Who is Ella Jonas Farlinger?
Ella Jonas Farlinger is a Canadian actress, classical singer, opera director, and entrepreneur who has spent her entire life immersed in the creative arts. Born on March 26, 2001, in Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood to filmmaker parents Leonard Farlinger and Jennifer Jonas, she literally grew up on film sets before launching her own career.
While many know her as Prissy Andrews from Netflix’s beloved period drama “Anne with an E” or as Jane Morgan from “My Babysitter’s a Vampire,” fewer realise she was earning dual bachelor’s degrees, conducting population health research, and laying the groundwork for a health-tech startup.
At 24, she’s co-founded a sexual health company, directs opera productions, continues screen acting work, and holds degrees in both classical voice performance and sociology.
Biography
Ella Jonas Farlinger entered the world with show business in her DNA. Her parents, Leonard Farlinger (a film director and screenwriter) and Jennifer Jonas (a film producer), co-own New Real Films, an award-winning Toronto production company.
According to a 2010 Women of Influence profile of Jennifer Jonas, baby Ella was brought to film sets from infancy, where she “became like the set mascot” while her mother produced projects.
Her parents deliberately integrated their children into their creative work, giving Ella unprecedented access to professional filmmaking from a young age. She watched scripts transform into scenes, watched directors guide performances, and absorbed the nature of production long before most kids understand what movies actually are.
Growing up in Little Italy, she attended King Edward Junior and Senior Public School before earning a scholarship to the Etobicoke School of the Arts, Toronto’s prestigious arts-focused high school. But before any screen work began, Ella’s first creative love was classical music and opera.
At just eight years old, Ella took the stage with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company in their 2009 production of “Hansel and Gretel,” performing in a leading role. She went on to appear in several other opera productions, including “The Secret World of Og,” “Laura’s Cow,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “The Magic Flute.”
Years later, she would earn a full-tuition scholarship to The Royal Conservatory of Music’s prestigious Glenn Gould School for classical voice performance. That childhood opera training shaped not just her vocal abilities but her entire career, from the roles she could take to the productions she would eventually direct.
Television and Film Career
Ella’s screen debut arrived at age nine in the 2010 television movie “My Babysitter’s a Vampire,” where she played Jane Morgan, the younger sister caught up in supernatural chaos. The role resonated enough that she reprised it for the series adaptation that ran from 2011 to 2012, appearing in all 26 episodes across two seasons.
This comedy-fantasy series became her first significant sustained role and introduced her to a young audience across Canada and internationally. Playing Jane gave her consistent work throughout her early teens and taught her the rhythms of series television, something quite different from the stage performances she’d done in opera.
In the early 2010s, Ella steadily built her resume through guest appearances on Canadian television. In 2011, she appeared in “I’m Yours,” a film written and directed by her father that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Additional credits during this period included “Cracked” (2013), “Rookie Blue” (2014), and “Saving Hope” (2015).
Her first significant leading role came in “Lost & Found Music Studios” (2015-2016), a musical drama series on Family Channel and Netflix. Playing Eva, a singer-songwriter struggling with strict parents, Ella appeared in 23 episodes across two seasons.
She showed her musical abilities alongside her acting, drawing directly on her opera and vocal training.
Anne with an E
Between 2017 and 2019, Ella took on the recurring role of Prissy Andrews in “Anne with an E,” the critically acclaimed CBC and Netflix period drama adapted from “Anne of Green Gables.” This became her highest-profile work to date.
She appeared in 13 episodes across the show’s three seasons, playing the vain, boy-obsessed older sister of students at the Avonlea school. Prissy provided comic relief while also representing the limited options available to young women in the late 19th century. The series garnered international attention, awards recognition (three awards and four nominations), and its global Netflix distribution significantly expanded Ella’s international profile.
What many fans don’t realise is that Ella was filming “Anne with an E” while pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree at the Glenn Gould School and beginning her sociology degree at the University of Toronto.
Ella’s film work during this period included supporting roles in “What We Have” (2014) and “Falling” (2020), a feature directed by and starring Viggo Mortensen that received seven nominations, and “Kicking Blood” (2021), a vampire film co-written by her father.
While building her screen career, Ella made the ambitious decision to pursue not one but two bachelor’s degrees simultaneously at separate institutions. From 2018 to 2023, she completed a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School. In addition, from 2019 to 2024, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Toronto, with minors in Creativity in Society and Critical Equity Studies.
Ella took on significant leadership roles during her time at the Glenn Gould School, serving as Head of Voice on the Student Council from 2019 to 2023, her entire time in the program.
In 2020, she served as Coordinator of the Student Equity Alliance. From September 2023 to June 2024, during her final year of the sociology program, Ella worked as a Research Assistant at the Population Well-being Lab at the University of Toronto.
From 2022 to 2025, Ella has played the lead role of Ava in “Lady Ada’s Secret Society,” a comedy web series about girls who code and use technology to prank their traditional boarding school. Originally released on the marbleKids YouTube channel and distributed by Distribution360, the series has produced 18 episodes through 2025.
Her performance earned her Best Supporting Actress at LA Webfest, and the series was an official selection and award winner at T.O. Webfest 2023. As recently as late 2024 and early 2025, she appeared with her castmates at Fan Expo Canada.
Ella voiced Mrs Tiger in two episodes of the PBS Kids animated series “Elinor Wonders Why” (2022-2024). More significantly, she took on the role of Isolde in the video game “Reverse: 1999” (2023).
In 2024, she served as Assistant Director for Toronto City Opera’s production of “Susannah,” her first major assistant director position in opera.
Co-Founding Trusti Diagnostics
In May 2024, shortly after completing her sociology degree, Ella co-founded Trusti Diagnostics Inc. alongside Serina Ahmad, taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer. Trusti is a health-tech startup that provides rapid at-home testing kits for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with a virtual follow-up service, offering test-to-treatment care from home.
Trusti has received backing from LOI Venture and has participated in multiple accelerator programs. Most recently, from September to December 2024, Ella participated in Labs Batch 13 at the League of Innovators Accelerator, a program supporting early-stage startups.
She’s taken on the public face role for Trusti, appearing on multiple startup-focused podcasts, including The Business Gay Podcast, Startup Canada Podcast, and Startup Women Podcast. In April 2025, she was featured in a Medium interview about the venture.
The startup remains in early stages, but the accelerator support and early backing suggest investors see potential in both the business model and the founding team.
Personal Life
Ella maintains strict privacy around her romantic life. There’s no public information about current relationships, dating history, or partners.
From 2018 to 2019, during her early university years, Ella volunteered at The 519, Toronto’s renowned LGBTQ+ community centre. She worked as an intake assistant, facilitating newcomer program registration and file management, helping immigrants and refugees access services.
The 519 serves as a vital resource for LGBTQ+ newcomers to Canada who often face compounded barriers.
Awards
Throughout her 15-year career, Ella has earned two wins and one nomination for her acting. Beyond her individual recognition, projects she’s participated in have garnered significant acclaim: “Anne with an E” received three awards and four nominations, “Falling” received seven nominations, and “Kicking Blood” received one nomination.
Her work has aired on major platforms, including CBC, Netflix, Family Channel, and Disney Channel. Her film projects have premiered at prestigious international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Cannes, and Sundance. Her opera work earned recognition as a finalist for the OPERA America Excellence in Digital Opera Awards.
Net Worth and Financial Standing
Considering Ella’s career profile and Canadian television salary standards, her net worth is in the $100,000 to $500,000 range, though no verified financial disclosures exist.
Her income streams include acting (both screen and voice work), performance fees from opera and recitals, potential directing fees, and whatever compensation structure exists with Trusti Diagnostics. As a startup co-founder, much of her compensation would be in equity rather than an immediate salary.
For context, supporting actors in Canadian streaming productions like “Anne with an E” typically earn $10,000 to $30,000 per episode, suggesting her 13-episode arc could have generated $130,000 to $390,000 from that series alone, though these figures remain unconfirmed. Her Netflix contract work from 2015 to 2018 for both “Lost & Found Music Studios” and “Anne with an E” adds to her primary income during that period.
The full-tuition scholarship for the Glenn Gould School is another significant financial value, as private music conservatory education is costly. This scholarship eliminated what could have been $100,000+ in education costs, allowing her to invest in other areas or save earnings from acting work.
