Ellen Ratner was born in New York city and graduated from the High School of Performing Arts. She graduated with a BA in English Literature from City College of New York CCNY. She performed stand-up out of college in NYC. Her two favorite acting teachers were Jose Quintero and Salem Ludwig. She co-wrote an award winning one-woman show called Personality with screenwriter Gina Wendkos who she met in drama camp when they were 15.
A familiar face to Los Angeles theater-goers, she is best known for her one-woman show Personality (Odyssey Theater), and appeared in seven Justin Tanner plays, most notably the award winning Pot Mom. Most recently she appeared in Laurel Ollstein's Esther's Moustache. Ratner began experimenting early on with different voices and used to impress her parents with incredible imitations of well-known personalities like Ed Sullivan, James Cagney and John Huston. She has appeared on dozens of television series throughout her decades-long acting career. Regional credits: Awake and Sing, The Floating Lightbulb, Don't Talk to the Actors, Prisoner of Second Avenue, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. TV credits include: Seinfeld, Frasier, The Nanny (as Fran's sister), Prime Suspect (recurring role), and The New Normal. Film: Punching the Clown (Slamdance Audience winner 2009).
