Elizabeth Laidlaw was born in North Carolina and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She began seriously pursuing acting as a career as early as high school, during which she performed leading roles both at school and in local theatre companies, and even helped to found a traveling youth theatre while still in high school. After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University with a BFA in Performance and Directing, she returned to Chicago and started busy career as a stage actress, earning a Joseph Jefferson Nomination with her very first Chicago performance, in John Patrick Shanley's "The Big Funk", with Strawdog Theatre Company, where she is now a member emeritus. She earned a Joseph Jefferson Award for her performance in Robert Shenkan's "The Kentucky Cycle". Around this time she put her career on hold and traveled to London to take part in The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art's Shakespeare Training program. During her career in Chicago she has performed with many venerable Chicago theatres, including Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Court Theatre, Writer's Theatre, The Goodman and Steppenwolf. In 2003 she founded Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre, a classical company made up of Chicago-based talent that travels to Northern Michigan to perform free outdoor Shakespeare in the summer months. She also maintains steady work as a voice talent for television, radio, industrial and internet. In addition she has appeared in a number of full-length feature films and shorts, all produced by Chicago-based filmmakers.