# Elise Bauman

Elise Bauman (born October 23, 1990) 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).

## Career

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, 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.
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.
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:
   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...
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.
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. Almost Adults was screened at several film festivals 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 and a Rockie Award for Branded Content at the Banff World Media Festival.
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.
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!"
In 2018, Bauman made her directorial debut with Canadian musician Ellevan's music video "Keep Going".

## Personal life

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

## Filmography

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

## Other work
### Music

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

### Music videos

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

### Behind-the-Scenes

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

## Awards

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