Elizabeth Gillies

Early life

Elizabeth Egan Gillies was born on July 26, 1993, in Haworth, New Jersey, to Dave and Lorraine "Lorrie" (née McCarthy) Gillies. She has one younger brother. Gillies has stated that she has Irish ancestry, and an Italian grandmother and great-grandmother. Her paternal grandfather, John Egan Gillies, fought in World War II.

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.

Career

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. Gillies' first television role was as a recurring character in three episodes of The Black Donnellys.

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. Gillies remained with the production until its closure on January 4, 2009.

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, which marked her second time working alongside 13 co-star Grande. 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."

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) and silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). She also wrote and recorded the song "You Don't Know Me" for an episode of Victorious, which was featured in Victorious 3.0.

For the network, Gillies voiced the character of Daphne on the Nickelodeon revival of Winx Club and recorded Winx Club's official song, "We Are Believix". 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. 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. 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.

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 to negative reviews.

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). The show premiered on July 16, 2015, to mixed reviews, but Gillies' performance as Gigi was well received. On September 9, 2016, FX declined to renew the show for a third season, effectively canceling the series.

In 2017, Gillies was cast as Fallon Carrington in The CW television series Dynasty, a reboot of the 1980s series of the same name. 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.

In 2018, Gillies starred in the dark-comedy thriller film Arizona as Kelsey. It was first premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and later attained a theatrical release, as well as being released direct-to-video. 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.

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. Also in 2021, it was announced Gillies would voice the titular character in the 2022 superhero feature Catwoman: Hunted.

In 2023, Gillies released her debut studio album with Seth MacFarlane, titled We Wish You the Merriest. 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. Her run is set to end in July 2025 opposite Graham Phillips as Seymour.

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. The pair began dating in late 2012, when she was 19. On August 8, 2020, Gillies married Corcoran at a private ceremony in Chesterfield Township, New Jersey. They reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Music videos

Main article: Elizabeth Gillies discography#Music videos

Discography

Main article: Elizabeth Gillies discography

• We Wish You the Merriest (2023) (with Seth MacFarlane)

Concert residencies

• Elizabeth Gillies at Café Carlyle (2025)

References

References

1. Diamond, Robert. (August 14, 2008). "13 A New Musical Announces Its Teenage Cast and Band".
2. Brantley, Ben. (October 6, 2008). "Stranger in Strange Land: The Acne Years". [[The New York Times]].
3. "Rose BARBA (2014)".
4. Gillies, Elizabeth. (July 25, 2011). "Enjoying the last few hours of my childhood! Tomorrow I am a legal adult!".
5. Zutter, Natalie. (March 13, 2011). "Interview: Broadway Star and 'Victorious' Mean Girl Elizabeth Gillies Couldn't Handle Bieber Fans".
6. Gillies, Elizabeth. (March 17, 2015). "I'm Irish AF btw.".
7. "Guest Column: A war, a wound and two wonders by Nancy Hartey Gillies".
8. "Paid Notice: Deaths GILLIES, JOHN E. HONORABLE (JACK)".
9. McGay, Maddie. [https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2024/01/12/nj-celebrities-these-18-stars-were-born-in-north-jesey/71132353007/ "These 18 celebrities were born in North Jersey"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', January 12, 2024. Accessed February 3, 2024. "Elizabeth Gillies was born in 1993 in Haworth and raised there. She attended Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, but did online school after leaving in her freshman year to pursue acting."
10. [https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/kidsday-interviews-actress-elizabeth-gillies-1.3274368 "Kidsday interviews actress Elizabeth Gillies"] {{Webarchive. link. (November 8, 2021 , ''[[Newsday]]'', October 26, 2011. Accessed December 17, 2019. "[Q] How do you balance your schoolwork and acting? [A] It’s hard. It’s very tricky. I had to leave high school freshman year, but I didn’t want to leave school in general because I want to have an education. It’s important. I’m doing online school.")
11. Rohan, Virginia. (July 20, 2011). "TV Mean Girl: Haworth's Elizabeth Gillies talks ''iParty with Victorious''".
12. Dixon, Marcus James. (2020-03-07). "10 Reasons We Love Elizabeth Gillies, From 'Dynasty' To 'Victorious'".
13. (November 21, 2008). "New Musical ''13'' to Close on Broadway in January 2009".
14. Nesvig, Kara. (2020-01-21). "Liz Gillies Is Game for a "Victorious" Reboot, But Only If It's the Same Cast".
15. "Elizabeth Gillies – Broadway Cast & Staff".
16. Gray, Delilah. (2021-05-12). "Inside Elizabeth Gillies And Ariana Grande's Friendship".
17. (July 27, 2012). "Elizabeth Gillies, ''Victorious'' Star, On Playing The Bad Girl And Being The Nice Girl".
18. "TAKE A HINT (FEAT. VICTORIA JUSTICE & ELIZABETH GILLIES)".
19. {{Cite certification
20. Mulvaney, Nicole. (November 13, 2012). "J-14 Exclusive: Liz Gillies Talks the End of 'Victorious' and New Music".
21. "Victorious 3.0 Track List".
22. Gillies, Liz. (October 16, 2012). "Everyone make sure to pre-order the Victorious3.0 soundtrack! Excited to have a song I wrote on there.".
23. "Viacom Press - Nickelodeon Winx Club". [[ViacomCBS]].
24. (July 27, 2012). "Nick.com - Listen to the Winx Club Theme Song!". [[Nick.com]].
25. Gillies, Liz. (March 6, 2012). "@LizGOnline I know! I've been crazy busy writing original music so I haven't had any time do covers, but I promise I'll do one very soon :)".
26. Orenstein, Hannah. (July 27, 2012). "Liz Gillies Interview". HuffPost.
27. Gans, Andrew. (September 26, 2013). "Readings of ''Jawbreaker: The Musical'', with Diana DeGarmo, Kate Flannery, Elizabeth Gillies, Presented Sept. 26-27".
28. Boardman, Madeline. (December 10, 2013). "Ariana Grande Does 'Santa Baby' With Liz Gillies". HuffPost.
29. Ng, Philiana. (July 25, 2013). "Drew Barrymore's 'Animal' Sets Ensemble Cast (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
30. Cooper, Patrick. (June 19, 2014). "'Animal' Is a Redundant Creature Feature".
31. "Raunchy, Underrated Comedy Sequel Is Killing It On Netflix".
32. Patten, Dominic. (June 30, 2014). "FX Orders Denis Leary's ''Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll'' To Series". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
33. Lowry, Brian. (2015-07-14). "TV Review: ''Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll''".
34. Paskin, Willa. (2015-07-15). "FX's New Show Proves the Ghosts of Rock 'n' Roll Past Are Less Cool Than We Think They Are".
35. Ausiello, Michael. (September 9, 2016). "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll Cancelled at FX".
36. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (February 10, 2017). "CW's ''Dynasty'' Reboot Casts Elizabeth Gillies in Starring Role". Variety.
37. Petski, Denise. (February 10, 2017). "Elizabeth Gillies Joins The CW's ''Dynasty'' Reboot; William Miller Cast In ''Searchers''".
38. Holloway, Daniel. (May 10, 2017). "''Dynasty'' Reboot, Military Drama ''Valor'' Land Series Orders at CW". Variety.
39. Swift, Andy. (April 20, 2019). "''Dynasty''{{'s}} New Alexis Revealed: Who's Taking Over for Nicollette Sheridan?".
40. Swift, Andy. (April 26, 2019). "''Dynasty''{{'s}} Elizabeth Gillies on Her 'Wild' Transformation From Fallon to Alexis: 'It Was Crazy, But I Love a Challenge'".
41. Nicholson, Amy. (January 28, 2018). "'Arizona' Review".
42. McNary, Dave. (2018-05-01). "Danny McBride's Comedy 'Arizona' Bought for Summer Release".
43. Kiefer, Halle. (2018-08-13). "Danny McBride Is Out for Homeowner's Revenge in Housing Crisis Thriller Arizona".
44. Aniftos, Rania. (November 20, 2019). "Ariana Grande & Liz Gillies Recreated a 'Victorious' Scene Onstage & We Were Suddenly Transported to 2010".
45. "Liz Gillies and Seth MacFarlane: Songs from Home".
46. Couch, Aaron. (2021-08-17). "'Catwoman: Hunted' Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)".
47. Woerner, Meredith. (September 28, 2023). "Seth MacFarlane & Liz Gillies Debut Holiday Album".
48. Schube, Will. (2023-09-28). "Seth MacFarlane And Liz Gillies Announce ‘We Wish You The Merriest’".
49. [https://people.com/liz-gillies-milo-manheim-join-off-broadway-little-shop-of-horrors-exclusive-8781107 Liz Gillies and Milo Manheim Are Off-Broadway's New Audrey and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (Exclusive)]
50. Levitt, Hailey [https://www.broadway.com/buzz/205747/graham-phillips-to-reunite-with-teen-broadway-co-star-elizabeth-gillies-in-little-shop-of-horrors/ Graham Phillips to Reunite with Teen Broadway Co-Star Elizabeth Gillies in Little Shop of Horrors] Broadway.com, May 27, 2025
51. Waters, Lauren. (2022-02-06). "How Elizabeth Gillies And Michael Corcoran Didn't Let Their Age Gap Stop Them".
52. "Who Is Elizabeth Gillies' Husband? All About Michael Corcoran".
53. Rollins, Chris. (2020-10-08). "Actress Elizabeth Gillies Just Got Married in Chesterfield".
54. Macon, Alexandra. (September 16, 2020). "Actress Elizabeth Gillies Drove an RV to Her Wedding At a Charming Farm in New Jersey".
55. "13 (Goodspeed Production, 2008) {{!}} Ovrtur".
56. Edel, Victoria. (2022-08-12). "Ariana Grande and Elizabeth Gillies Are Too Cute in These Throwback Photos From "13: The Musical"".
57. Gains, Andrew. (26 Sep 2013). "Readings of Jawbreaker: The Musical, with Diana DeGarmo, Kate Flannery, Elizabeth Gillies, Presented Sept. 26-27".
58. [https://people.com/liz-gillies-milo-manheim-join-off-broadway-little-shop-of-horrors-exclusive-8781107 Liz Gillies and Milo Manheim Are Off-Broadway's New Audrey and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (Exclusive)]
59. Dimino, Vincenzo. (May 13, 2025). "Liz Gillies Takes Over Café Carlye for Intimate Residency".