|
Elisabeth Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an Academy Award-nominated American film actress. Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware, into a prosperous and well-educated family and grew up in Bergen and Essex counties in New Jersey. Her parents divorced while she was in the fourth grade. Her father, who was active in Republican politics, once unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey. Shue graduated from Columbia High School, in Maplewood, New Jersey, and attended Wellesley College and Harvard University, from which she withdrew to pursue her acting career. She returned to Harvard, 15 years after withdrawing, to finish her degree in Government in 2000. * During her studies at Columbia and after her parents' divorce, she found a way to make extra money by acting in television commercials. A state junior level gymnast, Shue became a common sight in ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellman's mayonnaise. In 1984, she co-starred in The Karate Kid as the onscreen girlfriend of Ralph Macchio, and had a role as the teenage daughter of a military family in the short-lived series Call to Glory. She continued her acting work with Adventures in Babysitting, her first starring role, Cocktail, Soapdish, and The Marrying Man. Trying to shed her girl-next-door image, Shue took a chance on a low-budget, high-risk project called Leaving Las Vegas. Her portrayal of a prostitute mixed up with a suicidal alcoholic played by Nicolas Cage earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Since then, she has starred in The Saint, Deconstructing Harry, Palmetto, and Hollow Man. In 2006, Shue and her two brothers are producing Gracie, a movie about a teenage girl with an interest in soccer, in part based on Elisabeth's own experience. It is in part filmed on location in areas where she grew up.
Personal life Known among her friends and family as "Lisa," Shue is married to Davis Guggenheim, director of the HBO TV series Deadwood. They have a son, Miles William (b. November 11, 1997), and two daughters, Stella Street (b. March 19, 2001) and Agnes Charles (b. June 18, 2006). Her brother is actor Andrew Shue, of Melrose Place fame. Another brother, William, died in 1988 at the age of 26 from a freak accident while on family vacation. Son Miles's second name is in homage to Will. Partial filmography | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |