Biography

Perky actress and producer Ellie Cornell was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA. After graduating from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 1986, Cornell had a small guest appearance in a 1988 episode of Thirtysomething (1987). The same year, she played an assertive reporter in the Oscar-nominated comedy movie Married to the Mob (1988).

Cornell's best-known role also came about in 1988 when she auditioned for parts in two horror films: lead girl Alice Johnson in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) and Rachel Carruthers, foster sister of Jamie Lloyd, in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), winning the latter. Halloween 4 grossed over three times its budget and Cornell reprised her role as Rachel in its sequel, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989). After appearing in episodes of TV shows ABC Afterschool Specials (1972) and Gabriel's Fire (1990), as well as the made-for-television movie Chips, the War Dog (1989), Cornell was set to appear in the comedy A League of Their Own (1992), but had to drop out after finding out she was pregnant.

After an eight-year break from the film industry, Cornell returned to executive produce and act in Free Enterprise (1998) and The Specials (2000). She played tough cop Jordan Casper in the critically-panned, video game-based zombie movie House of the Dead (2003) and its sequel, House of the Dead 2 (2005), and appeared in five more horror films in 2005 and 2006. Moreover, Cornell was in the pilot episode of The Event (2010) and played a detective in four episodes of the short-lived Femme Fatales (2011); she also tried a hand at directing Prank (2008) with Halloween 4 and 5 co-star Danielle Harris and horror actress Heather Langenkamp, which fell through, and was interviewed in the documentary Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006).

She and her husband also founded production company Mindfire Entertainment and own Ship's Inn, a restaurant in Massachusetts, together.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

Acting was something I knew I wanted to do even before I started kindergarten. It just kept being a reoccurring theme throughout my school years; it became part of my personal identity. I was never, however, a musical comedy gal. I remember being in a one-person show in grade school called "The Last Flower" about being the last living thing on Earth; it felt so cutting edge at the time and was such a privilege to do something so enjoyable and seemingly edgy!

[on Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)] Obviously, what I took away from the Halloween experience was under Dwight H. Little's direction. I still get a kick of Rachel running through her yard in Halloween 5 wrapped in a towel, and getting Mr. Cornish to help her. I always think of Cornish Game Hens!

[on Donald Pleasence] Donald was a consummate pro, soft-spoken with a wonderful, quiet sense of humor, which you need during night shoots!

[on Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)] I thought Alan B. McElroy wrote a good, scary script. The screen test was such a thrill; I had to wait an unbearable weekend and on Monday they gave me the role of Rachel Carruthers. I had seen bits and pieces of Halloween (1978), which is a classic, but the plot line went astray in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982).

I liked George P. Wilbur's Michael Myers because I kicked his butt for a while there! Don Shanks was a sweetie, especially during the death scene which was less than pleasant.