Elisabeth Shue

Elisabeth Shue
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Name	Elisabeth Shue
Caption	Shue in 2013
Birth name	Elisabeth Judson Shue
Birth date	6 October 1963
Birth place	Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Alma mater	Wellesley College, Harvard University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Davis Guggenheim, 1994

Elisabeth Shue is an American actress renowned for her versatile performances across film and television. She first gained widespread recognition for her role in the 1984 teen comedy *The Karate Kid* and later earned critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination, for her dramatic turn in Leaving Las Vegas. Her career spans decades, featuring prominent roles in major studio films like Adventures in Babysitting and Back to the Future Part II, as well as acclaimed television series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Early life and education

Elisabeth Judson Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to a family with a legal and corporate background; her father, James Shue, was an attorney and real estate developer, while her mother, Anne Brewster, served as a senior vice president at Chemonics, a Washington, D.C.-based company. She is the sister of actor Andrew Shue. Shue attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, where she was a successful gymnast and cheerleader. She initially enrolled at Wellesley College before transferring to Harvard University, where she studied political science and was a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club; she completed her degree in 2000 after intermittently pausing her studies to focus on her burgeoning acting career.

Career

Shue's early career included television commercials and a recurring role on the soap opera *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer*. Her breakthrough came with the role of Ali Mills in John G. Avildsen's 1984 hit *The Karate Kid*, opposite Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. She subsequently starred as the lead in the popular comedy Adventures in Babysitting and joined the cast of the blockbuster franchise, playing Jennifer Parker in Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III. A significant career shift occurred with her raw, acclaimed performance as a prostitute in Mike Figgis's 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas, which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Later film work includes roles in *The Saint* with Val Kilmer, Hollow Man, and Piranha 3D. On television, she had a leading role as Julie Finlay on the long-running series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and later starred in the Amazon series *The Boys* and its spin-off Gen V.

Personal life

Shue married film director Davis Guggenheim in 1994; Guggenheim is known for documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for "Superman". The couple has three children and resides in Los Angeles. Her brother, Andrew Shue, is also an actor, best known for the television series Melrose Place. In 1988, Shue's other brother, William, died in a tragic accident, an event that profoundly affected her life and influenced her decision to return to Harvard University to complete her degree. She has been involved with various charitable organizations, including those supporting The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Filmography

A selected list of Shue's film and television credits includes: * The Karate Kid (1984) as Ali Mills * Adventures in Babysitting (1987) as Chris Parker * Cocktail (1988) as Jordan Mooney * Back to the Future Part II (1989) as Jennifer Parker * Back to the Future Part III (1990) as Jennifer Parker * Leaving Las Vegas (1995) as Sera * The Saint (1997) as Dr. Emma Russell * Hollow Man (2000) as Linda McKay * Hide and Seek (2005) as Alison Callaway * Piranha 3D (2010) as Julie Forester * CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2012–2015) as Julie Finlay * The Boys (2019–present) as Madelyn Stillwell

Awards and nominations

Shue has received significant recognition for her work, most notably for Leaving Las Vegas. Her accolades include a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1996. That same year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. She also won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress for that performance. Other honors include a Saturn Award nomination for Hollow Man and multiple ensemble award nominations with the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Category:American film actresses Category:Actresses from Delaware Category:Harvard University alumni Category:1963 births Category:Living people