Elizabeth Audrey Grace (born May 16, 1983) is an
‎ American cardiologist and NASA astronaut specializing in
space medicine. Raised in Salem, Oregon, they[a] first
‎ gained notoriety serving as the Delegate for the Aerospace
Medicine Association to the American Medical Association
‎ from 2017-2019, later being promoted to a member-at-large
‎ on the council of the former in 2019. In November 2019,
‎ they were one of four astronauts sent to Tau Ceti as apart of
Project Hail Mary to investigate the abnormal dimming event
‎ of the Sun, along with CNSA taikonaut Yáo Li-Jie,
Roscosmos cosmonaut Olesya Ilyukhina, and molecular
biologist Ryland Grace, who is their younger brother.
────────────────────────────────────── Elizabeth Grace ──────────────────────────────────────Born ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ May 16, 1983 (age 41, Tau Ceti / age 48, Earth)
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Seattle, Washington, U.S.
──────────────────────────────────────Education ‎ ‎ University of Oregon (BSc)
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎University of California, Davis (PhD)
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎University of California, Davis School of
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Medicine (MD)
──────────────────────────────────────Spouse ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Courtney Anderson
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ (m. 2013, div. 2017)
──────────────────────────────────────Relatives ‎ ‎ ‎ Ryland Grace (brother)
────────────────────────────────────── Space Career ────────────────────────────────────── NASA astronaut ──────────────────────────────────────Time in space ‎ ‎ ‎ 12 years, 7 months, 21 days
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ (approx., currently in space)
──────────────────────────────────────Missions ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Project Hail Mary
──────────────────────────────────────Mission insignia
──────────────────────────────────────

‎ Elizabeth Audrey Grace was born on May 16, 1983, in
Seattle, Washington to Anne Grace (née Turner; 1954-2019)
‎ and Eugene Grace (1951-2017). They became an orphan at
‎ four months old after their parents were no longer able to
‎ care for them. When they were eight years old, they were
‎ adopted by Barbara and Robert Mansfield, and moved to
Salem, Oregon, where they grew up. They have one
‎ one younger brother, molecular biologist and middle
school science teacher Ryland Grace, who they had
‎ been estranged from until sometime during autumn in 2019.

‎ In 2001, they graduated from North Salem High School
‎ and Chemeketa Community College, earning an
Associate's degree in biology from the latter. They then
‎ attended the University of Oregon, graduating magma
cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry
‎ in 2003. From there, they earned a PhD in pharmacology
‎ and toxicology from the University of California, Davis in
‎ 2008, and an MD from the UC Davis School of Medicine
‎ in 2010, both through their Medical Scientist Training
Program.

‎ Grace completed their residency in internal medicine
‎ at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland, Oregon
‎ in July 2013. They then completed fellowships in both
cardiology and space medicine at the University of
Texas Health Science Center at Houston by 2016. Following
‎ this, they became an attending physician at St. Mary
Medical Center, remaining in the position until sometime in
‎ September 2019, when they were hired for Project Hail
Mary by former ESA administrator Eva Stratt.

Project Hail Mary

this part is wip lawl

‎ Grace is aromantic, asexual, and a lesbian. They were
‎ married to American pharmacist Courtney Anderson from
‎ 2013 to 2017, having been in a relationship with her for
‎ several years prior to their marriage, aswell. According to
‎ Anderson, the two divorced soon after Elizabeth came out
‎ as aro-ace, but still remained friends. They use both they
‎ and she pronouns, but prefer usage of they.

‎ Elizabeth was born partially deaf, something they inherited
‎ from their father. At age 6, they were diagnosed with
Tourette syndrome and later experienced partial remission,
‎ but is still considered to have a motor tic disorder. They were
‎ diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as a teenager, and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in 2014, at age 31.

‎ Before Project Hail Mary, they lived in Long Beach,
California

im going to go watch phm i write more later


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Pub: 17 Jul 2025 06:00 UTC

Edit: 02 Jun 2026 23:54 UTC

Views: 153