Jacob Elordi Bio
Jacob Nathaniel Elordi is an Australian actor whose career has moved quickly from teen-romance streaming favorite to award-recognized dramatic performer. He first drew global attention through Netflix’s The Kissing Booth franchise and HBO’s Euphoria, and he has since earned a reputation for choosing complex roles in films directed by Sofia Coppola, Emerald Fennell, and Guillermo del Toro. With a Critics’ Choice Award, three AACTA Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Awards, and Golden Globe Awards, Elordi stands as one of the most prominent young actors working in Hollywood today.
Born and raised in Brisbane, Elordi trained in Australia before relocating to the United States in 2017 at age 19. He is known for his tall frame, classical leading-man looks, and a willingness to take on challenging characters across drama, thriller, and horror genres.
Early Life and Background
Jacob Nathaniel Elordi was born on 26 June 1997 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is the son of John Elordi, a house painter, and Melissa Elordi, a stay-at-home mother and school volunteer. His father was born in Markina-Xemein in the Basque Country of Spain and migrated to Australia from Bilbao at age eight, escaping the Francoist dictatorship. Elordi has three older sisters, and he grew up in a working-class household shaped by both Australian and Basque roots.
When Elordi was 12 years old, his family moved to Melbourne so that one of his sisters could attend the Australian Ballet School. He returned to Brisbane in 2013 at age 16 to finish high school. As a young athlete, he represented Victoria in rugby union and basketball, and he was part of the under-16 Victorian basketball team that won the national championship in 2012. He attended the private Roman Catholic boys’ schools St Kevin’s College in Melbourne and St Joseph’s College in Nudgee, Brisbane, graduating from the latter in 2015.
Elordi first discovered acting at age 12 while performing in school musicals such as Seussical and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He credits a viewing of Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) as the moment he decided to become an actor. After reading Waiting for Godot in a drama class at age 15, he came to view acting as a defining personal calling. He later studied at an acting school in Melbourne for one year before moving to the United States in 2017.
Path to Acting
Elordi’s earliest brushes with film work came in Australia, where he appeared as an extra on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017. His first credited acting role was in the Australian comedy Swinging Safari in 2018, where he played a character named Rooster. These early experiences helped him transition from school-stage productions to working on professional sets.
After finishing The Kissing Booth, Elordi relocated to Los Angeles, where he initially struggled financially, occasionally sleeping in his car and couch surfing while his visa neared expiration. While helping a friend prepare for an audition for HBO’s Euphoria, he decided to audition himself and planned for the tryout to be his last before returning to Australia. He was cast as Nate Jacobs, a troubled high school football player, in the series created by Sam Levinson. The role has been described by critics as an impressive career pivot and his breakout performance.
Jacob Elordi Career
Early Career (2018–2019)
Elordi achieved worldwide fame in 2018 with Netflix’s The Kissing Booth, in which he starred opposite Joey King as Noah Flynn, the high school heartthrob at the center of the romantic comedy. Although critics gave the film a largely negative reception, it became one of Netflix’s most-watched titles of the year and introduced Elordi to a global audience. He went on to reprise the role in The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) and The Kissing Booth 3 (2021). He has since spoken candidly about his discomfort with the franchise, even as he acknowledged that the work helped him establish himself in the United States.
During this same period, Elordi appeared in the horror anthology film The Mortuary Collection in 2019 and took on early dramatic work that signaled a wider range than his Netflix image suggested. His casting as Nate Jacobs on Euphoria in 2019 marked a turning point, with critics calling the role an impressive career pivot from his earlier romantic-comedy work.
Breakthrough (2020–2022)
Between 2020 and 2022, Elordi expanded his filmography with a series of varied roles. He starred in the romantic drama 2 Hearts (2020) as college student and narrator Chris Gregory, appeared in the Australian comedy The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (2020), and joined the cast of Adrian Lyne’s erotic thriller Deep Water (2022) as a piano teacher named Charlie. These projects allowed him to move beyond the teen-romance image that The Kissing Booth had created.
His continued work on Euphoria, where he portrayed the troubled Nate Jacobs from the show’s 2019 debut onward, solidified his standing as a dramatic actor. The role also kept him in the public eye through awards chatter and a growing fan following.
Critical Acclaim and Major Roles (2023–2024)
In 2023, Elordi appeared in several films that earned him widespread critical recognition. He portrayed Elvis Presley opposite Cailee Spaeny in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, which premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival to positive reviews. Critics praised his careful portrayal of Elvis’s appeal and volatility, often comparing his work favorably to Austin Butler’s performance in Elvis (2022). Later that year, he starred as Felix Catton, the magnetic Oxford University student at the center of Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. The film was described as a star-making turn, and the role earned him a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
He also appeared as the serial-killer character Bobby in He Went That Way and as the actor Ian in the 2023 drama The Sweet East, which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. In 2024, he starred in Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada as the younger version of Richard Gere’s character, and in the period drama On Swift Horses, where his performance was called electrifying. He also hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2024.
Awards-Defining Roles (2025)
Elordi’s 2025 work included the role of Dorrigo Evans in the miniseries The Narrow Road to the Deep North and the lead role of the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein for Netflix. His performance as the Creature was described as transformative, conveying the monster’s intelligence, sensitivity, and inherent gentleness. Both roles earned him Golden Globe Award nominations, and his work in Frankenstein also brought nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Notable Works and Milestones
Elordi’s signature works include The Kissing Booth franchise, HBO’s Euphoria, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. His accolades include a Critics’ Choice Award, three AACTA Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. His global recognition has been shaped by his height of about 6 feet 5 inches, his classical leading-man looks, and his willingness to challenge his public image with darker, more dramatic characters.
Jacob Elordi Award Nominations
Jacob Elordi’s growing list of major nominations reflects his steady rise from streaming star to awards-recognized actor. He has earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Creature in Frankenstein (2025), three nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and two nominations for the Golden Globe Awards. His earlier BAFTA nomination came for his role as Felix Catton in Saltburn (2023), and his Golden Globe nominations include recognition for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Frankenstein.
Jacob Elordi Awards Won
Elordi’s verified wins include one Critics’ Choice Award and three AACTA Awards. His Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards were presented in recognition of his work across film and television, marking him as one of the most decorated young Australian actors of his generation.
Jacob Elordi Family
Elordi was raised in Brisbane by his mother, Melissa Elordi, a stay-at-home mother and school volunteer, and his father, John Elordi, a house painter of Spanish-Basque origin. He has three older sisters, and the family is described as a working-class household with deep ties to both Australian and Basque heritage. His father was born in Markina-Xemein in the Basque Country of Spain and migrated to Australia from Bilbao as a child.
Personal Life
Elordi has been romantically linked in the media to several public figures, including The Kissing Booth co-star Joey King, Euphoria co-star Zendaya, model Kaia Gerber, YouTuber Olivia Jade, and model Kendall Jenner. He has previously served as a brand ambassador for Hugo Boss and TAG Heuer. Beyond his acting career, he remains closely associated with his Brisbane roots and his Australian family.