Ellen Thompson was born in Dallas and raised in central New Jersey and western Pennsylvania by her mom, Victoria Thompson, a bestselling author, and her dad, Jim Thompson, now a retired college professor. At age 2, Ellen contracted a persistent strain of the acting virus. In high school she worked with professional actors and directors in regional theater and won awards in community theater. Ellen earned a BFA in Drama from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and moved from New York to Los Angeles in 2003. She graduated from Second City Hollywood in 2009, and earned a Paralegal Certificate with Distinction from UCLA Extension in 2018. As a writer, her sitcom pilot won Acclaim Scripts TV Pilot/MOW competition and her screenplay was in the Top 15% for the Nicholls Fellowship. She is married to television journalist Dave Nemetz. They have a dog and a cat.