Ansel Elgort

Ansel Elgort
5.4
Ansel Elgort photo 1 Ansel Elgort photo 2 Ansel Elgort photo 3 Ansel Elgort photo 4
Name:
Ansel Elgort
Who is:
,
Birth date:
(31 y.o.)
Place of birth:
New York
Height:
6'4 ft ()
Birth Sign:
(characteristic)
Chinese zodiac:

Photos: Ansel Elgort

Ansel Elgort Biography

Ansel Elgort is an American actor and musician best known for his roles in "Divergent," "The Fault in Our Stars," and "Baby Driver." He's the star of the buzzy series "Tokyo Vice" and also performs as DJ Ansølo.
Ansel Elgort
Ansel Elgort

Early Years

Ansel Elgort was born in New York City on March 14, 1994. His father is fashion photographer Arthur Elgort, a Russian-Jewish American who spent over thirty years shooting for Vogue, while his mother is opera producer and director Grethe Barrett Holby, who has German-Norwegian roots. Ansel's maternal grandmother, Aza-Grethe, was part of the Norwegian resistance during World War II and helped save Jewish children.
Ansel Elgort as a child
Ansel Elgort as a child
The boy was the third child in the family. He has a brother, Warren, who works as a film editor, and a sister, Sophie, who's a photographer. The family lived in the heart of Manhattan, not far from Central Park.
As a child, Ansel attended ballet school, though he wasn't crazy about dancing
As a child, Ansel attended ballet school, though he wasn't crazy about dancing
When Ansel turned nine, his mother enrolled him in ballet school, but dancing didn't click with him. After that, he spent some time at an acting conservatory and attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where he first took the stage. Theater grabbed him right away. And after catching the Broadway musicals "Oklahoma!" and "42nd Street," he knew he wanted to become an actor himself.
Photo shoots for Teen Vogue from different years
Photo shoots for Teen Vogue from different years

Acting Career

Elgort's acting career started on the theater stage. He didn't hit the big screen until 2013, landing a supporting role in Carrie alongside Chloë Grace Moretz (a remake of the 1976 film). Back then, the young actor barely registered on anyone's radar.
Ansel Elgort in Carrie
He gained much more recognition from Divergent, where he played the main character's brother. This adaptation of Veronica Roth's YA bestseller hit theaters on March 21, 2014. Elgort shared the screen with Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, and Theo James.
Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior in Divergent
Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior in Divergent
In May 2013, shortly after wrapping Divergent, word broke that Ansel would play Augustus Waters in the adaptation of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, reuniting him with Shailene Woodley, who'd star as his girlfriend Hazel Lancaster.
A scene from The Fault in Our Stars
A scene from The Fault in Our Stars
Based on true events, the film tells the story of a teenage girl with cancer who meets and falls for a young man with an amputated leg at a support group. When it dropped in June 2014, the movie became an instant hit with critics and audiences alike, pulling in over $300 million worldwide.
Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley
Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley
Over the next few years, Ansel appeared in the drama Men, Women & Children and returned as the main character's brother in the Divergent sequels. In 2015, the actor popped up in a brief cameo in Paper Towns.
On the set of Men, Women & Children
On the set of Men, Women & Children
In 2017, Ansel scored the lead role in the summer blockbuster Baby Driver, which critics loved and which raked in over $200 million at the global box office. The film also featured Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, and Jamie Foxx.
Baby Driver Trailer #1 (2017)
Elgort was one of the top contenders for the role of Han Solo in the Star Wars spin-off scheduled for 2018, but didn't make it through the final casting. He later joked it was probably for the best – otherwise he'd have had to change his DJ name from Ansølo to Hansølo.

After Baby Driver's warm reception from both audiences and critics, Elgort's career took off. In 2017, he shot the independent crime thriller Billionaire Boys Club with Taron Egerton and the drama November Criminals, where he played the lead – an 18-year-old drug dealer investigating a classmate's murder.
Ansel Elgort on the set of November Criminals
Ansel Elgort on the set of November Criminals
However, Billionaire Boys Club got an extremely limited release and posted shockingly low numbers (earning it a special Golden Raspberry for worst box office). The reason? One of the lead roles was played by Kevin Spacey, who'd recently been accused of sexual misconduct.

A significant milestone in Elgort's career came in 2019 when he landed a key role in the adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Donna Tartt's novel "The Goldfinch." The story follows Theodore Decker, who as a child witnesses a terrorist attack at a museum. Acting on impulse, he steals a masterpiece by a Dutch painter—a painting of a goldfinch. This sets off a chain of misadventures, new encounters, and a new profession. Ansel played the adult Theo, while newcomer Oakes Fegley portrayed the younger version.
A young man wearing glasses and a woman in a coat and beret talking while standing by a railing on the street in the evening
Still from "The Goldfinch"
Source: IMDb
Next, Ansel scored the lead in the HBO Max series "Tokyo Vice," based on a true story. He was set to play Jake Adelstein, a journalist who spent years covering Japan's criminal underworld, particularly Tokyo's yakuza gangs.

The story kicks off when Jake, after numerous attempts, lands a reporter gig at Japan's biggest newspaper but faces prejudice because of his nationality. He can't seem to find "the story," but eventually stumbles onto a microloan company that might be connected to a series of suicides among ordinary Tokyo residents. Following this thread, he gradually unravels a mafia network that's essentially taken over the city.
Ansel Elgort in a coat and hoodie walks down a rainy street past brightly lit storefronts and restaurants
Ansel Elgort in "Tokyo Vice"
Source: IMDb
Production had to shut down in March 2020 because of the pandemic. It resumed in November that year and continued through June 2021.

This forced break turned into an unexpected bonus: Elgort got the chance to sharpen his Japanese with daily lessons. By the time he returned to set, he was conversationally fluent. He also trained with professional journalists and wrote three actual articles for a newspaper.
Tokyo Vice Season 2 | Official Trailer | Max
In December 2021, Steven Spielberg's musical "West Side Story" hit theaters with Ansel in the lead role of Tony. The film earned rave reviews from critics and scored seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Elgort, a former student at the School of American Ballet, performed all his dance numbers without a double. But the box office returns were underwhelming—the film pulled in just over $10 million in its opening weekend.
Ansel Elgort in a suit and tie stands at a school dance with couples swirling around him
Still from "West Side Story"
Source: IMDb
In April 2022, the first season of "Tokyo Vice" finally premiered on HBO Max. The series got positive reviews from critics, and in June 2022, the network renewed it for a second season. Filming for season two kicked off in November that year in Tokyo and ran through August 2023.

Due to various reasons, including Warner Brothers Discovery's restructuring, almost two years passed between the first and second seasons. Season two dropped in February 2024. After Netflix Japan picked up the rights to the series, it gained popularity in Japan as well.

The show wrapped up in June 2024. The eighth episode of season two made an interesting callback to the very first episode, bringing the story full circle.

Music Career

Elgort's passion for electronic music started back during his acting school days. The actor began uploading his tracks to Soundcloud under the alias Ansølo. His first composition was a remix of Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die."
Ansel Elgort – DJ Ansolo
Ansel Elgort – DJ Ansolo
In February 2014, he signed with the label Staar Traxx and Steve Angello's Size Records, and two months later released his first studio recording, "Unite." That July saw the release of "Totem," followed by "To Life" in September 2015, a track inspired by Eastern European Jewish folk music.
DJ Ansolo Live
Shortly after, he signed with Island/Universal Records, releasing his first track under the new label, "Home Alone," in July 2016. In February 2017, he dropped "Thief" under his real name. The music video featured his girlfriend Violetta Komyshan.

During this period, he also collaborated with rapper Logic, helping with the recording of his third studio album "Everybody" – the actor's voice can be heard on the track "Killing Spree."

Ansel Elgort's Personal Life

In 2012, Elgort started dating his high school classmate, ballerina Violetta Komyshan. Two years later, the couple split—largely because of the young actor's demanding film schedule. In January 2015, after five months apart, Ansel and Violetta got back together.
Ansel Elgort and Violetta Komyshan
Ansel Elgort and Violetta Komyshan
In June 2020, a woman named Gabby accused Elgort on Twitter of sexual assault, claiming the incident happened in 2014 when she was 17 and he was 20. Following this post, several more accusations surfaced from women who claimed Elgort sent them inappropriate messages when they were between 14 and 16 years old.

Elgort denied the allegations:
I have never and would never assault anyone.
He acknowledged having a "brief, legal and entirely consensual relationship" with Gabby in 2014, but added that he handled the breakup poorly by ghosting her messages, calling it "immature and cruel."

In January 2022, Elgort serenaded Violetta Komyshan for her birthday. But their years-long relationship was already coming to an end. Page Six reported things were rocky between them, and in August 2022, Elgort was photographed on vacation in Capri getting cozy with another woman, a mysterious brunette. Three months later, Violetta officially confirmed the split, telling E! News she was single after nearly a decade together.
Ansel Elgort in a black suit sits on the floor surrounded by large canvases with vibrant hieroglyphics
Ansel Elgort and his personal calligraphy exhibition
Source: @ansel
In his downtime, the actor loves skateboarding and playing street basketball. He's also into painting and shares his best work on social media. While filming Tokyo Vice, he got hooked on calligraphy and held a solo exhibition of his calligraphy pieces in April 2024.

Ansel Elgort Now

In October 2024, news broke about Elgort's next project: he landed the lead role in the survival thriller Faster Than Horses, produced by legendary survival expert Bear Grylls.

Based on a true story, the film follows a former Olympic runner who enters the brutal Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert, gets caught in a sandstorm, and fights for his life for ten days. Grylls said he'll personally train Elgort for the role.

Ansel Elgort: latest news and articles

  • I don`t really like Elgort. I think it`s better to do one thing but very good (or music, or films), otherwise it`s not possible to be successful.
    2021-05-09 14:03:51
  • I always was thinking that Elgort is an actor who played in `Divergent` but actually he is making music and paint. I should say that he is well-diversified.
    2021-04-18 11:22:13
  • Not long time ago I watched `Billionaire Boys Club` with Ansel Elgort and I was surprised of his acting. He is charismatic guy.
    2021-04-06 23:42:31
  • I recognized handsome Ansel Elgort as a immature boy in the movie `Divergent` and then I watched `Baby Driver` and I`m disappointed.
    2021-04-06 23:25:37
  • I know Elgort more as a DJ. I like very much his melodies with rhythm and music. Sometimes I listen him in the car, he makes me feel happy.
    2021-03-16 19:52:14
  • You are so adorable why?
    2018-11-28 00:50:08
6