Elizabeth Backhouse was educated in Northam and Perth. During World War II, she served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and then spent a further five years in Europe. In the UK, she wrote scenarios for film producer Alexander Korda, working with Korda Films for several years.
Backhouse writes in several genres, which include novels and detective fiction, plays for television and the theatre and scenarios for ballet, some of which are unpublished. Her papers (1933-1993) are held by JS Battye Library (MN1433).