Elizabeth Plunket Riviera has an artistic heritage many generations long. Her great grandfather, Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849-1921), perhaps best known for his winged figures, was a noted portrait painter and naturalist. Both maternal grandparents were gifted artists. Her mother, Jean Reasoner Plunket, is a prominent portraitist and author. Elizabeth's work is featured in her mother's second book "Faces That Won't Sit Still, An Update."

As a child, Elizabeth accompanied her parents and three siblings on summer tours of the U.S. for her mother's business. She visited the homes of her mother's sometimes famous clientele, and as a teen, often sketched alongside her for practice.

Elizabeth received a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts at Syracuse University in 1982. Today, a mother of two, she operates her portrait business from her home studio in New Jersey.