brokenhearted'' for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.<ref name="GA"/>
==Filmography== Source:<ref name="Fade to Her">{{cite news|url=https://www.fadetoher.com/2023/01/13/lili-haydn/ |title=Lili Haydn |last=|first=|magazine=Fade to Her|date=January 13, 2023|publisher=fade to her.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref><ref name="IMDB">{{cite news|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370768/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_4_in_0_q_lili%2520haydn|title=Lili Haydn |last=|first=|magazine=IMDB|date=|publisher=IMDB.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 1996 - ''She's the One'' - (Tom Petty/Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) - guest artist, violin * 1999 - ''Anywhere but Here'' - songwriter, performer "Come Here" * 2007 - ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' - fiddle, violin, vocals * 2008 - ''Californication'' - vocals, violin * 2009 - ''The Horse Boy'' - composer * 2010 - ''The Town'' - violin * 2011 - '' Zeitgeist: Moving Forward'' - composer * 2011 - ''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' - vocals, violin * 2013 - ''The Wolverine'' - violin * 2013 - ''Anita: Speaking Truth to Power'' - composer<ref name="Kasson">{{cite news|url=https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/speaking-truth-power-anita-tells-tale-transformation|title=Speaking Truth to Power: 'Anita' Tells a Tale of Transformation|last=Greenbaum Kasson|first=Elizabeth|magazine=Documentary|date=March 18, 2014|publisher=documentary.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 2013 - ''Snowpiercer'' - violin soloist * 2014 - ''The Sublime and Beautiful'' - composer, theme music, violin, vocals * 2016 - ''Ben Hur'' - vocals, violin solo * 2017 - ''DriverX'' - composer<ref name="Fade to Her"/> * 2018 - ''The House That Jack Built'' - composer, theme music<ref name="Fade to Her"/> * 2018 - ''Feminists: What Were They Thinking?'' - composer<ref name="Kasson">{{cite news|url=https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/speaking-truth-power-anita-tells-tale-transformation|title=Speaking Truth to Power: 'Anita' Tells a Tale of Transformation|last=Greenbaum Kasson|first=Elizabeth|magazine=Documentary|date=March 18, 2014|publisher=documentary.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 2019 - ''Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words'' composer<ref name="Laffly">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/ruth-justice-ginsburg-in-her-own-words-review-1234906456/|title='Ruth – Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words' Review: A Standard-Issue, Curiously Low-Energy Doc on the Late Legal Legend|last=Laffly|first=Tomris|magazine=Variety |date=February 22, 2021|publisher=Variety.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 2021 - ''Strip Down, Rise Up'' - composer<ref>{{cite news|url=https://filmmusicreporter.com/2021/01/17/lili-haydn-scoring-michele-ohayons-netflix-documentary-strip-down-rise-up/|title=Lili Haydn Scoring Michèle Ohayon's Netflix Documentary 'Strip Down, Rise Up' |last=|first=|magazine=Film Music Reporter|date=January 17, 2021|publisher=filmmusicreporter.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 2021 - present - ''Ginny & Georgia'' (3 seasons) - composer<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sesac.com/lili-haydn-talks-about-scoring-netflixs-1-show-ginny-georgia/|title=Lili Haydn Talks About Scoring Netflix's #1 Show, Ginny &Georgia|last=|first=|magazine=Sesac|date=|publisher=SESAC.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 2024 - ''Bad Faith'' - composer<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.badfaithdocumentary.com/filmmakers|title=Bad Faith|last=|first=|magazine=Bad Faith Documentary|date=|publisher=Badfaithdocumentary.com|access-date=February 15, 2025}}</ref> * 2024 - ''Nobody Leaves 'til Jesus Comes'' - composer<ref name="IMDB"/>
===Awards=== {|class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Nominated work !Category !Award !Result |- | 1989 || ''Dakota's Way''|| Best Young Actress in a TV Special, Pilot, Movie of the Week, or Mini-Series||Youth in Film Award|| {{nom}} |- | 2014 || ''The Sublime and Beautiful''||Best Music||Milan Film Festival Award|| {{won}} |- | 2019 || ''Opium Moon'' || Best New Age Album<ref name="Grammy Awards"/>|| Grammy Award|| {{won}} |- | 2021 || ''Strip Down, Rise Up''|| Best Original Score - Documentary<ref name="HMMA">{{cite web|url=https://www.hmmawards.com/2021-music-in-visual-media-nominations/|title= HMMA 2021|publisher=HMMA|date=|access-date=November 4, 2023}}</ref>||Hollywood Music in Media Award|| {{nom}} |- | 2022 ||''Ginny & Georgia''|| Best Music in a Streaming Series<ref name="BMI">{{cite web|url=https://www.bmi.com/award-shows/film-tv-2022/|title=BMI Film, TV, & Visual Media Awards|publisher=BMI|date=|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref>||BMI Film & TV Award|| {{won}} |- | 2022 || ''Night + Day''|| Best New Age Album<ref name="Grammy Awards">{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/lili-haydn/243292|title= Grammys - Lili Haydn|publisher=Grammys|date=|access-date=November 4, 2023}}</ref>||Grammy Award|| {{nom}} |- | 2023 || ''Split at the Root'' || Best Original Score - Documentary<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hmmawards.com/2023-hmma-nominations/|title= 2023 HMMA Nominations|publisher=HMMA|date=|access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref>|| Hollywood Music in Media Award|| {{nom}} |- | 2023 || ''Ginny & Georgia'' || Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics (''Marriage is a Dungeon'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/lili-haydn|title= Emmy Award Nominations 2023 - Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics - 2023|publisher=Emmys|date=|access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref>|| Emmy Award|| {{nom}} |- | 2025 || ''Lullabies For The Brokenhearted'' || Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance<ref name="GA">{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/lili-haydn/243292|title= Lili Haydn|publisher=Grammys|date=|access-date=November 8, 2025}}</ref>|| Emmy Award|| {{nom}}
{{end}}
==Activism== A social activist, Haydn also performs regularly for various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Operation USA, Human Rights Watch, and Human Rights Action Center. Her song "Unfolding Grace" appears on a 2004 CD compilation with U2 and Sting which benefited Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese pro-democracy movement.<ref>{{cite web|last=Theakston|first=Rob|title=For the Lady – Various Artists|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/for-the-lady-r714619/review|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=December 11, 2011}}</ref>
==Discography== *''Lili'' (1997) Atlantic Records *''Light Blue Sun'' (2003) BMG/Private Music * ''Goodbye Stranger Ep'' (2007) Nettwerk Music Group * ''Place Between Places'' (2008) Nettwerk Music Group * ''Lililand'' (2014) * ''Evocations'' (2015) New Gold Music * ''Opium Moon'' (2018) Be Why Records * ''More Love'' (2021) Lakeshore Records
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Lili Haydn}} * {{official website|http://www.lilihaydn.com}} * {{IMDb name|0370768}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haydn, Lili}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian actresses Category:21st-century Canadian actresses Category:Actresses from Los Angeles Category:Actresses from Toronto Category:Arista Records artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Brown University alumni Category:Canadian child actresses Category:Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Category:Canadian film actresses Category:Canadian film score composers Category:Canadian jazz violinists Category:Canadian jazz composers Category:Canadian women jazz composers Category:Women jazz violinists Category:Canadian session musicians Category:Canadian television actresses Category:Musicians from Los Angeles Category:Musicians from Toronto Category:21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Category:Canadian women composers Category:Canadian women jazz musicians