Elisa Donovan is an American actress who is best known for playing the part of Amber in the movie “Clueless” which was released in 1995. Fans got to know her well when she resurrected the role in the television series that followed the film, which ran from 1996 through 1999. She has appeared in multiple television series in both small and more significant roles, but there hasn’t been much released in the past few years. Whatever happened to her after the series ended? We were curious so we looked into her career history and personal life to learn more. Here is what we discovered.
Early life
Elisa Donovan is a native New Yorker who was born in the town of Poughkeepsie. Her name at birth was actually Lisa and she changed it to her stage name “Elisa” and this was the legal name that she worked under as a member of the Actor’s Equity stage union. She couldn’t use her real name because there was already an actress who was registered with that name in the union. This is why many actors adopt a stage name. Elisa had been studying acting since she was 12 years old. She is a multi-talented entertainer who is also a dancer, as well as a gymnast, and an equestrian rider. Although it was not her first acting job, her breakthrough role was Amber in “Clueless.” Elisa is formally trained having studied acting as well as literature and writing at The New School located in New York City. She relocated to Los Angeles to pursue her career in acting in 1994.
Her career
Elisa Donovan worked on the set of the television series “Clueless” for three seasons before moving on to another acting gig. In 1996 she was cast in the role of Morgan Cavanaugh in the television series “Sabrina The Teenage Witch.” You may also remember her from her recurring roles in “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Jack & Jill” from 1999 through 2001, and from “Judging Amy” from 1995 through 2005. Donovan also appeared in “A Night at the Roxbury” in 1998.
Her other acting jobs
In 2004, Elisa appeared in a variety of smaller roles in film and television. She played Eve Simon in “Eve’s Christmas, and Malika in “Kiss Me Again in 2006. She went on that same year to appear in “NCIS,” “Rocker,” and “TV: The Movie.” Her work schedule remained fairly busy throughout the past decade. “A Golden Christmas” in 2009, followed by “A Valentine’s Date” in 2011. She had a recurring role as Gayle Evans in the television series “In Gayle We Trust which ran from 2009 through 2011. She also appeared in “the Dog Who Saved the Holidays,” “MoniKa,” “Chasing Happiness,” “The Dog Who Saved Easter,” “Melissa & Joey,” and in “The Dog Who Saved Summer in 2015.
She has been busy at work and making a family
Most recently, Elisa Donovan appeared in the television series “HOARS” in 2016, and as Mary in “MDMA” in 2017. She has a total of 54 acting credits in her professional portfolio, which is impressive by anyone’s standards. Elisa has had a successful career in acting, but she also made the time in her busy life to settle down and start a family. In October of 2012, she married Charles Bigelow, and the couple has one child together. In addition to being an actress she has also been filling the roles of wife and mother.
She is also a producer
Elisa Donovan has also branched out into other roles within the film and television industry. In 2009 she produced the television series “In Gayle We Trust,” and she also had the starring role in the series that lasted through 2011. She also went on to co-produce “the Dog Who Saved Easter” in 2014, and “The Dog Who Saved Summer” in 2015.
Elisa is active on social media
Donovan has an Instagram page and she is active on the site to help keep her fans informed about what she’s been up to lately. She has around 23,000 followers and this is a great resource for keeping up with what’s going on in her career and in her personal life. We learned some other interesting facts about here when we visited the site. There are 1,472 posts on the page. She lists her career pursuits and interests as actor, writer, time-traveler, wine consumer, salsa dancing yogi, and she makes it plain that she is a lover and not a fighter.
Aspects of her life she shares
Elisa Donavan has some great photos in a variety of sections of her profile on Instagram. She shares some of her favorite bloopers, which shows that she has a great sense of humor. There are also pictures of her as she navigates through the quarantine with the rest of the nation and the world.
Final thoughts
Elisa Donovan is alive and well and she is continuing to carry on in her professional pursuits. She is still married to her husband and helping to raise their 8-year-old child. This must keep her busy. Her last appearance as an actress was in 2017, and there has been no word on whether or not she intends to appear in any new upcoming projects. At the age of 49, Elisa still has a long career ahead of her if she chooses to continue acting once the pandemic numbers decrease and actors are allowed back on the set. She is a multi-talented professional who is not only an actress, but also an avid writer and producer. She has taken on some interesting hobbies recently, and from all appearances, she is doing quite well in spite of the fact that she is quarantined along with everyone else. We hope to see more of her in film and television in the near future, but we’ll have to wait and see.
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