Elizabeth Lail

Lail was born 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.^[1] 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.^[4][5]

Lail mostly worked in student short film productions, such as Model Airplane and Without, while in university from 2011 to 2014.^[6] 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.^[7][8] Lail was cast in a starring role in the 2016 Freeform horror series Dead of Summer, playing the role of camp counselor Amy.^[9][10]

In 2017, Lail was cast as Guinevere Beck in the Lifetime/Netflix television series You, opposite Penn Badgley and Shay Mitchell.^[11] Released in 2018,^[12] she received a nomination for Best Actress in Streaming Presentation at the 45th Saturn Awards.^[13][14] Lail reprised her role as Guinevere Beck in guest appearances on the second, fourth, and fifth seasons of You.^[15][16][17] Lail played the lead, Quinn Harris, in the 2019 horror film Countdown.^[18][19]

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,^[20][21] 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.^[22]

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.^[23][24]

From June - August 2025, Lail played Eva in Not About Nightingales at the Williamstown Film Festival. She performed alongside names such as, William Jackson Harper, Joe Goldammer, Dan Katz, Malik James, Chris Messina, Annie Mcnamara, and several others. ^[25] It was her second professional theatre production. She also starred in the film adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, reprising her role as Vanessa.

In April 2021, Lail married pediatric dentist Nieku Manshadi at Hasbrouck House in Stone Ridge, New York.^[2][26]