Kiowa Gordon is an actor with Hualapai and European heritage, born in Berlin, Germany, to Thomas Gordon and actress Camille Nighthorse Gordon while his father was working there. He is one of eight siblings. After moving to the U.S. at the age of two, he was raised in Arizona and attended Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek. For a time, he was part of the same LDS church congregation as "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer.
Earlier in his career, Kiowa was a member of a progressive metal band named Touché but left to pursue acting full-time. His acting career took off in 2009 when he was cast as shapeshifter Embry Call in "New Moon," a role suggested by Stephenie Meyer herself. He continued to portray Embry in subsequent "Twilight" series films, replacing Krys Hyatt. Although he was slated to appear in the film "Into The Darkness," the project was shelved. He later appeared in the 2014 thriller "Wind Walkers" and starred in "An Act of War," released on Netflix in 2015.
In 2021, Gordon landed the role of Jim Chee in the AMC psychological thriller series "Dark Winds," which premiered in June 2022 and has been renewed for a second season.