She was the niece of the pioneer parachutist André-Jacques Garnerin, and took advantage of his name and of the novelty of a woman performing what were at the time extremely daring feats.

[2] Elisa was the daughter of Jacques Garnerin the elder, "physician, author of several inventions, former government commissary to the armies".

[3] In August 1815 Élisa's father had the idea of profiting from the Garnerin name and giving Paris the new experience of a woman descending by means of a parachute.

[3] Balloons were very popular at the time, with balloonists such as Étienne-Gaspard Robert, Jean Margat, and Sophie Blanchard, who died in 1819 during one of her brave ascents.

[3] It included notices in the Moniteur, Journal de Paris, Constitutionnel and Quotidienne, posters on every wall and pamphlets distributed to the national guards and the municipal employees.

It was announced that while the sisters ascended Elisa would play the harp and sing verses in honour of the King and his family.

Madame Blanchard also performed at this fete, and was applauded by the masses as she rose in her balloon from the Champ de Mars.

[6] Over the Plaine de Monceau Eugénie detached the parachute from the basket and came down to earth easily, while the balloon was lost in the sky.

The crowds ransacked the vegetable gardens which surrounded the Champ de Mars at that time, causing many complaints.

The king and queen were to attend and the event was fixed for 5:00 p.m. At the last minute handwritten posters announced that the experiment could not take place.

[10] Élisa performed at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), where the German lady balloonist Wilhelmina Reichard also made an ascent, disappeared from sight and eventually landed near Cologne.

[3] In September 1819 Élisa announced that a magnificent fete would be held at the old burial ground in Orléans featuring the ascent of a balloon to 1,000 feet (300 m).

She did not provide the promised wonders, was reported to the magistrates and was taken "to a vile prison, where she will be brought before the Tribunal of Correctional Police!

"[12] As she gained experience Élisa made continued improvements to the parachute, increasing its size and strength and greatly reducing its weight.

[8] In April 1820 Élisa proposed a huge project combining horses races with balloon trials, but apparently received no official response.

She was in Turin in 1827 and returned to Paris in 1828, where she organized horse races combined with gymnastic, equestrian, and balloon exercises.