While a lot of attention would come her way in her role opposite Tim Allen in the family comedy Mrs. Clause: The Santa Clause 2, Elizabeth Mitchell had long since earned her due with numerous roles in film and television.
Mitchell was born on March 27, 1970, in Los Angeles, CA. Shortly after her birth, her family relocated to Dallas, TX, where she spent the majority of her young life. Her adorably charismatic looks proved an asset to her budding career as an actress, and she would eventually return to the Hollywood scene on the West Coast.
Mitchell was married to actor Gary Bakewell, her onscreen husband in The Linda McCartney Story, in 2000. In the role of Linda McCartney in this made-for-TV movie, Mitchell portrayed the woman with whom Paul McCartney (portrayed by Bakewell) would fall in love, and the tragic story of her battle with breast cancer, based on real-life events. The acting team paired to exemplify the iconography of a world-known love story, that of former Beatles member McCartney and his wife, would prove the casting director's ability with their own love affair, which continued long after shooting was completed.
Before the onscreen turned real-life romance with Bakewell, Mitchell had already accumulated a lengthy list of credits in the entertainment business. In the mid- to late '90s, she made numerous guest appearances on prime-time television, with roles on shows like The Sentinel, Time of Your Life, Spin City, and ER. In 1998, she played Linda in the TV-movie Gia, and Jane on the TV series Significant Others. She appeared in the comedy film Molly, starring Elisabeth Shue, the following year. The dramatic thriller Frequency (2000) starring Dennis Quaid featured Mitchell in the role of Jules. Along with Frequency, she appeared in a small role in Nurse Betty in 2000, as well as the aforementioned TV-film The Linda McCartney Story.
In 2001, she kept busy both in film and on television. She played roles in the films Double Bang and Hollywood Palms, as well as a recurring role on the series The Beast. She would return to collaborating with husband Bakewell in 2002, as the two of them starred in the made-for-TV Man and Boy. Also that year, she played the wife of Tim Allen's character in the sequel to The Santa Clause, Mrs. Clause, one of her most major starring roles to date.
In 2004 she was cast as the wife of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt in the biopic 3, and two years later she appeared in Santa Clause 3, reprising her role from the earlier sequel. In 2006 she joined the cast of Lost as the mysterious Juliet Burke, and followed that up with a major part in the ABC redo of the sci-fi series V. In 2011 she appeared opposite Dane Cook in Answers to Nothing.
