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 ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic fiction, Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897) by 26 years. First published as a Serial (literature), serial in ' ...

'' (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 Circle in the Square Theatre School is a non-profit, tax exempt drama school associated with Circle in the Square Theatre; it is the only accredited conservatory attached to a Broadway theatre. It offers two 2-year full-time programs: a Profes ...

, 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 Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

, which garnered rave reviews 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 ''

'', based on the 1871 Gothic vampire novella of the same name by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. The series has become popular online for its depiction of LGBT characters and has been viewed over 70 million times on the KindaTVbr>YouTube channel
attracting fans worldwide. When interviewed about how she feels playing a

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

character in a series that isn't about being queer, Bauman said: Elisebauman111

You don’t see any of the characters being ostracized because of it heir 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 Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, 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 ''The Carmilla Movie'' is a 2017 Canadian comedy horror film directed by Spencer Maybee, based on the web series of the same name (2014–2016). Both the film and the web series were adapted from the 1872 gothic novella ''Carmilla'' by Joseph Sh ...

'', 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 The 6th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 11, 2018, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2017.

, Bauman won the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award, voted on by fans, for her work on Carmilla. Bauman states 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 Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

in 2017.

Filmography

Other Work

Music

Music videos

Behind-the-Scenes

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bauman, Elise 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian film actresses Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni Canadian musical theatre actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian LGBT rights activists Canadian feminists Feminist filmmakers Actresses from Kitchener, Ontario Canadian web series actresses Living people Bisexual actresses Bisexual singers Canadian LGBT actors 1990 births Feminist musicians Canadian LGBT singers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people