(1963-)
Who Is Elisabeth Shue?
Elisabeth Shue began acting in TV commercials as a teen. Her first film was 1984's The Karate Kid. She followed up that success with the lead role in Adventures in Babysitting (1987). Shue was nominated for an Academy Award for the 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas. More recently, she starred in the TV crime drama CSI from 2011 to 2015.
Early Life
Born on October 6, 1963, Shue grew up with three brothers, William, Andrew and John, in South Orange, New Jersey. Shue was an athlete, competing with her brothers on the soccer field. She later became a gymnast.
While a student at Columbia High School, Shue started her acting career. Her first part was in a Burger King commercial when she was 16 years old, and she landed more advertising work soon after. She attended Wellesley College after graduating from high school in 1981.
Popular Film Star
In 1984, Shue made her film debut in the box office hit The Karate Kid. She played Ali, the love interest of the title character Daniel (played by Ralph Macchio), in the movie. With 1987's Adventures in Babysitting, Shue moved from a supporting to a starring role as the heroic babysitter in this popular comedy. The following year, she shared the screen with Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Shue suffered a tremendous personal loss around this time. Her older brother William died in an accident during a family vacation. Shue told Biography magazine that this tragedy changed her personal outlook. "What happened to Will taught me that human beings are fragile. His death taught me not to be afraid anymore of who I was."
Shue went on to appear in the two sequels of the hit sci-fi comedy Back to the Future in 1989 and 1990. Soon after her career slowed down until landing her breakthrough dramatic role in 1995's Leaving Las Vegas. She played a hooker named Sera who becomes involved with an alcoholic played by Nicolas Cage in the critically acclaimed drama. Shue told Entertainment Weekly that she "got lucky" when she landed this part. "If you're not a star, you usually don't even get to read for a role this complex and beautiful, let alone get it."
Shue won several awards for Leaving Las Vegas, including the Independent Spirit honor for best actress and also picked up her one and only Academy Award nomination thus far. She followed Leaving Las Vegas with The Trigger Effect (1996) and The Saint (1997) and the 1997 Woody Allen film Deconstructing Harry.
Later Career
In 2007, Shue brought a personal story to the big screen. She and her brother Andrew, a former actor who found fame as a cast member of the popular 1990s TV drama Melrose Place, produced the independent film Gracie. The movie follows a young girl who loses her older brother in a car accident. She then sets her sights on taking his place on their school's soccer team. Both Shue and Andrew acted in the film, which was based in part on their late brother William. The director was Shue's husband Davis Guggenheim, and her brother John was a co-producer.
After this deeply personal film, Shue chose an interesting mix of projects. She played a version of herself in the 2008 offbeat comedy Hamlet 2 and starred in the 2010 horror flick Piranha 3D. In 2011, Shue tried her luck on the small screen. She joined the cast of long-running TV crime drama CSI as Julie Finlay. She stayed with the crime drama until its cancellation in 2015. She also starred in the 2019 show The Boys.
Personal Life
Shue has been married to producer and director Guggenheim since 1994. The couple has three children, Miles, Stella and Agnes. In addition to acting, Shue is a devoted tennis player. She is also a graduate of Harvard University, having studied there off and on again until she officially earned her bachelor's degree in political science in 2000.
- Name: Elisabeth Shue
- Birth Year: 1963
- Birth date: October 6, 1963
- Birth State: Delaware
- Birth City: Wilmington
- Birth Country: United States
- Gender: Female
- Best Known For: Award-winning actress Elisabeth Shue has starred in 'The Karate Kid,' 'Leaving Las Vegas' and 'CSI.'
- Industries
- Astrological Sign: Libra
- Schools
- Wellesley College
- Harvard University
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- Article Title: Elisabeth Shue Biography
- Author: Biography.com Editors
- Website Name: The Biography.com website
- Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/elisabeth-shue
- Access Date:
- Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
- Last Updated: October 12, 2022
- The darker, more complex and emotion the part is, the easier it is for me. But I don't take any of that stuff home with me at the end of the day.
FAQs
Shue, who abandoned her studies at Harvard after The Karate Kid and returned to the university to collect a political science degree in 2000, has said her string of mainly supporting roles in the past 25 years allowed her to focus on her husband, director Davis Guggenheim, and their children.
Did Tom Cruise date Elizabeth Shue? ›
My brother (Andrew Shue of TV's ``Melrose Place'') had it before me, but I wasn't prepared. I was in movies, but the press didn't come at me the way they do now. The silliest rumor they put out was that I had an affair with Tom Cruise while filming `Cocktail,' but I laughed at that. I'm not laughing as much now.
Who did Elizabeth Shue marry? ›
Shue married film director Davis Guggenheim in 1994. Their first child, a son named Miles, was born around 1998. Their daughter Stella followed around 2001.
What happened to Elisabeth Shue's brother? ›
Late brother of Andrew Shue and Elisabeth Shue. Died accidentally on August 24, 1988 at the age of 26 from a freak swimming accident while on family vacation. Intending to swing on an old rope tied to a tree and splash into a pond, the rope broke, dropping William onto a broken tree branch instead, impaling him.
Why was Claudia Wells replaced by Elisabeth Shue? ›
After her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Wells put her career on hold for family reasons, and told the studio she would be unavailable to reprise her Back to the Future role for the two sequels. Actress Elisabeth Shue replaced her.
What is Elisabeth Shue most famous for? ›
She is best known for her roles in the films The Karate Kid (1984), Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Cocktail (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Soapdish (1991), The Saint (1997), Hollow Man (2000), Piranha 3D (2010), Battle of the Sexes (2017), Death Wish (2018) and ...
Who did Tom Cruise have babies with? ›
Naturally that has something to do with the fact that daughter Isabella Cruise, 31, and son Connor Cruise, 29, with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, as well as daughter Suri Cruise, 18, with ex-wife Katie Holmes, are leading relatively private lives—though they can't help being famous-by-association thanks to their movie star ...
Who did Tom Cruise propose to? ›
Actor Tom Cruise said he proposed to girlfriend Katie Holmes early Friday in Paris.
What did Ralph Macchio say about Elisabeth Shue? ›
“As an older person, there was a recognition of missteps, of things I should have done differently.” He also said he regrets not calling Shue at the time, to see how she felt, or going to the producers to object to her removal.
Was Elisabeth Shue a gymnast? ›
Was an accomplished high school gymnast, with aspirations to the state finals, at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her brother, Andrew Shue, and Zach Braff also attended Columbia High School.
Graduated from Harvard University 8 June 2000 with a degree in Government. Shue was one semester short of earning her degree when she dropped out to pursue her career 15 years earlier. She had returned to Harvard in the spring of 2000.
Why did Amy Robach and Andrew Shue split? ›
Amy Robach Hints Lack of 'Mutual Respect' Led to Andrew Shue Split: 'Love Becomes a Choice' Amy Robach candidly discussed her views on relationships after her divorce from Andrew Shue — and shared the main reason she would end a romance.
Why did Andrew Shue quit acting? ›
In an interview with NJ.com in 2009, Shue reflected on his decision to quit acting entirely. I didn't like having to promote myself and to constantly make myself interesting to people. He also confirmed that after completing Gracie, he had zero plans to resume his former career.
Who is Elisabeth Shue's daughter? ›
Shue is married to movie director Davis Guggenheim. Their son, Miles William, was born on November 11, 1997. She gave birth to her first daughter, Stella Street, on March 19, 2001. Her third child, Agnes Charles, was born on June 18, 2006.
Why did Elisabeth Shue leave Karate Kid? ›
Shue's Karate Kid exit had gone largely unexplained in the 30 years since she left the franchise, with the actor having previously expressed her frustrations from working on the original movie, which subsequently led to her disinterest in returning.
Did Audrey Hepburn stop acting? ›
Towards the end of the 1960s, she retired from acting to dedicate herself to family life, emerging only for a handful of films in the 1970s and 1980s. She devoted the final years of her life to UNICEF. Audrey Hepburn died at her home in Switzerland on 20 January 1993.
Why did a different actress plays Jennifer in Back to the Future? ›
Why did they replace Jennifer in Back to the Future 2? Claudia Wells did NOT return for the sequels because her mother got sick with cancer. So she decided to hold off on her acting career for a while. That was why Elisabeth Shue got hired to take her place in both Part II and Part III.
