Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert is a Canadian actress
and model. She began her career as the co-host of the Canadian children's television series
Popular Mechanics for Kids . Since then, her best known television roles have been Kim
Bauer on the Fox action-thriller series 24 and Alex Kerkovich on the ABC comedy series
Happy Endings . She has appeared in such films as Airspeed , Love Actually , Old School , The
Girl Next Door , House of Wax , and Captivity .
Early life Cuthbert was born in Calgary, Alberta, the
daughter of Patricia, a housewife, and Kevin, an automotive design engineer. She grew up
in Greenfield Park, Quebec. She also lived in Toronto, Ontario, before moving onto acting.
In 2000, she graduated from Centennial Regional High School and moved to Los Angeles at the
age of 17. 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.
Cuthbert co-starred in Believe a Canadian movie with Ricky Mabe in 2000. 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 24: The
Game and again guest-starred in five episodes of the seventh season and in two episodes
of the eighth season. 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." 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.
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 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 February 2014, Cuthbert signed on to play the female lead in Liz Feldman and Ellen DeGeneres'
new NBC sitcom pilot One Big Happy. Cuthbert stars as Lizzy, a lesbian who gets pregnant
just as her straight male best friend Luke (played by Nick Zano) meets and marries the
love of his life, Prudence. In the media
In the past, Cuthbert regularly secured 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 has two younger siblings, Jonathan
and Lee-Ann. She is an avid ice hockey fan; in 2005, she maintained a blog on the NHL's
website, though she did not post for most of the season.
Cuthbert dated NHL player Sean Avery for nearly two years; they broke up in August 2007. Cuthbert
began dating NHL player Dion Phaneuf in May 2008. She was the subject of media attention
over these relationships in December 2008, when Avery told reporters that "it's become
like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds". 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. Filmography
Music videos Awards