Ellie Desautels

Ellie Desautels is a non-binary actor who is best known for their debut television role as Michael Hallowell, a transgender teenage boy, in NBC's Rise (2018). Born and raised in Connecticut, Ellie received their Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from Manhattanville College. Ellie's most recent work was with Mirrorbox Theatre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where they starred as Nut in Orange Julius. Short film credits include Mirage and Sever (dir. Cristian Ramirez). During their final year in college, they wrote and performed in their senior thesis performance project titled Oh, Sweet Child, which emphasized the importance of transgender representation by bringing real trans and non-binary stories into the spotlight. During college, Ellie was discovered by Shirley Grant Management. They were auditioning for a year and a half before booking their debut TV role on Rise (2018), which they booked while still pursuing their theatre degree in their final year at Manhattanville College. Ellie's greatest passion aside from acting is working to improve trans and non-binary representation in film and television. They're also a singer-songwriter.