Ellen Lewis was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Her grandparents, Louis and Ethel Lewis, founded the William A. Lewis Clothing Co. in Chicago where her parents worked as well. As a child, her parents took her and her two brothers to numerous plays, films, concerts, and dance performances in the Chicago area. For her primary and secondary education, Lewis attended the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. She then studied painting and textile design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and majored in film at Columbia College. She also worked for a time at the St. Nicholas Theater Company, co-founded by former Francis W. Parker School student David Mamet. A friend suggested she would do well casting for film and soon after, on a trip to New York City to learn more about the profession, Mamet introduced her to casting director Juliet Taylor. Taylor hired Lewis as her assistant, and she moved to New York circa 1982.

Lewis’ first assignment was to cast the variety acts featured in Woody Allen’s BROADWAY DANNY ROSE (1984). She went on to assist Taylor in casting several films for Allen, including THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (1985), HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986), RADIO DAYS (1987), and CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989). Her work as a casting associate also introduced her to filmmakers she would later work for as a casting director, such as Penny Marshall on BIG (1988) and Mike Nichols on WORKING GIRL (1988). Circa 1988, she struck out on her own, and one of her first solo credits as a casting director was for Martin Scorsese’s segment of NEW YORK STORIES (1989). Since then, she has cast every one of the director’s narrative films, including GOODFELLAS (1990), THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993), THE AVIATOR (2004), THE DEPARTED (2006), SILENCE (2016), and THE IRISHMAN (2019). She has also cast his short films THE KEY TO RESERVA (2007) and THE AUDITION (2015) as well as the pilot episodes for BOARDWALK EMPIRE and VINYL, both directed by Scorsese.

Lewis has developed long-standing working relationships with other filmmakers as well. She cast seven films for Mike Nichols, many in cooperation with Juliet Taylor, including POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE (1990) and THE BIRDCAGE (1996). She also collaborated with Nichols on his television work with WIT (2001) and the mini-series ANGELS IN AMERICA. Beginning with DEAD MAN (1996), done in cooperation with Laura Rosenthal, she has cast every one of Jim Jarmusch’s narrative films, including GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI (2000), again with Rosenthal, BROKEN FLOWERS (2005), ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (2013), and PATERSON (2016). She helped cast BRIDGE OF SPIES (2015), THE POST (2017), and READY PLAYER ONE (2018) for Steven Spielberg, and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (2008) and AWAY WE GO (2009) for Sam Mendes, both in cooperation with Debra Zane. She also reunited with Penny Marshall to cast A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992), in cooperation with Amanda Mackey. Her other notable credits include FORREST GUMP (1994), BIG NIGHT (1996), PLEASANTVILLE (1998), TITUS (1999), BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD (2007), MAMMA MIA! (2008), and HER (2013). Lewis has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Casting, five Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America for her film and television work, and received the Casting Society’s Hoyt Bowers Award in 2015.