[6] Her father, also an Episcopal priest, is a first cousin of Drew Gilpin Faust, the president of Harvard University from 2007 to 2018.

[7] Elizabeth grew up in the South Street Seaport neighborhood of Manhattan, where she says that her family home was "one of the only occupied buildings on the block" and the area where she lived was a fish market.

[13][14] Gilpin had supporting roles in such films as Ghost Town (2008), Take Care (2014), True Story (2015), and Future '38 (2017).

Her breakthrough came with her starring role as Debbie "Liberty Belle" Eagan in the Netflix comedy-drama series GLOW (2017–2019), which was inspired by the 1980s female professional wrestling league of the same name.

She received recognition for her role with a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries.

[17] In 2023, Gilpin starred as Sister Simone / Elizabeth Abbott, a nun who battles artificial intelligence in the Peacock science fiction series Mrs. Davis.

For her performance, Gilpin received critical acclaim and was nominated for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama.