[2] She is best known for her performances in Robert Bresson's Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) and in Jacques Becker's Edward and Caroline (1951).

[3] The daughter of the renowned coachbuilder and automobile designer Jean Henri-Labourdette [fr], Élina at first wanted to be a dancer,[4] before having to give up her dream of becoming a prima ballerina for health reasons.

[4] In 1944, towards the end of the war, she appeared in Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne directed by Robert Bresson, the film for which she became famous and remains best known.

She also did dubbing, notably lending her voice to Grace Kelly in the French versions of John Ford's Mogambo (1953) and Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1955).

[5] From the end of the 1950s, she appeared several times in French soap operas and television films, including the popular Les Cousins de la Constance.