Elizabeth attended graduate school at the University of Southern California where she was the recipient of the Jack Nicholson Directing Scholarship for the strongest directing candidate of her class, and she was also short-listed for an International Clio Award for a spec Coca Cola commercial she directed. Her 25-minute thesis film "Eyeball Eddie", an edgy dark comedy (depicting a stormy relationship between a prosthetic glass eye and the insecure boy stuck behind it), won at film festivals worldwide and caught the eye of studios, leading to her feature directorial debut.
With a B.A. from Cornell University (Phi Beta Kappa) and an M.F.A. from USC, Allen currently resides in Los Angeles. She is a member of the DGA, the WGA and the Editor's Guild.
In 2010, Liz directed 20th Century Fox's "Ramona and Beezus", a feature film adaptation of her favorite childhood book series by Newbery Award winning author Beverly Cleary. The film stars Selena Gomez in her feature film debut as well as Ginnifer Goodwin, John Corbett, Josh Duhamel, Sandra Oh, Bridget Moynahan, and 9-year old newcomer Joey King in the lead role of Ramona Quimby. "Ramona and Beezus" was awarded a "Certified Fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes, nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Selena Gomez, and Won the Young Artist Award for Best Actress of 2010 for Joey King. Liz was the recipient of the WIN Award (Woman's Image Network Award) for Best Female Director of the year.
Prior to that, Liz directed "Aquamarine" starring Emma Roberts in her leading role debut, as well as singer Jojo and Sara Paxton in their first starring roles. The film was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards for "Choice Breakout Female" and "Choice Chick Flick", as well as a nomination for Paxton for Best Actress at the Young Artist Awards, a nomination for Jojo for Best Supporting Actress, and a win for Emma Roberts at the 2007 Young Artist Awards.
Liz has written numerous screenplays, including an adaptation of Jerry Spinelli's children's book, "Stargirl" (Paramount Studios), original musical "Promdress" (Disney Features), and "Driving While Infatuated" (Fox Searchlight). Liz has since directed television episodes of "Gossip Girl", "90210", "Life Unexpected", "Starcrossed", "Franklin & Bash", "Vampire Diaries" and in 2012 she guided 9 year old Bruce Salomon to win a young artist award for "Best Guest Star of 2012" on "Emily Owens, MD".
Elizabeth recently completed an independent thriller, "Careful What You Wish For", starring Nick Jonas in his feature film debut. The film also stars Dermot Mulroney, Paul Sorvino, Isabel Lucas and Graham Rogers, and is produced by Hyde Park Entertainment & Troika Pictures.
