Eliza Taylor


Eliza Jane Morley, known professionally as Eliza Taylor, is an Australian actress. She is best known for her roles as Janae Timmins on the Australian soap opera Neighbours and Clarke Griffin on The CW drama series The 100.

Early life

Eliza was born in Melbourne and has three siblings: two sisters and one brother. Her mother is an author and a graphic designer and her step father was a stand up comedian. Her biological father used to own cafés around Melbourne. Taylor wanted to be a marine biologist growing up.

Career

2003–2013: Career beginnings and ''Neighbours''

After a lead role in Pirate Islands, she starred as Rosie Cartwright in The Sleepover Club in 2003. She transitioned to mature audience programs with a guest role on Blue Heelers in 2003.
Taylor, as many Australian actors, got her big breakthrough in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 2005. She secured the role of Janae Timmins after previously appearing in a guest role in 2003. Taylor had originally auditioned for the role of Lana Crawford, however, it was actress Bridget Neval who was eventually cast. In 2007, Nell Feeney and Sianoa Smit-McPhee, who play Taylor's on-screen mother Janelle Timmins and sister Bree Timmins, were written out by executive producer Ric Pellizzeri, but it was confirmed that they wanted Taylor-Cotter to remain in the serial as Janae. Later that year, Taylor-Cotter decided to quit the serial to pursue other projects such as pantomime and a further career in the USA. One of the contributing factors that helped Taylor-Cotter reach this decision was that all of her on-screen family had been written out and new cast members gave the serial the feel of a different place. She also added: "It just didn't feel like the family that I joined when I started three years ago. Taylor-Cotter was one of many cast members that quit the serial at the same time. Taylor-Cotter finished filming her final studio scenes in 2007 and her final episode was screened on 8 February 2008. In 2007, Taylor was nominated for Best Female at the Inside Soap Awards.
Taylor travelled to the United Kingdom in late November 2007, and on 1 December 2007 she turned on the Weymouth Christmas lights. On 19 December, Taylor starred as Snow White in a Christmas pantomime, again in Weymouth. In 2009, she was in an episode of and filmed a short drama/comedy movie called The Laundromat. Taylor filmed a role in the horror movie 6plots. She later filmed the pilot of Winners & Losers.

2014–present: Role in ''The 100'' and further recognition

On 1 March 2013, it was announced that Taylor was cast as lead character Clarke Griffin in the new The CW post-apocalyptic drama series The 100. The series premiered on Wednesday, 19 March 2014 at 9PM. Explaining how she got the part in the series, Taylor said:
"I didn't actually audition. I'd been living in LA for about a month and my credit card was stolen and all my money was taken – spent at Home Depot, which was great – and I was ready to pack my bags and go back to Australia because I didn't know how I was going to survive in LA any longer and then I got a call from my manager to say that an audition I'd done months ago for a film had been looked at by the producers of this TV show called The 100 and they wanted me to go in for a reading the next day. So I read the script that night and loved it and went in for the meeting the next day and got the role. Before I knew it I was on a plane to Vancouver to shoot the pilot and my whole life changed."

For her role in The 100, Taylor was nominated for Choice TV Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy at the Teen Choice Awards from 2015 to 2018.
In 2017, she starred as Ellen Langford in the Netflix Christmas romantic drama film Christmas Inheritance.

Personal life

In 2017, Taylor and her long-time friend Claire Wyndham started Koh Tao International Primary, a non-profit primary school in Ko Tao, Thailand.
On 7 June 2019, Taylor announced on Twitter that she and her The 100 co-star Bob Morley had married.

Filmography

Film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003Pirate IslandsSarah Redding26 episodes
2003NeighboursJacinta Martin2 episodes
2003–2004The Sleepover ClubRosie Cartwright26 episodes
2004Blue HeelersTatum O'HaraEpisode: "Cast the First Stone"
2005–2008NeighboursJanae Timmins166 episodes
2006Blue Water HighHeidi LeeEpisode #35
2008RushMadisonEpisode: "Get Lucky"
2009Packed to the RaftersKerryEpisode: "Losing the Touch"
2009All SaintsCarly SpaldingEpisode: "The Two of Us"
2010City HomicideMelissa StandishEpisode: "Last Seen"
2010Winners & LosersBridget GrossEpisode: "Pilot"
2012Howzat! Kerry Packer's WarRhonda1 episode
2013Mr & Mrs MurderSarahEpisode: "Little Boxes"
2013NikitaReporter Episode: "Wanted"
2014–presentThe 100Clarke Griffin80 episodes
2019The 100Josephine Lightbourne VIII7 episodes

Theatre

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2007Inside Soap AwardsBest ActressNeighbours
2007All About Soap AwardsWedding Shock Neighbours
2008Inside Soap AwardsSexiest FemaleNeighbours
2015Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actress: Sci-Fi/FantasyThe 100
2016Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actress: Sci-Fi/FantasyThe 100
2016Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV: Chemistry The 100
2017Teen Choice AwardsChoice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV ActressThe 100
2018Teen Choice AwardsChoice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV ActressThe 100