Elise is the youngest daughter and the youngest child of five in the Nohrian royal family and the daughter of King Garon and an unnamed concubine. Much like Camilla and Leo, Elise was unfortunately used as a tool by her mother in order to gain favor with Garon after the death of Katerina, his first wife. Elise was by her mother when she was on her death bed, but to her anguish, Elise's mother only seemed concerned about Garon who was not even present in the room and not Elise.

Despite her dysfunctional relationship with her mother, Elise's childhood was not mired in darkness. She was wet-nursed by a kindly matron Cassita whom Elise views as her true mother figure. She would exude a cheerful energy in the otherwise dour and cold Castle Krakenburg where she was raised, become the beloved younger sister to Xander, Camilla, and Leo. Much to her joy, she later gained an older adopted sibling in Corrin. Alongside her elder siblings, they would make frequent visits to the Northern Fortress where they were living at.

Elise also spent her youth getting into occasional mischief. One such instance involved Elise sneaking out of Castle Krakenburg in order to amuse herself within the underground city. There, she met a young girl, Effie, and the two quickly became fast friends. Upon returning to the capital, the two were almost apprehended by the palace guards, only to be unhanded when Elise reluctantly revealed her identity. Following this incident, Elise was unfortunately prohibited from leaving the castle without a chaperone, a fact that forced her to part ways with Effie. Several years came to pass before Effie appeared before Elise once again, this time outfitted in full armor. When questioned, Effie revealed that she had joined the Nohrian royal knights in hopes of reuniting with her best friend, and Elise immediately responded by getting approval to make Effie her personal retainer. She would also later be assigned Arthur as a retainer. As the youngest of the Nohrian siblings, Elise has very little memories of the hostile nature of the Nohrian royal court. As a result, Elise's personality is defined by a pronounced lack of jadedness or cynicism. She is often described as "the light of Nohr" for her innocent, pure, and sweet demeanor. Her spirit of positivity is a source of morale for her comrades despite the many horrors the conflict between Nohr and Hoshido bring. She is playful and eager to make friends with other members of the army and has an especially tight bond with her childhood friend and personal retainer Effie.

Elise adores her older siblings as she supports Xander's efforts and vision for Nohr and encourages him to consider peaceful approaches, rather than the Nohrian standard of "force must be met with force" mentality. She admires Camilla's mature charm and wants to be like her. However, Camilla admires her positivity and encourages her to simply be the person she has always been. She dyed strands of her hair purple out of affection and admiration to Camilla. With Leo she admires his intellect and usually goes to him when she needs a question answered.

Though they are adopted, she adores her older sibling Corrin. As such, she is unrestrained in showing her affection for them. She has ash blond hair and brown eyes.