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Elizabeth Gillies
American actress and singer (born 1993) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Elizabeth Egan Gillies (born July 26, 1993), also known as Liz Gillies, is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a teenager and made her Broadway debut in the musical 13 (2008).[1] She then received recognition for playing Jade West in the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2010–2013). She made her musical debut contributing to the show's soundtrack album and extended plays, all of which appeared on the Billboard 200. She also covered "Santa Baby" (2013) with Ariana Grande.
Gillies starred in the horror film Animal (2014) and the comedy film Vacation (2015). She starred as the lead singer of a band in the FX comedy series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2015–2016), performing on two soundtracks for the show. She then led The CW reboot of Dynasty (2017–2022) as Fallon Carrington. She also starred in the comedy thriller film Arizona (2018) and voiced the titular superhero in the animated film Catwoman: Hunted (2022).
In 2021, Gillies released an extended play (EP) with Seth MacFarlane titled Songs from Home. She collaborated with MacFarlane on a Christmas studio album, We Wish You the Merriest (2023), released through Republic Records to moderate commercial success. In 2025, Gillies returned to the stage in the Westside revival of Little Shop of Horrors.
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Early life
Elizabeth Egan Gillies[2] was born on July 26, 1993, in Haworth, New Jersey, to Dave and Lorrie Gillies.[3][4] She has one younger brother (b. 1996).[5] Gillies has stated that she has Irish ancestry, and an Italian grandmother and great-grandmother.[4][6] She attended Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest for her freshman year, but left to pursue acting and participated in an online high school program.[7][8]
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Career
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2005–2009: Early work and Broadway debut
Gillies' acting career began at age 12 when she started going to local open casting calls. She quickly began appearing in commercials for companies such as Virgin Mobile.[9] Gillies' first television role was as a recurring character in three episodes of The Black Donnellys.[10]
In 2008, she played small roles in The Clique, Harold, and Locker 514. That year she was also cast as Lucy in a Goodspeed production of Jason Robert Brown's new musical 13, alongside her future Victorious co-star, Ariana Grande. Later that year, 13 moved to Broadway, which made it the first Broadway production to have a cast and band entirely made up of teenagers.[1] Gillies remained with the production until its closure on January 4, 2009.[11]
2010–2013: Breakthrough with Nickelodeon and music
In 2010, Gillies was cast as bad girl and occasional antagonist Jade West in the Nickelodeon television show Victorious, a sitcom revolving around teenagers at a performing arts high school in Hollywood,[12] which marked her second time working alongside 13 co-star Grande.[13][14] Regarding her Victorious character, Gillies said "It's wonderful. I love playing Jade. I always say she's not so much the 'mean' girl, but the 'bad' girl in so many ways. She has a lot of human qualities to her – she's not just completely sociopathic. She's sweet with her boyfriend. It's nice to play a character with some depth."[15]
Victorious premiered on March 27, 2010. During her time on Victorious, she performed on the soundtracks Victorious, Victorious 2.0, Victorious 3.0, most notably the songs "Give It Up" (duet with Grande), and "Take a Hint" (duet with Victoria Justice). The latter was the most successful commercially, earning Gillies her first platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[16] and silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[17] She also wrote and recorded the song "You Don't Know Me" for an episode of Victorious,[18] which was featured in Victorious 3.0.[19][20]
For the network, Gillies voiced the character of Daphne on the Nickelodeon revival of Winx Club[21] and recorded Winx Club's official song, "We Are Believix".[22] She also appeared in an episode of Big Time Rush and as a contestant on BrainSurge and Figure It Out. Beginning in 2012, Gillies began playing small guest roles outside Nickelodeon. Notable appearances include White Collar and The Exes.
In July 2012, it was reported that Gillies was working on an alternative rock album.[23][24] Victorious ended on February 2, 2013, after four seasons. That same year, she was cast as Courtney in the musical adaptation of Jawbreaker and participated in a reading of the show in Manhattan.[25] The musical did not end up being taken to Broadway. On December 10, 2013, Gillies recorded a duet of "Santa Baby" with Grande for the latter's Christmas Kisses EP.[26]
2014–2019: Mainstream transition and Dynasty
In 2014, Gillies appeared in the horror film Animal as Mandy and the Lifetime movie Killing Daddy, playing Callie Ross. Animal was filmed in the summer of 2013 in Manchester, Connecticut, and was produced by Drew Barrymore. The film also features Gillies' former Winx Club co-star Keke Palmer and was released on June 17, 2014[27] to negative reviews.[28]
In 2015, Gillies was cast as Heather in the remake of Vacation. The film received a wide release on July 29, 2015. She was then cast in the comedy series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll as Gigi, an aspiring singer and daughter of a former rock star named Johnny Rock (portrayed by the show's creator, Denis Leary).[29] The show premiered on July 16, 2015, to mixed reviews,[30] but Gillies' performance as Gigi was well received.[31] On September 9, 2016, FX declined to renew the show for a third season, effectively canceling the series.[32]
In 2017, Gillies was cast as Fallon Carrington in The CW television series Dynasty, a reboot of the 1980s series of the same name.[33][34][35] After Nicollette Sheridan left the role of Fallon's mother, Alexis Carrington, near the end of the second season, Gillies began playing the character temporarily, as well as continuing to portray Fallon.[36][37]
In 2018, Gillies starred in the dark-comedy thriller film Arizona as Kelsey.[38] It was first premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and later attained a theatrical release, as well as being released direct-to-video.[39][40] The following year, Gillies, alongside Matt Bennett, made a surprise appearance during the November 19 show of her Victorious co-star Grande's Sweetener World Tour in Atlanta, in which Grande and Bennett performed "I Think You're Swell", while Grande and Gillies performed "Give It Up", both songs from Victorious.[41]
2020–present: Return to music and stage
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gillies collaborated with Seth MacFarlane on a series of songs, eight in total, on an extended play entitled Songs from Home released in 2021.[42] Also in 2021, it was announced Gillies would voice the titular character in the 2022 superhero feature Catwoman: Hunted.[43]
In 2023, Gillies released her debut studio album with Seth MacFarlane, titled We Wish You the Merriest.[44][45] In February 2025, Gillies began starring as Audrey opposite Milo Manheim as Seymour in the long-running Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors.[46] Her run is set to end in July 2025 opposite Graham Phillips as Seymour.[47]
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Personal life
Gillies met American music producer Michael Corcoran on the set of the Nickelodeon show Victorious, when she was 16 and he was 36. Corcoran co-wrote and produced the songs that Gillies sang on the show.[48] The pair began dating in late 2012, when she was 19.[49] On August 8, 2020, Gillies married Corcoran at a private ceremony in Chesterfield Township, New Jersey.[50] They reside in Atlanta, Georgia.[51]
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
Music videos
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Discography
- We Wish You the Merriest (2023) (with Seth MacFarlane)
Concert residencies
- Elizabeth Gillies at Café Carlyle (2025)[56]
References
External links
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