Her breakthrough role was as Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of coming-of-age one-act stage musical Once on This Island, a performance for which the 19-year-old was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees in the category.

Kilgore performed in various productions at Clackamas High School and took part in the Portland August Wilson Monologue Competition in 2014.

[8] Kilgore was a regular "capo", or chant and song leader, for the Rose City Riveters in support of the Portland Thorns FC.

[9] Kilgore made her professional theatrical debut as Rebecca Gibbs in Portland Center Stage's production of Our Town in the fall of 2015.

[11] Kilgore was a first year student at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York when she was cast as Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island.