born the second of four children to william and harriet ford, elle (whose given name was elizabeth - though never used) was set to high expectations of excellence. the ford children, long-standing heirs to fortune from money that went back to the true industrial birth of america, through no uncertain terms were expected to be the best at everything they did. elle was put into piano lessons and dance classes since she was a tiny thing, with each of the ford siblings sent off to boarding school as soon as they were of age. only the best, her father would often spout, where academic excellence began as soon as grades went beyond stickers of smiley faces.

for elle, she never minded much that she was expected to excel in all areas of her life. she wouldn't allow herself to become daunted because in her mind -- there was always a way to get what you wanted. studying, of course - but a little extra help when and where needed. cunning would best describe a young elle, which only grew with her ambition as a teenager and adult. she didn't know how to quit or even back down from something she truly wanted. that kind of mentality stuck with her throughout her life. where elle came into her own under the constant pressure from her parents (mostly her father), her older brother crumbled underneath it. the only boy of the ford children, he felt an extra pressure that the girls didn't have (sexist? probably. but her father needed a male to carry on the family name.) her older brother christopher turned away from family obligations, getting into drugs, liquor, anything that could help him ignore the pressure his father put upon him. elle picked up the slack where christopher was concerned; she covered for him as much as she could - when he went off to ibiza or thailand for an undisclosed amount of time, or bailing him out when he was arrested for public intoxication. they were only lucky that as teenagers, the press really didn't care one way or another about them.

elle's own wilder phase didn't entirely hit until she was in college. after accepted into stanford with a focus on political science, the space from her family and the freedom it gave her let that levy break. parties began to come before school work, clubs and throwing her money around simply because she could. she dabbled in drugs, though seeing what it had done to her brother scared her from ever actually trying in earnest. she at least knew the importance of earning a degree (thanks to her father drilling that into her head) and wasn't going to completely fuck it up -- like her brother had.

upon graduating college, elle moved into the more finer ways of getting her wild-bug out. instead of attending clubs and parties with friends she barely knew, she started to throw parties; always the kind that had people talking about them for weeks afterwards. be it a private jet that took off for paris or just setting sail on a yacht, she was living the highest point of wild youth she possibly could. of course, everything has an expiration date, and hers came in the form of her father threatening to cut her off if she didn't get serious. he wanted her to come take over parts of the business, but elle had absolutely no interest in the family business. she had it in her stubborn mind that she was going to make something of herself, dammit.

if nothing else, elle could appreciate the way charity would look in her repertoire. as she began working with carefully selected charities, she began to actually love the work - much to her surprise. though it wasn't exactly what he wanted his daughter to be doing, william backed up her philanthropy -- figuring it would be a phase and look good for the family anyhow. elle loved the work she was doing, though it wasn't necessarily viable for a career - and not putting her degree to use whatsoever. so at a family holiday where she barely mentioned the idea of becoming more politically active, the next thing she knew -- william had made a call and she had an interview at a senator's office.

she began working for senator jackson winters shortly after his election to senate. since working for jackson, her main goal has always been to make something for herself. she may have gotten her job off of her father's recommendation, but the very last thing she wants is to only have valuable work based off of what her family was able to procure for her.