Contents
Elliot Page is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his roles in the American films Hard Candy (2005), Juno (2007), Inception (2010), and Tallulah (2016). He is also known for his portrayal of ‘Vanya Hargreeves’ in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy (2019).
Wiki/Biography
Elliot Page was born on Saturday, February 21, 1987 (age 34 years; as of 2021), in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was assigned female at birth and was named Ellen Page. His zodiac sign is Pisces.
Until grade 10, he did his schooling at Halifax Grammar School and then went to Queen Elizabeth High School in Halifax. In 2005, he graduated from Shambhala School, a non-denominational private school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, based on Shambhala Buddhist principles. At Shambhala, he studied meditation and yoga. For the next two years, he lived in Toronto, Ontario, where he studied in the Vaughan Road Academy’s Interact Program with his close friend and actor Mark Rendall.
On February 14, 2014, Elliot (who was presenting as female) announced himself gay during his speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s ‘Time to Thrive’ conference in Las Vegas.
On December 1, 2020, Elliot uploaded a post on his social media accounts coming out as transgender and specified his pronouns he/him or they/them. He also revealed his new name, Elliot.
After the announcement, many congratulated and expressed their support to Elliot including the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, James Gunn, and Kumail Nanjiani.
Physical Appearance
Height : 5’ 1”
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Family & Ethnicity
Parents & Siblings
He was born to Martha Philpotts, a teacher, and Dennis Page, a graphic designer. His parents divorced when he was still a baby. He grew up switching between his parents’ house every two weeks.
Relationships & Wife
He was rumored to be dating Ben Foster (2006; actor), Sam Riley (2008; actor and singer), Emile Hirsch (2010; actor), Alexander Skarsgård (actor), Clea DuVall (2011; actress and filmmaker), and Shailene Woodley (2014; actress and filmmaker).
In 2015-17, he dated the American artist Samantha Thomas.
He has also dated American actress, producer, director, talk show host, and entrepreneur Drew Barrymore.
In 2017, Elliot came into a relationship with the dancer/choreographer Emma Portner. Elliot had met Emma on Instagram. In January 2018, Elliot announced that he was married to Emma.
In the summer of 2020, the two separated, and Page filed for divorce in January 2021.
Career
Television
In 1997, he was cast as ‘Maggie Maclean’ in the television movie ‘Pit Pony’ and continued to play Maggie in the spinoff series of the movie from 1999 to 2000.
He went on to act in the Canadian television series Trailer Park Boys (2002), Rideau Hall (2002), ReGenesis (2004), and Going for Broke (2002), and Ghost Cat (2003). He made his American television debut with the movie ‘Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story’ (2003) as ‘Young Lisa.’
He has also acted in the American series Gaycation (2016) and The Umbrella Academy (2019), and animated series The Simpsons (2009), Glenn Martin, DDS (2011), Family Guy (2012), Out There (2013), Tales of the City (2019), and Ark: The Animated Series (2022).
Films
In 2002, he made his film debut with the Canadian film ‘The Wet Season’ as ‘Jocelyn.’
He went on to act in the Canadian films Marion Bridge (2002), Touch & Go (2003), Love That Boy (2003), and Wilby Wonderful (2004). In 2004, he acted in the breakthrough movie of his career ‘Hard Candy’ in which he played ‘Hayley Stark,’ a young girl who takes a pedophile hostage.
He has acted in Canadian films like The Tracey Fragments (2007), The Stone Angel (2007), Vanishing of the Bees (2009), Into the Forest (2015), Window Horses (2016), and There’s Something in the Water (2019). In 2005, he made his British film debut with ‘Mouth to Mouth’ as ‘Sherry.’
In 2006, he made his American debut with ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ in the main role of ‘Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat.’
In 2007, he made his widespread breakthrough with the American film Juno as ‘Juno MacGuff.’
He has acted in the American films Smart People (2008), Inception (2010), To Rome With Love (2012), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and Tallulah (2016). He made his Irish debut with the film ‘The Cured (2017)’ in the role of ‘Abbie.’
Other Works
In 2015, he made his debut as a producer with ‘Into the Forest.’
He then produced the films Freeheld (2015), Tallulah (2016), My Days of Mercy (2017), The Cured (2017), and There’s Something in the Water (2019). He debuted as a producer in television with the series ‘Gaycation’ (2016).
In 2019, he made his debut as a director and cinematographer with the Canadian documentary film There’s Something in the Water (2019).
He has also lent his voice to the character ‘Jodie Holmes’ of the video game Beyond: Two Souls (2013).
Awards & Achievements
- ACTRA Maritimes Awards for Outstanding Female Performance for the film ‘Marion Bridge’ in 2003
- Hollywood Film Awards for Breakthrough Actress of the Year in 2007
- Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Actress in a Canadian Film for ‘The Tracey Fragments’ in 2007
- MTV Movie Awards for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance for the film ‘Inception’ in 2010
- Premio Maguey for Best Performance Award for the film ‘My Days of Mercy’ in 2018
Atlantic Film Festival
- Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor – Female for ‘Wilby Wonderful’ in 2004
- Award for Best Actress for ‘The Tracey Fragments’ in 2007
Gemini Awards
- Best Performance in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series for Ghost Cat in 2003
- Best Supporting Actress for the series ReGenesis in 2004
For the Film ‘Hard Candy’
- Austin Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress for Hard Candy in 2006
- Women Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Equality of the Sexes in 2006
For the Film ‘Juno’
- Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Performance by a Female – Film in 2008
- MTV Movie Awards for Best Female Performace in 2008
- Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy in 2008
- Chicago Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress in 2007
- Austin Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress for in 2007
- Detroit Film Critics Society Awards for Best Actress in 2007
- Gotham Awards for Breakthrough Actor in 2007
- Independent Spirit Awards for Best Female Lead in 2007
- National Board of Review Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance – Female in 2007
- New York Film Critics Online Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance in 2007
- Satellite Awards for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in 2007
- St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress in 2007
- Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress in 2007
- Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance in 2007
- Placed 10th in IndieWire Critics Poll for Best Female Performance in 2007
- Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
- Pauline Kael Breakout Award in 2007
- Choice Movie Actress: Comedy in 2008
- Choice Movie: Breakout Female in 2008
- Choice Movie: Liplock in 2008
Rankings
- Forbes 30 Under List Hollywood & Entertainment in 2015
- 40 Under 40 list of The Advocate magazine in 2014
- Ranked 8th on Entertainment Weekly’s 30 Under 30 actress list in 2008
- Ranked 10th on Moviefone’s The 25 Hottest Actors Under 25 list in 2008
Controversies
- In 2019, American actor and singer Jussie Smollett was attacked by two men outside his apartment, who called him racial and homophobic slurs; an incident that turned out to be a publicity stunt later. Elliot, in an interview on The Late Show, blasted former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for their anti-LGBTQ policies, in support of Jussie. He said,
Connect the dots, this is what happens. If you are in a position of power and you hate people and you want to cause suffering to them, you go through the trouble, you spend your career trying to cause suffering — what do you think is going to happen? Kids are going to be abused, and they’re going to kill themselves and people are going to be beaten on the street. It feels impossible not to feel this way right now with the president and the vice president Mike Pence, who wishes I could not be married, let’s just be clear.”
- In 2017, he alleged that director Brett Ratner (who was a subject of sexual harassment and assault allegations at that time) had outed him gay during the filming of X Men: The Last Stand. Amid the controversy, he uploaded a Facebook post about his experiences in Hollywood and wrote,
I have been a professional actor since the age of ten. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many honorable and respectful collaborators both behind and in front of the camera. But the behavior I’m describing is ubiquitous. They (abusers), want you to feel small, to make you insecure, to make you feel like you are indebted to them, or that your actions are to blame for their unwelcome advances. When I was sixteen a director took me to dinner (a professional obligation and a very common one). He fondled my leg under the table and said, “You have to make the move, I can’t.” I did not make the move and I was fortunate to get away from that situation. It was a painful realization: my safety was not guaranteed at work. An adult authority figure for whom I worked intended to exploit me, physically. I was sexually assaulted by a grip months later. I was asked by a director to sleep with a man in his late twenties and to tell them about it. I did not. This is just what happened during my sixteenth year, a teenager in the entertainment industry.”
Signature
Favorite Things
- Alcoholic Beverage: Tequila
- Album(s): ‘Impeach My Bush’ by Peaches, ‘Horses’ by Patti Smith, ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ by Bon Iver
- Song(s): ‘Wild is the Wind’ by Cat Power, ‘Fire’ by Joe Budden
- Singer(s): Patti Smith, Ron Sexsmith, Will Oldham
- Actress(es): Parker Posey, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep
- Architecture: Parthenon in Athens, Greece
- Film(s): Waiting for Guffman (1996), 28 Days Later (2002), The Babadook (2014), The 400 Blows (1959)
Net Worth
As of 2020, his net worth is around $12 million.
Facts/Trivia
- He is often called ‘Small’ and ‘The Tiny Canadian’ in her friend circle and family.
- While growing up, he was tomboyish and loved street hockey, Sega Genesis games, snowboarding, and wrestling. His hair was so short that people often called him ‘Allen’ instead of Ellen. At McDonald’s, he used to order a Happy Meal and ask for a boy toy. When cashiers ignored him and gave him dolls instead, he would immediately cut the hair off the doll.
- At the age of 10, he made his acting debut on television. When he was studying at Halifax Grammar School, he played the lead role in his school’s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After a local actor named John Dunsworth, who was scouting talent in Halifax’s elementary schools, approached Elliot’s school, the drama coach there told Dunsworth about Elliot. Talking about it in an interview, Dunsworth recalls the story,
All the other kids brought their script to the first day of rehearsals, but this little girl (Elliot) left hers behind — she had memorized it. So she was a committed little thing.”
- He has dated boys in his teens but did not feel anything even when he kissed them. It remained the same until he finally kissed a girl at the end of his high school. He began dating other girls but didn’t come out in open as gay.
- Before acting happened, he was obsessed with soccer and still believes that if not an actor he would have been a soccer player. In his teens, he began feeling like acting was a lifelong pursuit for him and devoted himself to it completely. He decided to give up soccer and moved to Toronto to attend a special program for kids with all-consuming careers.
- After the release of Juno in 2007, he experienced extensive fame and popularity. In contrary to this, Elliot was finding it hard to take in all the fame and felt alienated. To overcome this, he decided to travel to rural Oregon and study permaculture at Lost Valley Educational Center, an intentional community and ecovillage located in mostly forested land in Dexter, Oregon. In the valley, residents slept in rustic dorms with sheets hanging down as walls. They shoveled goat feces and trudged through muds.
- In the valley, he met the filmmaker and writer Ian Daniel, who was supposedly the only person in America that year to not know Elliot. He became close with Ian and together, they made the Emmy-nominated show Gaycation. Talking about Elliot in an interview, Ian said,
I know Hollywood can be an overwhelming and toxic system at times. She pushed back to be herself in a place that wanted her to be a more conventional feminine ideal. She wasn’t interested in that. I think she sees that the world needs to see more mainstream representations of the multitude of ways we really are. She risked a lot by coming out when she did, but she had the insight to know she could help make it easier for others in the future – and that she would be happier, too. She’s helped create a new path for LGBTQ people in Hollywood. For someone so small”
- In 2008, he called himself a pro-choice feminist in an interview with the Washington Post. He said,
I call myself a feminist when people ask me if I am, and of course I am ’cause it’s about equality, so I hope everyone is. You know you’re working in a patriarchal society when the word feminist has a weird connotation. “Hippie” has a weird connotation. “Liberal” has a weird connotation.”
- He is an atheist. According to him,
Religion has always been used for beautiful things, and also as a way to justify discrimination—whether it’s gender, or race, or the LGBT community, or what have you. Personally, I’m an atheist, so I just have no time for it. So that will be the next challenge.”
- In 2008, he was one of the 30 celebrities who appeared in an online advertisement series for the US Campaign for Burma. The campaign was carried out to call out the military dictatorship and thrust the cause of human rights in Burma, now Myanmar.
- In 2013, Elliot announced that he would be making his directorial debut with the American comedy film Miss Stevens, released in 2016, and would star Anna Faris and be produced by Gary Gilbert, Jordan Horowitz, and Doug Wald. Eventually, the project was carried forward with American actress and filmmaker Julia Hart replacing Elliot as director.
- Elliot practices veganism. He was named Peta’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities of 2014.
- Apart from acting, Elliot Page has also done hosting. On March 1, 2018, he hosted Saturday Night Live.
- Elliot is an LGBTQ+ rights activist and is raising funds for LGBTQI grassroots activists through Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, an international charitable foundation based in the United States focused on issues related to LGBT and intersex rights. He is also on the Board of Directors at the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which is working to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ women and girls.
- Elliot had a mid-century modern pavilion in the celeb-studded Nichols Canyon area of Los Angeles that he sold up for $2.1 million in 2019.
- He has eight tattoos on his body that are made by two of his friends at his home. There is ‘turtle’ inked on his right forearm, there’s ‘WIIG’ (name of his best friend and American actress Kristen Wiig) tattooed on his left bicep, and ‘C KEENS and EP PHONE HOME’ (C KEENS stand for his friend and American actress Catherine Keener; EP stands for his ex-wife Emma Portner) tattooed on his right arm. He has another tattoo ‘BB’ (initials of her friend named Beatrice Brown) on his hands.
- He is an avid dog lover and owns two pet dogs named Mo and Patters.