Childhood & Early Life
Eloise Mumford was born on September 24, 1986, in Olympia, Washington, US, to Tom Mumford and Nancy Smith. She was the middle child of her parents and grew up with her two siblings, Kai and Anna.
Eloise was homeschooled by her mother during the initial years. She did not attend school until she was a fifth-grader. Following this, she joined the ‘Nova Middle School.’ She also attended the ‘Capital High School’ and the ‘Annie Wright Schools.’
Her family had no real connection with the entertainment world or the film industry. However, her parents attended theatrical productions from time to time. At one such show, they took Eloise with them. Eloise was 7 years old at that time. She watched a production of ‘South Pacific’. Thus, she developed a keen interest in acting.
Upon growing up, she began participating in her school’s theatrical productions. She did plays almost throughout her middle and high school.
As she graduated from ‘Capital High School,’ she had made up her mind about being an actor. She moved to New York and enrolled at the ‘Tisch School of the Arts,’ where she took professional training in acting. She had earlier learned acting from the ‘Atlantic Acting School.’
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Career
Before she ventured into films and TV, she did theatrical productions as a professional actor. Along with understudying Elisabeth Moss in a ‘Broadway’ production of ‘Speed the Plow,’ she also did short films when she was in the final year of college.
In 2009, she appeared in a major role in the short film titled ‘Some Boys Don’t Leave.’ The film featured her opposite Jesse Eisenberg and the performances were well-received by critics.
She made her TV debut in 2008, as ‘Megan Emory’ in the TV drama series titled ‘Crash.’ Based on a 2004 film of the same name, the series ran for two seasons. Following poor reviews, the show ended. Eloise appeared in four episodes of the series.
In 2009, she appeared in guest appearances in series such as ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ and ‘Mercy.’
She earned a huge breakthrough in 2010, when she was signed to star in one of the leading roles in the series ‘Lone Star’. She portrayed ‘Lindsay,’ the simple-minded girlfriend of the lead character, played by James Wolk. The series received poor reviews and low ratings, which led to it being canceled after a while.
In 2012, Eloise appeared in the supporting role of ‘Suzy Walters’ in the action–comedy film titled ‘So Undercover.’ The film was released in the direct-to-video format and received abysmal reviews. It was widely considered to be one of the worst films of the year.
The same year, she appeared in one of the leading roles in the supernatural horror series ‘The River.’ The series featured her as ‘Lena Landry.’ It received decent reviews. However, the ratings were consistently low. Thus, it was canceled after eight episodes. Although ‘Netflix’ showed interest in continuing the series, the deal fell apart.
In 2013, she starred in a major role, in the action–thriller film titled ‘Drones.’ The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office failure.
She then appeared in a leading role in the ‘Hallmark’ TV film titled ‘Christmas with Holly.’ She played ‘Maggie Conway’ in the film. It received decent reviews and ratings.
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In 2014, she was seen as ‘Anna Newton,’ one of the key characters in the thriller ‘Not Safe for Work.’ The film was a critical success and also made decent profits at the box office.
The same year, she appeared in a supporting role in the action film titled ‘In the Blood.’ The film fared badly at the box office, although many critics praised it for its action sequences.
In 2015, she played the lead role of ‘Lindsay’ in the ‘Hallmark’ TV film titled ‘Just in Time for Christmas.’
In 2015, she had a major career breakthrough when she appeared playing ‘Kate Kavanagh,’ one of the key roles in the erotic romantic drama ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’ Based on a popular novel of the same name, the film was a huge box-office success. However, it was met with negative reviews.
She reprised the role of ‘Kate’ in two sequels: ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ and ‘Fifty Shades Freed.’
In 2017, she appeared in the recurring role of ‘Hope Jacquinot’ in the action–drama series ‘Chicago Fire.’
In 2018, she appeared in another ‘Hallmark’ TV film, ‘A Veteran’s Christmas.’ She played the lead role of ‘Captain Grace Garland’ in the film.
