Biography

Discovered in a talent competition in 2001, Ellary Porterfield is daughter to Walt and Traci Porterfield. She was born on June 5, 1989 in Bend, Oregon, where she spends most of her time. She deems it “the best place in the world to live,” but also alternates her time in Los Angeles, California. Porterfield, nicknamed Elle by her friends, has been a vegetarian since birth. Her manager discovered her doing an impression of her seventh-grade teacher, and she soon shot to fame.

Ellary Porterfield has been in three pilots for NBC and CBS and has also starred in a major motion picture by Dreamworks entitled The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. It was released in 2005, and enabled her to appear alongside Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson. She has also appeared in a David Weissman Project that same year. Another of her appearances is Stuck in the Middle with You in 2003.

Porterfield is quoted “there is no such thing as acting, only reacting” when she was asked what did she learn in her experience with Julianne Moore on the set of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. For her role there, she had to get about seven hair cuts and three dye jobs to get the short dark hair she had in the film.

After her work on the movie, she managed to book a role in the CW series, Hidden Palms. Her character is that of Liza Witter, a brainy kid deemed weird because of her garage full of explosive science experiments. When the series was canceled, the actress continued her studies at Duke University to complete her education.

Porterfield later moved on to other projects, such as portraying Anne Higgins in 2008’s sport drama Sugar. She has also obtained the rare opportunity of working with accomplished directors like Brett Ratner and Jane Anderson.

(Photo Copyright ? 2007 The CW / Frank Ockenfels)

Birth Name

Ellary Porterfield