Eloise Mumford

Eloise Mumford is an American actress whose career has spanned both television and film, earning her a reputation for nuanced performances and a steady presence in genre‑spanning projects. Born on September 24, 1986 in Olympia, Washington, she grew up as the middle child of Tom Mumford and Nancy Smith, sharing her childhood with an older sister, Anna, and a younger brother, Kai. Her early education was unconventional; she was home‑schooled through the fifth grade before attending Nova Middle School, Annie Wright Schools in Tacoma, and Capital High School back in Olympia. A formative experience at age seven—watching a local production of South Pacific—sparked her love for the stage, leading her to act in high school plays and at the Capital Playhouse. She later refined her craft at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2009, and also trained at the Atlantic Acting School, where she appeared alongside Jesse Eisenberg in the short film "Some Boys Don't Leave" and understudied Elisabeth Moss in the Broadway production of Speed the Plow. After college she entered the industry, landing her first pilot season role on the Fox series Lone Star in 2010, and quickly followed with a lead part on ABC’s paranormal drama The River in 2012. Mumford’s film work includes the lead role in Blumhouse’s Not Safe For Work and the indie thriller Drones, while she achieved mainstream visibility as Kate Kavanagh, the roommate of Anastasia Steele, across the Fifty Shades film trilogy. More recent highlights feature her portrayal of Trudy Cooper in Disney+’s The Right Stuff and a recurring lead as Shannon Whitmer in Amazon Prime’s Cross, demonstrating her continued versatility and appeal across a range of contemporary storytelling formats.