Elisa Perry was born April 24 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is an actress known for Everybody Hates Chris (2006-2008), Won’t Back Down (2012) and Lila and Eve (2015). After the loss of her mother at age six to breast cancer she and her siblings lived briefly in Asheville, North Carolina with her grandfather, Eugene Smith. He was a civil rights activist and started the first black newspaper in Asheville. Growing up in Philadelphia she was constantly exposed to theater. Frequent trips to New York for Broadway shows was her inspiration to be an actress. Elisa is the eldest of three and is a survivor of breast cancer.