Elaine Miles : Role: Marilyn Whirlwind
Birthday : 7th April 1960
Birthplace : Pendleton, Oregon, USA
Recent Role : Marilyn Whirlwind on Northern Exposure
Gender : Female

Elaine Miles is an American actress who was born as a Cayuse-Nez Perce Indian but was raised as a member of the Umatilla community. As a child she learned many traditional native Indian skills and also became a prize winning dancer. Her acting career started accidentally when she accompanied her mother for an audition and was selected to play the role that her mother had auditioned for. She received much respect in the Indian community due to this event and was bestowed with the honor of Native American Woman of the Year in 1993, Later her mother was selected to play the role of her on-screen mother. She has a son named Dustin. She has appeared in only about half a dozen television shows and an equal number of films. On television she has appeared in the shows Bill Nye, the Science Guy, The Rez, Pandora’s Clock and Scattering Dad besides playing the role of Marilyn Whirlwind on Northern Exposure, the character which her mother had gone to audition for. Besides, she has also worked in the movies Mad Love, Smoke Signals, The Business of Fancydancing, Skins and Tortilla Heaven. After her stint in Northern Exposure she also did dance tours. In addition, she has also appeared in a video that tells about the fears of diabetes rates among Native Americans.

Role in Northern Exposure

In Northern Exposure, she plays the role of the Marilyn Whirlwind. She works as a receptionist for Dr. Joel Fleishmann and unlike him barely ever speaks. She however, occasionally comes up with an advice which originates from some native Indian folk legend, for some other resident of the town of Cicely.