Best known for playing the role of Mrs. Macready in the fantasy sci-fi film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and as Hera in Young Hercules, Elizabeth Hawthrone is a veteran TV and film actress from New Zealand. Apart from being a popular TV actress, Hawthrone is also one of the most respected theatre artists in New Zealand and owing to her outstanding contribution to the theatre in her home country, she was made an Office of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Honour of the Queen's Birthday in 2001.

Having started her career as a theatre artist, Hawthrone made forayed into mainstream commercial acting in 1992 and made her debut on the silver screen Alex where she played the role of Mrs. Benton. Post-her maiden film, the actress focused on working the TV industry for the next decade or so, before eventually making her come back with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Although her role as Mrs. Macready had only a limited screen time, she left an impact. Her other notable film credits include Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) and Adrift (2018), an action adventure drama directed by Baltasar Kormakur.

Apart from being successful in films and theatre, Hawthrone also has an elaborate career in the TV industry. Some of her notable appearances on the small screen include Young Hercules (1998 - 99), Outrageous Fortune (2007 - 10), Nothing Trivial (2011), and Filthy Rich (2016).