Effie Lavore (b. Bethany Love Orr) was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she and her siblings were home schooled and restricted access to most media. She discovered theatre and film upon entering high school, teaming up with the traveling improv group Theatrical Garbage and becoming the youngest comedienne to perform in a weekly show at her hometown comedy club. While continuing to perform locally Lavore earned a degree in science from the University of Colorado with plans to continue on to medical school, but she ultimately opted for a career in entertainment. She has been featured on shows like Criminal Minds and Stalker, as well as multiple film and web projects. In 2012 Lavore made her directorial debut with the original short film Agorable. Her second short, Winner, was made in 7 days for $100 and went on to win $10,000 in prizes from the inaugural Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge Fest in Hollywood. Lavore was hand-selected to study with Werner Herzog in his Rogue Film School. She was a fellow of the Transatlantic Talent Lab (RIFF), Iceland's first-time feature filmmaker incubator. She continues to write and direct and stars in the feature film Excess Flesh (SXSW 2015).