Elif Knight is a Turkish–British actress who began acting at the age of nine. She went on to train with Bob Williams MBE, later attending Rose Bruford Drama School, and continuing her professional development with Jack Waltzer of The Actors Studio.

In 2003, Elif Knight was awarded a joint Evening Standard / Patricia Rothermere Award and Scholarship, alongside Sir Richard Attenborough CBE (director of Gandhi and Chaplin). Sir Richard personally selected Elif and presented her with the award at the televised 2003 Evening Standard Awards Ceremony, commenting:

“We saw a lot of promising players, but there was one girl who stood out for us… please see her work as Cuba in Cuba Si!.”*