Early Career and Breakthrough on Television
Elizabeth Egan “Liz” Gillies was born on July 26, 1993 in Haworth, New Jersey. When she was younger, she performed in local community theatre productions and took voice lessons at her school. At age 12, she began her career professionally after going to a local open casting call and started appearing in commercials for such companies as Virgin Mobile.
Her first television appearance was in the television series The Black Donnellys, where she played young Jenny for three episodes in 2007. The following year, at age 15, she made her film debut as Evelyn Taylor in the comedy movie Harold. The film generally received negative reviews and was also a commercial disappointment.
Also in 2008, she played the role of Shelby Wexler in the direct-to-DVD film The Clique, appearing alongside Ellen Marlow, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Bridgit Mendler, and Samantha Boscarino. She was later cast as Lucy in a Goodspeed production of Jason Robert Brown’s new musical 13.
When 13 moved to Broadway, it became the first Broadway production to have a cast and band entirely made up of teenagers. The play ran on Broadway until January 4, 2009. Subsequently, she appeared in an episode of the TV show The Battery’s Down.
Her breakthrough came in 2010 when she was cast as Jade West in Nickelodeon’s Victorious. The series premiered on March 27, 2010 and has since attracted attention among young viewers. The show won for Favorite TV Show award at the 2012 Kids’ Choice Awards and 2013 Kids’ Choice Awards. It also earned four Emmy nominations.
In 2011, she began doing voice work for the Italian animated series Winx Club. That same year, she appeared as Eradicator Folks in the short film The Death and Return of Superman. In the next few years, she landed guest spots in such TV shows as BrainSurge and White Collar.
She then became a panelist in the children’s game show Figure It Out, appearing in seven episodes. This was followed by guest appearances in the television programs The Exes and Sam & Cat. She was recently cast as Gigi in Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, a TV series which will premiere in 2015.
In 2014, she played the role of Mandy in the horror thriller feature Animal, starring alongside Jeremy Sumpter, Keke Palmer, and Joey Lauren Adams. The movie, however, didn’t impress critics and viewers alike, generating poor reviews. She was next cast as the main star in the television movie Killing Daddy.
Music Venture and Plastic Surgery Rumors
Apart from acting, Gillies became also known for her contribution in music. She has appeared in numerous songs on the Victorious soundtracks, Victorious and Victorious 2.0. This includes a duet with Ariana Grande, “Give It Up”, as well as a duet with Victoria Justice, “Take a Hint”.
She then wrote and recorded the single “You Don’t Know Me” for a Victorious episode. It was later featured in the soundtrack Victorious 3.0. She also gained substantial notice for her covers of such songs as “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones, “For No One” by The Beatles and “Jealous Guy” by John Lennon.
Gillies immediately attracted attention after appearing as Jade West in the hit Nickelodeon series Victorious when she was just 17. But some people are afraid that the young star may have followed the footsteps of other young celebrities when it comes to plastic surgery.
Some fans of the show noticed that Gillies’ underwent a distinctive transformation after she was seen in the second season of Victorious. While others defended the young actress by saying that the change could be attributed to her darkened hair and heavier make up, others are not so convinced, implying that the change is something permanent and was done through cosmetic operations.
Fans insisted that such reports are baseless since the rumors began when she was just 17, where she would be too young to undergo any cosmetic surgeries. Now that the actress is already 21, people have just to speculate whether Gillies would consider the artificial route or stick to her natural beauty.