Elisabeth Shue Biography

Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress, known for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II, III, The Saint and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.

In February 2012, she began starring as Julie Finlay in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Early life

Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Her mother, Anne Brewster (née Wells), was vice president of the private banking division of the Chemical Banking Corporation. Her father, James William Shue, a lawyer and real estate developer, was the president of the International Food and Beverage Corporation. Shue grew up in Bergen and Essex counties in New Jersey. Her parents divorced when she was nine. Shue's mother was a descendant of Pilgrim leader William Brewster, while her father's family emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 19th century. Shue was raised with her three brothers and was very close to her siblings. Her younger brother, Andrew, is also an actor, best known for his role as Billy Campbell in the Fox series Melrose Place. Shue graduated from Columbia High School, in Maplewood, New Jersey, where she and Andrew were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1994.

Shue attended Wellesley College and in her junior year, was inspired by a friend to work in television commercials and as a way to pay for college. She transferred to Harvard University in 1985, from which she withdrew to pursue her acting career with one semester short of earning her degree. The same year she left Harvard, 1988, her brother, William, died from a swimming accident while on a family vacation. She returned to Harvard in 1997 and completed her BA in Political Science in 2000.

Career

1980s and early 1990s

During her studies at Columbia H.S. and after her parents' divorce, she acted in television commercials. Shue became a common sight in ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellman's mayonnaise.

Her first movie role happened in 1984, when she co-starred in The Karate Kid as the onscreen girlfriend of Ralph Macchio. Shue had a role as the teenage daughter of a military family in the short-lived series Call to Glory and, in 1986, starred alongside Terence Stamp in the British simian horror Link. She continued with Adventures in Babysitting (her first starring role), Cocktail as the love interest of Tom Cruise and the comedies Soapdish and The Marrying Man with Sally Field and Alec Baldwin, respectively. She appeared as Jennifer Parker in the 1989 Back to the Future Part II and the 1990 Back to the Future Part III, replacing Claudia Wells, who declined to reprise the role from Back to the Future because of a family illness.

In May 1990, Shue made her Broadway debut in Some American Abroad at the Lincoln Center. Also on Broadway, in 1993, she performed in Tina Howe's production of Birth and After Birth. Also in 1993, she played Robert Downey Jr.'s girlfriend in the supernatural romantic comedy ensemble Heart and Souls.

1995–present

Although often cast as a girl next door-type, Shue starred as a prostitute in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas with Nicolas Cage. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She was also nominated for a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actress, and won Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and the National Society of Film Critics Awards. Her career flourished after her Oscar nomination landing her diverse roles: she starred in The Trigger Effect in 1996; Deconstructing Harry showcased her comedic abilities amongst heavyweight co-stars Billy Crystal, Demi Moore, Robin Williams and Stanley Tucci. Shue also displayed some action movie skills in the 1997 spy remake The Saint as Val Kilmer's love interest. The thriller Palmetto (1998) afforded her the chance to play a noir-ish femme fatale opposite Woody Harrelson; and Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man (2000) with Kevin Bacon proved another summer blockbuster.

In 1999, Shue starred with Aaron Eckhart in Molly as an autistic young woman who undergoes an operation that allows her to become more "normal." She played a mother that reveals her dark past to her teenaged daughter in the 2001 ABC movie Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy and Isabelle. Shue then had strong supporting roles in Cousin Bette with Jessica Lange, Hide and Seek, opposite Robert De Niro, and Mysterious Skin as the dysfunctional mother of Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

In 2007, Shue and her two brothers produced Gracie. She had a role in the film loosely based on her own experiences as the only girl on a boys' soccer team. In 2008, Shue starred in Hamlet 2 as a fictionalized version of herself. In the film, she has quit acting to become a nurse and is the favorite actress of Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan). In 2009, Shue appeared on the seventh season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm as an actress competing with Cheryl Hines's character forand winningthe part of George's ex-wife for the Seinfeld reunion. In 2010, Shue toplined the horror flick Piranha 3D as Sheriff Julie Forester.

In early 2012, Shue joined the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Julie Finlay, replacing Marg Helgenberger, who played Catherine Willows. Finlay is the newest CSI, who just finished anger-management classes. Also in 2012, Shue appeared in three wide release theatrical films: with Jennifer Lawrence in the thriller House at the End of the Street; opposite Gerard Butler in Curtis Hanson's Chasing Mavericks; and as Kay the bartender in a cameo scene with Meryl Streep in David Frankel's Hope Springs.

Personal life

Known to her friends and family as "Lisa", Shue is married to film 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. Her son's middle name is in honor of her oldest brother, William, who died in 1988 at the age of 26 in a swimming accident while on family vacation.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984"85	Call to Glory	Jackie Sarnac	Series regular (23 episodes total)
1984	The Karate Kid	Ali Mills	Won " Young Artist Awards Best Young Supporting Actress
1986	Link	Jane Chase	Nominated " Saturn Award for Best Actress
1987	Double Switch	Kathy Shelton	TV film (ABC)
1987	Adventures in Babysitting	Chris Parker	Won " Festival du Film de Paris for Best Actress
1988	Cocktail	Jordan Mooney
1989	Back to the Future Part II	Jennifer Parker/McFly
1990	Back to the Future Part III	Jennifer Parker
1991	Soapdish	Lori Craven
1991	'	Adele Horner
1993	Twenty Bucks	Emily Adams
1993	Heart and Souls	Anne
1994	Radio Inside	Natalie
1994	Blind Justice	Caroline	TV film
1995	Leaving Las Vegas	Sera
1995	Underneath	Susan Crenshaw
1996	'	Annie Kay
1997	'	Dr. Emma Russell
1997	Deconstructing Harry	Fay
1998	Cousin Bette	Jenny Cadine
1998	Palmetto	Mrs. Donnelly / Rhea Malroux
1999	Molly	Molly McKay
2000	Hollow Man	Linda McKay
2001	Amy & Isabelle	Isabelle Goodrow
2002	Tuck Everlasting	Narrator	Voice only
2004	Mysterious Skin	Mrs. McCormick
2005	Hide and Seek	Elizabeth
2005	Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story	Lilly Crane
2007	First Born	Laura
2007	Gracie	Lindsay Bowen	Also producer; loosely based on her own childhood
2008	Hamlet 2	Herself
2009	Don McKay	Sonny
2010	Piranha 3-D	Sheriff Julie Forester
2010	Waking Madison	Dr. Elizabeth Barnes
2010	Janie Jones	Mary Anne
2012	House at the End of the Street	Sarah
2012	Russian of Gold	Green Duck
2012	Hope Springs	Karen
2012	Chasing Mavericks	Kristy Moriarity
2012" present	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Julie Finlay	Series regular
2012	American Dad!	Detective Lacey Sole (voice)	Episode: "Less Money, Mo' Problems"
2013	Behaving Badly	Pamela Bender	In post-production