Elise Bauman (born October 23, 1990)[1] is a Canadian actress, director, filmmaker and singer. She portrayed the role of Laura Hollis, the lead character of the web series Carmilla (2014–2016).

Elise Bauman
Bauman at Fan Expo Canada in 2015
Born
Elise Janae Bauman

(1990-10-23) October 23, 1990 (age 34)
Occupation(s)Actress, Singer, Filmmaker, Director
Years active2006–present
Known forCarmilla

Career

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Bauman began working professionally in the theatre from an early age. In 2009, she made the move to New York City to further her studies by attending Circle in the Square Theatre School,[2] where she was cast as Anya in the graduating classes' production of The Cherry Orchard. In the fall, she returned to the stage once again in Red One Theatre Collective's The Skriker, by Caryl Churchill, which garnered critical acclaim and was rated 5 N's in NOW Magazine.[3]

In 2014, Bauman was cast as the lead character Laura Hollis, the naive and headstrong student of Silas University, in the Canadian web series Carmilla, based on the 1871 Gothic vampire novella of the same name by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.[4]

The series popularity for its depiction of LGBT characters and has been viewed over 70 million times on the KindaTV YouTube channel, attracting fans worldwide. When interviewed about how she feels playing a queer character in a series that isn't about being queer, Bauman said:

 
Bauman in 2014

You don’t see any of the characters being ostracized because of it [their sexuality]. In a way, it’s exactly the opposite of what happens on other shows. Their sexuality isn’t the thing that is sticking out about them. It’s the norm. I think that is so refreshing and that it is so wonderful to see...[5]

As a result of Carmilla's popularity online, Bauman has garnered much attention on social media for her role, primarily on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram, where she has since amassed more than 200,000 combined followers. The show's popularity helped her secure the 9th position on AfterEllen's Hot 100 List in 2015.[6]

In 2016, Bauman starred alongside her Carmilla co-star Natasha Negovanlis in the feature film Almost Adults, directed by Sarah Rotella and written by Adrianna DiLonardo from Unsolicited Projects.[7][8] Almost Adults was screened at several film festivals[9] before being made available on multiple online platforms, including Netflix, in 2017.

Installments of the third and final season of Carmilla began airing on YouTube in September 2016. During that same year, the series won a Canadian Screen Award[10] and a Rockie Award for Branded Content at the Banff World Media Festival.[11]

In 2017, Bauman reprised her role as Laura Hollis in The Carmilla Movie, a feature-length film based on the series, which was released in theatres across Canada on October 26.[12]

In 2018, At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards, Bauman won the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award, voted on by fans, for her work on Carmilla. Bauman stated in her speech, "The entertainment industry is changing but not rapidly enough, and we need the voices of the public to prove that diverse stories will have a large and dedicated audience. If we want to see films and shows with inclusive representation both in front of and behind the camera, we need to support those projects. So my ask of you is this; one, seek out and watch projects made by and starring women, people of colour and LGBTQ people. Signal boost these projects to your network of friends. I believe we have the power to change the way we tell our stories and I believe that you, the audience, plays a significant role in that change. Let’s get to it. Thank you!"[13]

In 2018, Bauman made her directorial debut with Canadian musician Ellevan's music video "Keep Going".[14]

Personal life

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Bauman came out as bisexual in 2017.[15] She has been in a relationship with Autostraddle writer and filmmaker Drew Burnett Gregory since 2022.[16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Refs.
2014 Worst Thing I Ever Did Fallon Episode: "For Love or Money"
The Skriker Girl skriker
Young Badlands Bunny Webseries; 6 episodes [17]
2014–16 Carmilla Laura Eileen Hollis Webseries; lead role [18][19]
2015 Canadian Star Herself Documentary
Face the Music Amanda Episode: "The Abridged Pilot" [20]
Everything's Gonna Be Pink Theatre School Student Feature film [21][22]
2016 Almost Adults Mackenzie Feature film; main role
Slasher Elise Episode: "Soon Your Own Eyes Will See"
Below Her Mouth Bridget Feature film; supporting role [23]
2017 Mandy Mayhem's Rapping with Actors Herself Episode: "Elise Bauman"
FOMO Kris Ducksworth Short film
The Carmilla Movie Laura Eileen Hollis Feature film; main role
Murdoch Mysteries Abigail Liston Episode: "The Accident"
The Inherent Traits of Connor James Matilda Short film [24]
Becoming Burlesque Becca
2018 Paper Crane Short film
The Handmaid's Tale Jenny Episode: "First Blood"
Frankie Drake Mysteries Muriel Woods Episode: "50 Shades of Greyson"
90/91 Mercedes Short film;
2019 Mary Kills People Bronwyn 3 episodes
How to Buy a Baby London Episode: "Adopt-A-Class"
2020 The Good Witch Donna
2021 Designed with Love Maureen 'Mo' Ryder
Love in Translation Lu Walters Alternate Title: Speaking Your Language
Under the Christmas Tree Alma Beltran
The Republic of Sarah Sallie Episode 'The Criminal It Deserves'
A New Year's Resolution AJ
2022 Workin' Moms Rebecca Anderson 6 episodes
2024 One More Time Jen Regular role [25]
The Umbrella Academy Fake Jennifer Episode: "Jean and Gene" [26]

Other work

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Music

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Year Title Artist Album Notes
2016 "Do You" Ellevan x Elise Bauman Bandcamp
"Make Time"
"Ego" Elevation
"More"
"A Message From a Jazz Bar in New York"
"Came Along"
"Thank You and Good Night"
2017 "Watch Your Mouth"
2018 "Move"

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role Director Notes
2016 "Coming on Strong" Jane's Party Singing Girl
2018 "Keep Going" Ellevan Yes
"Time Tells" K Alexander Yes
"Shine On" Ghost Caravan Yes

Behind-the-Scenes

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2018 Bite and Smile Yes Co-writer Yes Short film

Awards

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Year Award Category Result
2014 AfterEllen Visibility Awards Best Lesbian/Bi Ally Won[27]
2018 Canadian Screen Awards Audience Choice Award Won[28]
2018 Diva Awards Rising Star Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Instagram post by Elise Bauman • Oct 23, 2014 at 10:23pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  2. ^ Circle in the Square Theatre School | Projects Archive | 2011 Archived 2015-06-21 at the Wayback Machine. Circlesquare.org. Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  3. ^ "The Skriker". 28 October 2014.
  4. ^ "The Mary Sue Exclusive Interview: Celebrate the Carmilla Season Two Premiere with the Cast and Crew". www.themarysue.com. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  5. ^ "Elise Bauman – Carmilla". 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  6. ^ The Results Are In! It's the 2015 AfterEllen Hot 100 – Page 16 of 19. AfterEllen (2015-09-01). Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  7. ^ "Almost Adults cast". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. ^ Indiewire Staff (2015-03-19). "Growing Up Without Growing Apart is Hard for 'Almost Adults'". Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  9. ^ Almost Adults (2016) Release Dates. IMDB. Retrieved on 2018-03-04.
  10. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards – Academy". www.academy.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  11. ^ ago, Regan Reid 3 days. "Banff '16: Rockie Award Program Competition winners announced". Retrieved 2016-06-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ ‘The Carmilla Movie’ Sets Streaming, Theatrical Premiere Dates. Variety (2017-09-27). Retrieved on 2018-02-11.
  13. ^ "'Representation matters,' says fans' choice winner Elise Bauman of 'Carmilla'". www.citynews1130.com. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  14. ^ "Ellevan - KEEP GOING (Official Music Video)". www.youtube.com. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  15. ^ Tse, Chloe (9 March 2017). "ClexaCon is shedding light on the lack of LGBT women in film and TV". Daily Xtra. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  16. ^ Tucker, Christina (7 September 2022). ""Wait, Is This a Date?" Season Two FINALE: Long Distance Crushes with Elise Bauman". Autostraddle. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  17. ^ Young Badlands — Rockzeline Archived 2015-06-21 at the Wayback Machine. Rockzeline.com (2015-01-25). Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  18. ^ U By Kotex To Sponsor Another Season Of Vampire Web Series 'Carmilla'. Tubefilter.com (2014-12-10). Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  19. ^ "Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis of "Carmilla" talk fandom and hopes for Season 2". Afterellen.com. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  20. ^ Bkila, John (2015-03-31). "Sheridan Oakville grads 'Face the Music' with new web series | InsideHalton.com". InsideHalton.com. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  21. ^ Everything’s Gonna Be Pink Archived 2018-08-07 at the Wayback Machine. Newmorningfilms.com. Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  22. ^ Films – Festival Scope: Festivals on Demand for Film Professionals World Wide Archived 2016-01-07 at the Wayback Machine. Festival Scope. Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  23. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy. (2015-09-24) Serendipity Point To Produce ‘Below Her Mouth’ Starring Model Erika Linder. Deadline. Retrieved on 2017-05-15.
  24. ^ "IMDB". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
  25. ^ Naman Ramachandran, "D.J. Demers’ CBC Comedy Series ‘One More Time’ Sets Cast, Production Underway". Variety, July 27, 2023.
  26. ^ ""The Umbrella Academy" Jean and Gene (TV Episode 2024) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  27. ^ "The 2015 AfterEllen Visibility Award Winners". afterellen.com. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  28. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards 2018: Maudie, Anne, Kim's Convenience win top prizes". cbc.ca. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
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