Jessica Matten has become one of the most recognized Indigenous actresses working in North American television today. Best known for her role as Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito on AMC’s acclaimed crime drama Dark Winds, she has built a career that spans modeling, television, film, voice acting, and business. Fans searching for details on Jessica Matten net worth, age, height, and relationship status will find every verified fact broken down clearly in this guide, along with an honest look at the career and advocacy work that shaped her into the public figure she is in 2026.
This guide pulls together confirmed details from her own social media statements, industry profiles, and entertainment publications, so you get an accurate picture rather than guesswork. Whether you are here for her Dark Winds role, her upcoming Avatar Studios project, or simply curious about her personal life, every section below is organized to answer the most common questions people search for.
Quick Wiki/Bio About Jessica Matten
Here is a fast overview of who Jessica Matten is before diving into the full story of her life and career.
| Field | Details |
| Full Name | Jessica Matten |
| Date of Birth | November 30, 1985 |
| Age | 40 years old (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Heritage | Red River Metis and Saulteaux Cree (mother), British Chinese (father) |
| Height | 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) |
| Weight | Approximately 130 lbs (59 kg) |
| Profession | Actress, Producer, Wellness Advocate |
| Known For | Dark Winds, Frontier, Tribal, Rez Ball |
| Partner | Brendt Thomas Diabo (unconfirmed, since around 2016) |
| Net Worth | Approximately 3 million dollars (2026 estimate) |
| Production Company | 7 Forward Entertainment |
Who is Jessica Matten?
Jessica Matten is a Canadian actress, producer, and Indigenous rights advocate from Edmonton, Alberta. She is of Red River Metis and Saulteaux Cree descent through her mother and British Chinese heritage through her father. She is also a direct descendant of Cuthbert Grant, a well known Metis leader in Canadian history.
She first gained international attention for playing Sokanon in the Netflix period drama Frontier alongside Jason Momoa. Since then, she has appeared in Blackstone, Mohawk Girls, and Tribal before landing her most defining role yet as Bernadette Manuelito in Dark Winds. Beyond acting, Matten runs a production company, co founded a film training academy for Indigenous creatives, and has spent more than two decades supporting Native youth through counseling and community programs.
What sets Matten apart from many of her peers is how closely her on screen work mirrors her off screen mission. She rarely takes roles purely for exposure. Instead, she gravitates toward stories that reflect Indigenous history, resilience, and modern life with accuracy rather than stereotype. That approach has earned her steady industry recognition, including the 2022 Red Nation Film Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, the 2024 C&I Television Award for Best Supporting Actress, the 2025 Bend Film Festival Indigenous Honoree Award, and the 2026 Bold Beacon Award. It is also worth clearing up a common rumor here. Jessica Matten has never appeared in the Twilight Saga films. The confusion stems from a Dark Winds season three storyline compared to a Twilight style love triangle, plus the fact that two of her co stars, Kiowa Gordon and Alex Meraz, were genuinely part of the Twilight cast years earlier.
How Old is Jessica Matten? Age and Birthday
Jessica Matten was born on November 30, 1985, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This makes her 40 years old as of 2026. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius, a sign often associated with independence and adventure, traits that show up clearly in the physically demanding roles she takes on. She celebrated her 40th birthday in late November 2025 and has continued to work steadily through her fourth decade, with several major projects releasing in 2026.
Jessica Matten’s Height, Weight, and Body Measurements
Jessica Matten stands at 5 feet 10 inches, which converts to roughly 178 centimeters. She confirmed this figure herself in an Instagram post, writing that she is 5 feet 10 inches tall and proud of it. A small number of directories, including IMDb, list her closer to 5 feet 9 inches, so slight variation exists across sources, but her own statement remains the most reliable figure.
Her other measurements, drawn from multiple entertainment profiles, are summarized below.
| Measurement | Detail |
| Height | 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm), self confirmed |
| Weight | Approximately 130 lbs (59 kg) |
| Body Measurements | Approximately 34-25-35 inches |
| Hair Color | Dark brown to black |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Build | Athletic, shaped by martial arts and stunt training |
Her tall, athletic frame has been an asset throughout her career, from early modeling work to the physically intense fight sequences she performs on Dark Winds without relying on a stunt double for most scenes.
Career
Jessica Matten’s career has unfolded in stages, starting in modeling as a child, moving through television and film, and expanding into voice acting and production. Each stage below traces a distinct part of her professional journey.
Early Modeling and Education
Jessica Matten’s connection to the entertainment industry began at the age of six, when she started helping her mother run Mystique Models, one of the first Indigenous owned modeling agencies in Canada. As a teenager and young adult, she continued modeling on fashion runways and appeared in television commercials for brands such as Nature Valley and Nintendo Wii.
Rather than jumping straight into acting, Matten pursued higher education first. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology, with a minor in marketing, from the University of Alberta. She has said that this academic background gave her a broader understanding of community, culture, and business that later shaped how she approached both her acting roles and her advocacy work.
During and after university, Matten continued to model on fashion runways and took on national commercial work for brands including Nature Valley and Nintendo Wii. This period gave her early exposure to being in front of a camera, a skill that translated naturally once she moved toward scripted television roles in her mid twenties.
Television Breakthrough
Matten’s breakout moment arrived in 2016 when she was cast as Sokanon in the Netflix series Frontier, starring opposite Jason Momoa. The show, set during the North American fur trade era, introduced her to a global streaming audience for the first time and ran for three seasons through 2018. Around the same period, she also appeared in the Canadian series Blackstone and Mohawk Girls, both of which earned Canadian Screen Award nominations and helped establish her as a dependable dramatic actress within Canadian television before her career expanded internationally.
Tribal and Dark Winds Success
In 2020, she took on a leading role in the APTN series Tribal, playing a police officer working within an Indigenous community, a role that foreshadowed her next major project. In 2022, Matten joined AMC’s Dark Winds as Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito, the only female officer on a Navajo Tribal Police Department in 1970s New Mexico. The series, based on Tony Hillerman’s novels, has become one of AMC’s most critically praised dramas, and Matten’s performance opposite Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon has earned consistent acclaim across its four seasons.
Her profile within the Dark Winds universe grew significantly heading into 2026. In November 2025, AMC formally announced a partnership built around Matten focused on developing Indigenous talent pipelines, including training programs, apprenticeships, and a dedicated AMC Plus content collection. Season four of Dark Winds premiered in 2026 to strong reviews, and Matten’s portrayal of Bernadette Manuelito continues to be cited as one of the show’s strongest elements by critics covering the series.
Film Work
Matten expanded into feature films with Rez Ball, a Netflix sports drama directed by Sydney Freeland and released in 2024. She played Heather Hobbs in a story centered on Indigenous high school basketball, a project that resonated strongly with Native audiences and critics for its authentic representation. The film was produced with backing from executive producer LeBron James’s SpringHill Company, giving it wider visibility than many Indigenous led projects typically receive, and it further cemented Matten’s reputation as an actress who chooses culturally grounded material over generic roles.
Voice Acting
In one of her biggest career milestones, Matten was cast to voice the adult version of Katara in Avatar Studios’ animated feature Aang: The Last Airbender, scheduled for theatrical release on October 9, 2026. The role places her within one of the most beloved animated franchises in recent memory and is expected to introduce her to a much wider mainstream audience. For a franchise built around themes of balance, culture, and identity, casting an Indigenous actress in a lead voice role has been widely seen as a fitting and meaningful choice by fans of the original animated series.
Production Company
Off screen, Matten serves as president of 7 Forward Entertainment, an Indigenous owned production company based on the West Coast of Canada. Through this company, she co founded the Counting Coup Indigenous Film Academy in partnership with Old Sun Community College, offering both free and paid courses in stunt combat, filmmaking, and industry skills to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit creatives who might otherwise struggle to access formal film training. The company has also funded community projects, including support for the Navajo Nation’s first all matriarch skatepark, reflecting Matten’s consistent focus on turning her production credits into direct community benefit rather than profit alone.
What is Jessica Matten’s Net Worth?
Jessica Matten’s net worth is estimated at approximately 3 million dollars as of 2026, according to multiple celebrity finance and entertainment publications. This figure has grown steadily over the past few years, with earlier 2024 estimates placing her closer to 2 million dollars. Her income is built from several sources rather than a single project.
- Acting salary from Dark Winds and prior series such as Frontier and Tribal
- Feature film work, including her role in Rez Ball
- Her upcoming voice acting fee for Aang: The Last Airbender
- Producing credits through 7 Forward Entertainment
- Business income from her wellness venture, Lemon Cree
It is worth noting that exact salary figures for her Dark Winds role have not been publicly disclosed. Lead actors on AMC series typically earn between 50,000 and 150,000 dollars per episode, though Matten’s specific rate remains private. As Dark Winds continues and the Avatar film approaches release, most industry estimates expect her net worth to keep rising through 2027. The table below shows how public estimates of her net worth have trended over the past few years.
| Year | Estimated Net Worth |
| 2024 | Around 2 million dollars |
| 2025 | Around 2.5 million dollars |
| 2026 | Around 3 million dollars |
Readers should treat these figures as informed estimates rather than confirmed financial records, since celebrities rarely disclose exact earnings publicly. Different outlets place her current net worth anywhere between 1 million and 3 million dollars, with the higher figure being the most commonly cited estimate as her workload has increased in 2026.
Is Jessica Matten Married? Partner and Relationship Status
Jessica Matten is not married as of 2026 and has no publicly known husband or children. She has kept her personal life notably private throughout her career, rarely addressing her relationship status directly in interviews.
She has been informally linked to Brendt Thomas Diabo, a Mohawk actor, visual artist, and rock musician, since around 2016. The two met while filming Frontier, where Diabo played Aki opposite Matten’s Sokanon. Over the years, she has occasionally shared social media posts featuring him, which fueled ongoing speculation, but neither party has ever formally confirmed the nature of their relationship. As of 2026, if the connection has continued, the pair would have known each other for roughly a decade.
Fans have also speculated about chemistry between Matten and her Dark Winds co star Kiowa Gordon, but both actors have described their bond as a close, platonic friendship built through years of working together on set. Matten has generally avoided discussing dating or romance in interviews, choosing instead to keep the conversation focused on her projects and advocacy work. This consistency across years of press coverage suggests her privacy is a deliberate choice rather than an oversight.
Family Background
Jessica Matten was raised in a multicultural household in Edmonton, Alberta. Her mother, Therese Ducharme, is an activist, performer, and former model of Red River Metis and Saulteaux Cree descent. Ducharme was among the first activists in Canada to investigate cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and she founded Mystique Models, the agency where Jessica began her career as a child. Her father is of British Chinese ancestry and has worked in business.
Jessica has credited her mother’s activism as a major influence on her own advocacy work, particularly her involvement with the number 8 Native girls campaign, which raises awareness about violence against Indigenous women. The family’s deep roots in both entertainment and community activism have shaped nearly every stage of Jessica’s public career. Being a direct descendant of Cuthbert Grant, a historically significant Metis rebel leader, is also something Matten has spoken about with pride, tying her modern advocacy work back to a much longer family history of leadership within Metis communities.
Jessica Matten’s Wellness Work and Advocacy

Away from film sets, Matten has spent more than two decades working in suicide prevention and addiction counseling for Native youth. She co runs Lemon Cree, a wellness and fitness venture operated with her family that promotes healthy living within Indigenous communities through fitness programming, nutrition guidance, and mental health resources tailored to Native populations. She has also worked with the Native Women’s Association of Canada and continues to support Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, or MMIWG, awareness efforts through public appearances and her production company’s community projects. This advocacy work runs in parallel with her acting career rather than trailing behind it, and she has said in past interviews that empowering Indigenous women is central to her life’s purpose, on screen and off.
Martial Arts and Stunt Work
Matten has trained competitively in Muay Thai, boxing, and Jiujitsu, a background that plays directly into her work on Dark Winds. Because her character, Bernadette Manuelito, is a tough police sergeant who regularly engages in physical confrontations, Matten performs most of her own fight choreography and stunt sequences, only using a stunt double for the most extreme high risk moments such as falls from height or scenes involving horses. She maintains this level of physical readiness through high intensity circuit training and regular weightlifting, treating fitness as a core part of her professional preparation rather than a side interest. Her martial arts training also supports the stunt combat curriculum taught through the Counting Coup Indigenous Film Academy, where she helps pass these same skills on to the next generation of Indigenous performers.
Social Media Presence
Jessica Matten maintains a single verified social media account on Instagram under the handle @jessicamatten, with a following in the range of 77,000 to 85,000 as of 2026. Her bio makes clear that Instagram is her only official account, and any profiles claiming to represent her on TikTok, X, or Facebook are unauthorized fan accounts.
She uses the platform primarily for career updates, behind the scenes content from Dark Winds and other projects, and advocacy messaging around Indigenous causes rather than personal lifestyle content or brand promotion. This intentional, low noise approach has helped her maintain an engaged, loyal following rather than chasing viral growth, and it reflects the same values that guide her acting choices: authenticity, cultural pride, and substance over spectacle.
Fast Facts About Jessica Matten
| Fact | Detail |
| Born | November 30, 1985, in Edmonton, Alberta |
| Education | Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology, University of Alberta |
| Breakout Role | Sokanon in Netflix’s Frontier (2016) |
| Current Role | Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito in AMC’s Dark Winds |
| Upcoming Project | Voice of adult Katara in Aang: The Last Airbender (October 2026) |
| Martial Arts | Trained in Muay Thai, boxing, and Jiujitsu |
| Advocacy | MMIWG awareness, Indigenous youth suicide prevention |
| Instagram Handle | @jessicamatten |
FAQs
Who is Jessica Matten?
Jessica Matten is a Canadian Indigenous actress and producer best known for playing Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito in AMC’s Dark Winds.
What is Jessica Matten’s net worth in 2026?
Her estimated net worth in 2026 is approximately 3 million dollars, built from acting, producing, and wellness business ventures.
How old is Jessica Matten and when is her birthday?
Jessica Matten was born on November 30, 1985, in Edmonton, Alberta, making her 40 years old as of 2026.
Who is Jessica Matten’s partner or boyfriend?
She has been informally linked to Mohawk actor and musician Brendt Thomas Diabo since around 2016, though neither has confirmed the relationship publicly.
What is Jessica Matten’s height and body measurements?
She stands 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) tall, weighs approximately 130 lbs, and has body measurements of about 34-25-35 inches.
Final Thoughts
Jessica Matten’s story reflects far more than a typical Hollywood career arc. From helping run her mother’s modeling agency as a child in Edmonton to leading one of AMC’s most respected dramas and voicing a beloved animated character, she has built a career grounded in cultural pride and genuine purpose. With Dark Winds continuing to grow its audience and Aang: The Last Airbender set to introduce her to millions of new viewers in October 2026, Jessica Matten’s influence, and her net worth, both appear set to keep climbing in the years ahead.

Henry Lawson is a celebrity content writer at Auto Magezines, covering entertainment news, public figures, and industry trends. He focuses on accurate research, credible sources, and engaging storytelling to deliver trustworthy content. Henry is committed to creating well-structured, informative articles that help readers stay updated on the latest celebrity developments.