Ayling-Ellis was born on 17 November 1994,[1] in Shepway and grew up in Hythe.[2] She was born deaf.[3] As a child, she took part in a filming weekend run by the National Deaf Children's Society. During the weekend, she met deaf film director Ted Evans, who later cast her in his award-winning short film The End.[4] She then applied to Deafinitely Youth Theatre.[5]