Conversations with Elisabeth Granli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elisabeth Granli.

Hi Elisabeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If I summarize my life, the word eclectic comes to mind.
I was born and raised in Norway,
My parents were not together, I was raised by my mother and a man I grew up believing was my father. I learned the truth, that this man was not my father when they divorced when I was 9, and I never saw him again. It was a shocking incident to me….We also moved a lot and it all contributed to a lack of stability.
But, I had the most loving  grandparents, who made me feel loved and supported. They truly saved me, I believe, as they gave me the sense of belonging I needed.
I had a difficult time making friends as a child, but I made a few good friends as I became a teenager, I liked school, and I was a pretty good student.
I had planned to continue studying either psychology or go to law school after passing the entry exam at the University in Oslo. but I also ;really wanted to travel and explore the world, I was especially drawn to Paris.
I started doing some modeling on the side in Oslo, after I was “discovered” at a coffee shop.
I subsequently entered a modeling contest, which I won. The first prize was a contract with a model agency in Paris, so a few months after I won the contest I packed my suitcase and moved to Paris.. My dream was becoming true! For the next 6 years I moved between Paris, London, Milano, Oslo, Stockholm, Tokyo, Hamburg, Munich, Miami and New York before moving to Los Angeles.My plan was to come here to visit a friend for a few months, but I ended up staying. My friend brought me to her model agency here in L.A., so I started working right away. I found L.A. to be a good place to be, full of all kinds of interesting people. I was working a lot and made some good friends. As a child I had dreamt of becoming an actress, but saw it as unrealistic, so I didn’t pursue it,
But since I now was living in the midst of where it all happens, I decided to take some acting classes and see where it might lead.I  got a manager and went on a few auditions, and almost immediately got cast in the movie “L.A. Confidential”, in addition to a few short-films, commercials and student films. I absolutely loved it, and decided to focus on acting as a career. I then went to a 2 year acting academy, I was determined to become a serious actress, and I was confident that I had found my path. But, then something happened; shortly after graduating from the actingchool I was in a car accident that caused a complete disruption in my life, I ended up in a coma. It only lasted a few days, but I was unable to work for 2 years, due to a head injury. I eventually made a full recovery and wanted to start to act again.
I immediately got an audition for the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholson, and I got the part!
I had an absolutely amazing experience working on set with Jack for 4 days.
Jack himself picked me for the part, the roducer later told me that I could “hold my own” with Jack, and that’s why I booked it. I was overjoyed! I thought this meant that I would then get more work but ….crickets…
I then started to work at various tradeshows and marketing events as a hostess and model ans manager. One of my clients that I first worked for in 2004 was a Jewelry company from India. I’ve been working with them every year since then and I’ve become friends with all the people who work there. Which ties in ;to my interest in India and yoga. My whole life I’ve been interested in India, Indian culture and spirituality.

I’ve vister India 5 times so far; My first visit to India was a spiritual pilgrimage where we visited many holy places, temples and ashrams. I absolutely loved it.
One of the highlights of my life was my 3rd visit to India in 2016/17, My trip started with going to my friend’s wedding. And then I went on to do a photography project featuring children;  Before I left I had contacted an organization that rescues children from trafficking, and asked if I could come and visit the local shelters in Bombay, Calcutta, Dhaka and Kathmandu, and photograph the children that had been rescued, My goal was to make a book with the pictures and do a fundraiser.
I was told that yes, I would be welcome to come and photograph the children at the shelters.
The memories from the experience are priceless. In addition to taking pictures, I played with them, answered questions, helped with their schoolwork.
Loved every moment. I saf first hand the importance of community.
I met some of the nicest and most interesting people in all the 4 cities I visited; in Dhaka I became friends with the dughter of the founding prime minister who got assasinated in ’75, in Katmandu I stayed at the same hotel as professor from Dhaka who I had lively discussions with over breakfast every morning, in Calcutta I stayed in a cute little hotel next to a shack that sold sheeps heads and a luxusrious mall across the street. In Bombay I stayed with friends who I’d met through work.
When I came back to L.A, I had more or less given up on acting, as I hadn’t been able to able to find my niche. I had become more and more interested in Yoga, especially after my pilgrimage to India in 2012.
I was raised with no religion, but always believed there is more to life than what the senses tell us, and I loved the teachings of the spiritual masters in India, the Yogis. It really resonates with me. What is the nature of consciousness, the soul, feelings, emotions, memory, reality, God, the human being, the Universe, time and space? I went back to India again in 2019, this time to do a Yoga teacher training.  I wanted to learn more about yoga, especially the philosophy, and maybe also teach one day. But, not too long after I returned from India, the Covid lockdown happened and after about a year of not doing much, I started doing photography, which is what I do today.

A couple of other memorable experiences; In ’98 I went to Colombia with a friend who was working as an undercover CIA agent who had created a program to have the Colombian drug lords surrender to the US government before getting arrested to get more lenient sentencing. The official reason my friend invited me was to be a judge in “Miss Medellin”.
I had no idea that my friend was an agent, I knew him as a photographer. My best friend, another Norwegian model, Hanne, came along. The last night we were in Medellin we went to have dinner at his friends house, and my friend left the dinner table for some time and went into another room, I assumed he went to the rest room.
My friend Hanne and I stayed and talked to the host.
The next day we went home, and a week later I saw on the news that the man who’s house we had visited had been arrested. His name was Fabio Ochoa, of the Ochoa brothers in the Medellin carte.
I learned from my friend that the real reason I had been invited was to distract Fabio while my friend planted listening devices in his phone, which explains why he left the dinner table.

Another wonderful experience of my life in L.A. were all my years as a guest at the Playboy Mansion. I was invited to to the Movie nights and all the iconic parties.
The movie nights were my favorites. I had always loved movies and every weekend there were showings of classicmovies, black and whites,film noirs comedies and dramas. There were about 20-50 people on a given night, a  combination of older couples and playmates, and a few people like myself..
I met the most interesting and eclectic people there, there were always great conversations around the dinner table before going in the library, which doubled as a movie theatre, to watch the movie of the night.
Before the screening, Hugh Hefner read a brief synopsis of the movie.
The guests  were friendly and respectful, and I made some great friends,  some of whom I’m still in touch with.
My friends is what I’m most grateful for. The human connection is priceless.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My road was absolutely not smooth. I was bullied as a child, as I moved around a lot, I was always “the new kid”. I was raised without knowing my father, and as a child I remember feeling different, and awkward because I was the only child in my class without parents that were married.
My mom was living with her boyfriend at the time and I pretended that he was my father so I wouldn’t be different. I longed to fit in.

But as I grew up, I became more confident, and I made some really close friends early on that I could confide in, which meant the world to me. To this day, my friends are my greatest treasures.

My years working as a model in Europe, Japan and New York were mostly good, I had a few incidences that were challenging, but overall it was a wonderful experience.

My career as an actress in L.A, became more of a struggle, I had some success, but not enough to sustain me.
I could never nail an American accent, and I’m sure there were other reasons too. I never liked auditioning.

And…on a personal level I’ve had some traumatic experiences in my life, and it has made me a much more compassionate person. I can relate to people and what they’re going through. People open up to me, I show them my vulnerability.
I’m physically strong, but have some emotional wounds.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work as a photographer, and I absolutely love it. My goal is to capture everybody’s unique beauty, with the right lighting, exposure, background, mood…
We collaborate to get the best outcome,
I think what sets me apart is that I make a personal connection with my clients. At least that is my goal. I’m genuinely interested in them. in their unique story and what they’re looking for.
I photograph people; Portraits of people in all stages of life.

Of all my projects, I’m the most proud of the project I did in in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in 2017, where I photographed the children, and the 2 magazine covers I did with the author and politician Marianne Willamson,, who wrote “Return to Love”.
I also did 2 interviews that got published in magazines, I did an interview with the Yogi I studied with in India, and wrote an article “The Country with a Big Heart” about my experience in Bangladesh. These articles also featured the pictures I had taken.
I’m going to The International Festival of Yoga in Rishikesh, India, in March ’26as their official photographer, and I hope to be proud of the pictures that I’ll take there as well!

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I’m still learning,.. What I’ve learned so far…, I tend to be too naive, or maybe gullible is a better word.
I need to take more time before making decisions, weigh the different options before jumping in.
I don’t have a back up plan, But, I trust that I’ll be guided to make the right decisions going forward.

On a more positive note; I’ve learned that there’s beauty and kindness everywhere, and that everyone deserves a chance to be seen, to be heard, to be respected and appreciated.

We have more in common than not, when all the layers of past conditioning are peeled away.
I’m sure I have many more lessons to learn, as I sometimes feel like I don’t know anything..
My yoga teacher in India told me to be grateful for everything that happens, good or bad. We don’t know the full story, we all see the world from our limited perspective through our filters. We have been conditioned to have certain beliefs, and most of us don’t know any better.
I believe we are all evolving to become better and better versions of ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: granliphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethgranli/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/egranli
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elisabeth-granli-photography-los-angeles-
• Other: com/@elisabethgranli

Image Credits
The main picture is by Hanne Kristiansen, the other headshot is by James Creighton.