Elizabeth Mitchell Biography

Date of Birth: March 27, 1970

The oldest of three girls, Elizabeth Mitchell was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in Dallas, Texas, when her family relocated there shortly after her birth. Realizing that she wanted to be an actor, Mitchell attended Stephens College in Missouri, where she earned her B.F.A. in Theatre Arts. Following graduation she moved across the pond to study at the British American Drama Academy. In England, she gained valuable stage experience, including a lengthy run playing Rosalind in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Returning to the States, she broadened her stage experience in a national touring production of Three Tall Women, as well as appearing in regional theater productions in New York, Texas, Iowa and Missouri. Her first appearance on the small screen came in 1992 on the TV series Dangerous Curves, shot in Texas. In 1993 she landed a regular role on the New York-based soap opera Loving, playing the role of Dinah, from 1993 to 1994. Moving to Los Angeles, she landed a regular role on the short-lived drama L.A. Firefighters. In 1998, she landed a plum role in the TV movie Gia, playing opposite Angelina Jolie.

The year 2000 proved to be an eventful one for Mitchell. Not only did she become a regular cast member on the long-running hit medical drama, E.R., playing Dr. Kim Legaspi, she landed two roles in major motion pictures as well. One was Nurse Betty, starring Renée Zellweger, and the other was Frequency, starring Dennis Quaid. In the latter, she played Jim Caviezel’s mother, despite the fact that in real life, he’s actually older than Mitchell. Playing the lead in the TV movie The Linda McCartney Story proved to be a pivotal move for her, as she gained a lot of attention from the public and from critics, and off screen, she fell in love with Gary Bakewell, the actor playing her onscreen husband, Paul McCartney.

She and Bakewell married, and the two of them collaborated on the made-for-TV movie Man and Boy (2002). Mitchell next landed her biggest role to date in The Santa Clause 2 (2002), playing the love interest of Tim Allen’s character, and she reprised this role again for The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause in 2006.

In recent years, Mitchell has landed mostly television roles, most notably on Lost, V, Once Upon a Time, and Crossing Lines.

The talented actress can now be seen in the ABC Signature series Dead of Summer, and the horror sequel The Purge: Election Year (2016).

In her spare time, Mitchell enjoys water skiing, snow skiing and horseback riding.

Filmography:

The Purge: Election Year (2016)
Answers to Nothing (2011)
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
Running Scared (2006)
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Hollywood Palms (2001)
Double Bang (2001)
Nurse Betty (2000)
Frequency (2000)
Molly (1999)