Eliza Taylor

Eliza Taylor
Taylor at the 2016 WonderCon
Born	Eliza Jane Taylor-Cotter (1989-10-24) 24 October 1989 (age 27) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Other names	Eliza Taylor-Cotter
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2002–present
Notable work	The 100 Neighbours

Eliza Jane Taylor-Cotter (born 24 October 1989), often credited as Eliza Taylor, is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Janae Timmins in the Australian soap opera Neighbours (2005–08), and for her lead role as Clarke Griffin in The CW series The 100 (2014–present).

Taylor was born in Melbourne and has three siblings, two sisters and a 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 attended Calder High School and while growing up, she wanted to be a marine biologist.

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.