# Elizabeth Lail

Elizabeth Dean Lail (born March 25, 1992) is an American actress. She played Anna in the fantasy series Once Upon a Time (2014) and Guinevere Beck in the Netflix thriller series You (2018–2019). In film, she starred in the horror films Countdown (2019) and Five Nights at Freddy's (2023).

## Early life

Lail was born in Williamson County, Texas, and grew up in Asheboro, North Carolina. She became interested in acting at age 14, after playing a small role in a community theater production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. After graduating from Asheboro High School in 2010, she attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, graduating with a B.F.A. degree in Drama in May 2014.

## Career

Lail mostly worked in student short film productions, such as Model Airplane and Without, while in university from 2011 to 2014. She had moved to New York City to pursue stage work when she landed an audition for ABC's Once Upon a Time, after which she was cast as Anna in the fourth season of the series, released in 2014. Lail was cast in a starring role in the 2016 Freeform horror series Dead of Summer, playing the role of camp counselor Amy.
In 2017, Lail was cast as Guinevere Beck in the Lifetime/Netflix television series You, opposite Penn Badgley and Shay Mitchell. Released in 2018, she received a nomination for Best Actress in Streaming Presentation at the 45th Saturn Awards. Lail reprised her role as Guinevere Beck in guest appearances on both the second and fourth season of You. Lail played the lead, Quinn Harris, in the 2019 horror film Countdown.
In March 2021, Lail was set to play the title role of Mack in the comedy film Mack & Rita opposite Diane Keaton; she also joined the cast of the HBO Max teen drama Gossip Girl, in the recurring role of Lola Morgan. The same month, it was revealed that Lail had joined the cast of the NBC drama series Ordinary Joe.
In January 2023, Lail was cast as Vanessa in the film adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's, which premiered in October of that same year to commercial success.

## Personal life

In April 2021, Lail married dentist Nieku Manshadi at Hasbrouck House in Stone Ridge, New York.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2018 | Unintended | Lea |
| 2019 | Countdown | Quinn Harris |
| 2022 | Mack & Rita | Mackenzie "Mack" Martin |
| 2023 | Gonzo Girl | Devaney Peltier |
| 2023 | Five Nights at Freddy's | Vanessa Shelly-Afton |
| 2025 | Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | Vanessa Shelly-Afton |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Once Upon a Time | Anna | Recurring role (season 4) |
| 2016 | Dead of Summer | Amy Hughes | Main role |
| 2017 | The Blacklist | Natalie Luca | Episode: "Natalie Luca" |
| 2018 | The Good Fight | Emily Chapin | Episode: "Day 478" |
| 2018–2023 | You | Guinevere Beck | Main role in season 1; guest role in season 2, 4 |
| 2021 | Gossip Girl | Lola Morgan | Recurring role (season 1) |
| 2021–2022 | Ordinary Joe | Jenny Banks | Main role |
| 2022 | Robot Chicken | Anna | Voice role; episode: "May Cause Internal Diarrhea" |
| 2024 | Elsbeth | Quinn Powers | Episode: Artificial Genius |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
| 2017 | Nibbler | Hayley | Rattlestick Playwrights Theater | Off-Broadway |
| 2024 | Pretty Perfect Lives | Tiffany | The Flea Theater | Off-Broadway |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress in a Streaming Television Series | You | Nominated | |