Elisha Cuthbert Biography

Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian film and television actress. Cuthbert began her career as the co-host of the Canadian children's television series Popular Mechanics for Kids (1997"2000). Since then her best known television roles have been as Kim Bauer on the FOX action-thriller series 24 (2001"2010) and as Alex Kerkovich on the ABC ensemble comedy series Happy Endings (2011"2013). Her most notable films include Airspeed (1998), Love Actually (2003), Old School (2003), The Girl Next Door (2004), House of Wax (2005) and Captivity (2007).

Early life

Cuthbert was born in Calgary, Alberta, daughter of Patricia, a homemaker, and Kevin, an automotive design engineer. She has two younger siblings, Jonathan and Lee-Ann. She grew up in Greenfield Park, near Montreal, Quebec. She also lived for some time in Toronto, Ontario before moving onto acting. In 2000, she graduated from Centennial Regional High School and moved to Los Angeles at 17 to act.

Career

Early career

When she was 9, Cuthbert started modelling children's clothing and also became a foot model. She made her first televised appearance as an extra in the horror-themed series for children, Are You Afraid of the Dark?; she later became a regular on the show. Cuthbert co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids with Jay Baruchel, filmed in Montreal. Her reporting captured the attention of Hillary Clinton, who invited her to the White House.

Cuthbert landed her first role in a feature film in the family drama Dancing on the Moon (1997). She appeared in other Canadian family movies and in an airplane thriller, Airspeed. She starred in the Canadian television movie, Lucky Girl, in 2001 and was awarded a Gemini Award for her performance.

Soon after her move to Hollywood, she was cast as Kim Bauer, daughter of federal agent Jack Bauer, in the television series 24. She appeared in the show's first three seasons, but not in its fourth; she guest-starred in two episodes in the fifth season. She also reprised her role as Kim Bauer in .

2002"2005: Commercial success

She began her Hollywood film career with small roles in Old School and Love Actually in 2003.

Cuthbert's next film, The Girl Next Door, was her first lead role. She played an ex"porn star, Danielle, opposite Emile Hirsch. She had reservations about the part, but was persuaded by director Luke Greenfield. She researched the role, speaking to adult actresses from Wicked Pictures and Vivid Entertainment. The film was compared to Risky Business,although Cuthbert said her character was not directly based on Rebecca De Mornay's. Critics were divided; some praised the film for boldness, others, notably Roger Ebert, called it gimmicky and exploitative. Ebert wrote that he saw Cuthbert's character as "quite the most unpleasant character I have seen in some time."

In her next film, Cuthbert starred with Paris Hilton and Chad Michael Murray in the 2005 remake of the horror film House of Wax. Cuthbert, with the rest of the cast, was made up to look haggard. In one scene, her character was to attempt to open her mouth while her lips were sealed with glue. For realism, she used Superglue over prosthetics. House of Wax was largely panned, critics citing a range of flaws. It was called "notable for having some of the most moronic protagonists ever to populate a horror film," though of those characters, critics tended to think Cuthbert "fares the best." Though receiving negative reviews the film was a box office success. Others noted Cuthbert as an "exception," playing her role "earnestly" and "fine."

2006"2007: Career transition

Cuthbert's next film was the indie film The Quiet. She was co-star and co-producer. She played Nina, a temperamental 17-year-old cheerleader who suffers sexual abuse by her father. Cuthbert looked to her younger cousin as inspiration for how to play a teenager. The Quiet, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and received a limited release in Los Angeles and New York City on August 25, 2006, before expanding regionally in the USA on September 1.

Cuthbert appeared in the music video for Weezer's "Perfect Situation" in early 2006, playing the group's fictional original singer who threw a tantrum that led to Rivers Cuomo, the roadie, becoming frontman of the band. She also had a small role in Paris Hilton's music video for the song "Nothing In This World".

In 2007, Cuthbert appeared in Captivity, a thriller centered on a fashion model taunted by a psychopath who has imprisoned her in a cellar, a role for which she was nominated for a Razzie award as "worst actress."

In He Was a Quiet Man, Cuthbert played Vanessa, a quadriplegic, starring with Christian Slater. The film was in limited release in 2007, and it was released on DVD in early 2008.

2008"present

In 2008, Cuthbert appeared in My Sassy Girl, a remake of a Korean film, starring with Jesse Bradford. Her next film was the family comedy, The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, with Tim Allen, in which she played his daughter. She starred in the Canadian miniseries Guns. She was a judge in season two, episode two of Project Runway Canada, in which designers were challenged to create a "party dress" for her.

Cuthbert reprised her character Kim Bauer in the seventh season of 24 for five episodes. She was also was to star in the CBS drama pilot Ny-Lon, playing a New York literacy teacher/record-store clerk who embarks on a transatlantic romance with a London stockbroker. The project, based on a British series starring Rashida Jones and Stephen Moyer, was canceled.

In December 2009, ABC said Cuthbert had joined the cast of The Forgotten in a recurring role as Maxine Denver, a Chicago professional.

From April 2011 to May 2013, Cuthbert starred as Alex Kerkovich for three seasons on the ABC ensemble comedy Happy Endings alongside Eliza Coupe, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr. and Casey Wilson. Despite critical acclaim and having a cult following, the show was cancelled by ABC after the conclusion of its third season on May 3, 2013.

In October 2012, she appeared in The Gaslight Anthem's music video "Here Comes My Man," playing the girlfriend of a man who mistreats her, until she imagines a romantic relationship with a character in a movie and chooses to end her real relationship.

In the media

Cuthbert regularly secures a place in FHM and Maxim's annual "hottest women" lists. Her highest ranking was No. 4 in the 2008 UK Edition of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World list. She was ranked No. 14 in 2003, No. 10 in 2004, No. 5 in 2005, No. 22 in 2006, No. 10 in 2007 and No. 7 in 2009. The U.S. Edition ranked her No. 53 in 2003, No. 63 in 2004, and No. 54 in 2006. She was not listed in the U.S. 2005 list. Cuthbert was ranked No. 10 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women of 2007." In Maxim's Hot 100 list, she was ranked No. 84 in 2002, No. 9 in 2003, No. 21 in 2004, No. 92 in 2006, No. 25 in 2007, No. 6 in 2008, No. 43 in 2009, No. 65 in 2011, No. 34 in 2012, and No. 10 in 2013. The magazine also featured her in its Girls of Maxim Gallery. BuddyTV ranked her No. 33 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011 list.

Personal life

Cuthbert dated Canadian NHL player Sean Avery for nearly two years, before breaking up in August 2007. Cuthbert subsequently began dating Canadian NHL player Dion Phaneuf, currently captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, in May 2008. Cuthbert was the subject of much media attention over these relationships in December 2008, when Avery approached assembled reporters prior to a game and in reference to Phaneuf, said, "I'm just going to say one thing. I'm really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about, but enjoy the game tonight." He was subsequently suspended for the comment. Cuthbert and Phaneuf announced their engagement in September 2012, and they married on July 6, 2013 at St. James Catholic Church in Summerfield, Prince Edward Island. Living in Toronto during the hockey season, Cuthbert and Phaneuf spend their summers at Phaneuf's waterfront estate outside of New London, Prince Edward Island, in his parents' home province.

Cuthbert is an avid ice hockey fan, and in 2005, she maintained a blog on the National Hockey League website, though she did not post for most of the season.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Dancing on the Moon	Sarah
1997	Mail to the Chief	Madison Osgood
1997	Nico the Unicorn	Carolyn Price
1998	Airspeed	Nicole Stone
1999	Believe	Katherine Winslowe
1999	Time at the Top	Susan Shawson
2000	Who Gets the House?	Emily Reece
2001	Lucky Girl	Katlin Palmerson	CTV
2003	Love Actually	American Goddess Carol
2003	Old School	Darcie Goldberg
2004	'	Danielle (aka "D")
2005	House of Wax	Carly Jones
2006	'	Nina Deer
2007	Captivity	Jennifer Tree
2007	He Was a Quiet Man	Vanessa
2008	My Sassy Girl	Jordan Roark
2008	Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!	Herself
2008	Guns	Frances Dett
2009	'	Barbara Lefay/Barby

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997"2000	Popular Mechanics for Kids	Herself
1999"2000	Are You Afraid of the Dark?	Megan
2001	Largo Winch	Abby
2004	MADtv	Herself/Kim Bauer (24 parody)	1 episode
2001"2004, 2006, 2009"2010	24	Kim Bauer	79 episodes
2010	'	Maxine Denver	6 episodes
2011"2013	Happy Endings	Alex Kerkovich	57 episodes
2012	Happy Endings: Happy Rides	Alex Kerkovich	Web series

Music video

Year	Title	Artist	Role
2005	Perfect Situation	Weezer	Lead
2006	Nothing in This World		Popular girl
2012	Here Comes My Man	The Gaslight Anthem	Lead

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2001	Gemini Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series	Lucky Girl
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Breakout Star " Female	24
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure/Thriller	House of Wax
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Rumble	House of Wax
2007	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller	Captivity
2003	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	24
2005	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	24
2005	MTV Movie Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance, Female	'
2005	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss	'