Last spring, Ellie Knaus was medically declared “one in a million” when she was diagnosed with an aggressive, benign Giant Cell Tumor. Her experience and recovery illuminated her new mission to shed anxiety and skinny dip in the now!  

Ellie's a huge dork. (She'd call herself a nerd, but she doesn't have the vast knowledge of gaming to have a horny boy fan base). She studied at University of St. Andrews in Scotland, American University of Paris, and graduated early from Smith College in Northampton, MA. 

She's also a theater freak: She lived at the haunted Eugene O'Neill Theater Center off Long Island Sound. And she might have peaked at 19 when she was in a professional acting residency with Steppenwolf Theater Co in Chicago. 

Now, in Los Angeles, she's a freelance writer and actress. She co-created an award-winning web series, has been featured in numerous popular comedy shorts on Atom.com, Funny or Die, and College Humor, and performs weekly with her improv team The Smackeroos. It's a cupcake kind of day when a residual check comes in the mail from puking near Patrick Dempsey in Made of Honor or telling off Rainn Wilson in The Rocker. (The check usually covers a cupcake). 

Luckily, her parents stopped suggesting law school once Ellie became a contributor to the Pulitzer Prize winning Huffington Post. Her writing features strong, inspirational women and her humorous attempts at mindful living.