Photo: Instagram
She hosts a Dungeons & Dragons podcast.
By Amy Lamare — Written on Jan 18, 2019
Elsie Fisher has been blowing audiences away with her performance as Kayla Day in the critcally acclaimed film Eighth Grade. In it, Fisher's character is a socially awkward teen (who isn't at that age?) in her last week of school before graduating and moving on to high school and a fresh start. Fisher got a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical for her role. The California teen was born in Riverside on April 3, 2003. She grew up in Idyllwild, California. When Elsie was in fifth grade, her family moved to Ventura county to be closer to her auditions. Eighth Grade is 15-year-old Fisher's big breakout role. Who is Elsie Fisher?
1. She sounds familiar
If Elsie Fisher sounds familiar to you, there's a good reason for that. She was the voice of Agnes in the first two Despicable Me movies. She was so young she couldn't read yet, so she had to memorize the script. She said, "They would repeat the lines back to me the way they wanted me to say them, and I would be a parrot."
2. She didn't enjoy 8th grade
Like her character Kayla, Elsie wasn't the biggest fan of her eighth grade experience. Her dad Chris Fisher told the Los Angeles Times, “She went on the eighth-grade trip to D.C. and had an absolutely miserable time. She loved the historical aspects but the three people she had to bunk with were absolutely terrible to her. She would text me from there. She had to take solace in some of the chaperones.” In fact, she hated eighth grade so much that she decided to be home schooled for high school. She told Jimmy Kimmel, "I think just the experience of being in eighth grade, the real one, makes me want to actually drop out of school because that sucked!”
3. She was discovered at 4.
When Elsie was four years old she went to see her dad at a jazz club where he was working. She jumped on stage and started performing. It turns out one of the regulars at the club said to Elsie's dad Chris, "Hey, I have a friend who’s an agent. Have you ever thought about having her try out to be an actress?’"
4. She hosts a Dungeons & Dragons podcast
Elsie is a big fan of video games, particularly the popular My Brother, My Brother and Me and the classic game Dungeons and Dragons. In fact, Elsie hosts a podcast where she plays D&D with a group of friends. You can find her podcast at The X-Treme DnD Podcast.
5. She tried out for the high school play.
After she finished filming Eighth Grade, Elsie tried out for the high school play and did not get cast. I wonder if her drama teacher saw Eighth Grade or the Golden Globes.
6. She drank water from a puddle
In her Los Angeles Times interview, Elsie talked about the time a classmate dared her to drink from a puddle.“I was thirsty for friendship, and I quenched that thirst with some puddle water. I didn’t get sick, thankfully.”
7. She asked for changes to Eighth Grade's script
Elise asked the writer/director of Eighth Grade, Bo Burnham, to make a change to the script. He originally had the characters messaging each other on Facebook. Elsie told Newsday, "I went up to him and I’m like, nobody uses Facebook anymore. Then we changed it to Instagram."
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.