Several real nomads were featured in the film starring Frances McDormand.
Following the success of “Nomadland” at the Academy Awards, there is a growing spotlight on the real nomads featured in the movie and their lives off the grid. Sue Anne Carlson, who played herself in the movie, has been living in a tiny Prius for 12 years.
“Most of us are in vans or something larger. I’m in a Prius,” Carlson told Inside Edition.
Carlson has a masters in education and quit her college teaching job after her daughter tragically died from brain cancer. She says she fell in love with the nomadic lifestyle. At her campsite in Pahrump, Nevada, the 66-year-old keeps only a small supply of food in her car so it won’t spoil.
KC Colter, another nomad, has been living in her compact car for three-and-a-half years. She showed Inside Edition how she has room to sleep after removing the front passenger seat.
Meanwhile, 72-year-old Phillis starts her day giving her dog Buddy treats and checking on her solar panels.
“I tried telling my family what I do, and they just kind of glaze over. They don’t get,” Phillis said.
Bob Wells is also featured in “Nomadland,” playing himself. He’s been a van dweller for 19 years after going through a divorce and quitting his job at a grocery store.
“If there’s something that happens that day that I don’t like, I can drive away,” Wells said.
Wells recently bought an ambulance to set up a studio for his YouTube channel to teach others how to live like nomads. His nonprofit, Homes on Wheels, helps people in financial distress obtain their own vans.
On the night of the Oscars, Wells couldn’t believe what he saw.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined that I would be in an Oscar-winning movie,” Wells said.
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