Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress, known for her roles in the films The Karate
Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future
Part III, Leaving Las Vegas, The Saint, and Hollow Man.
She has won several 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, was vice president of the private banking division of the Chemical
Banking Corporation.
Her father, James W. Shue, a one-time congressional candidate, lawyer and real estate developer,
was the president of the International Food and Beverage Corporation.
Shue grew up in South Orange, 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 older brother, William, died in 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, Shue acted in television
commercials.
Shue became a common sight in ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellmann's mayonnaise.
Shue made her feature film debut in 1984, when she co-starred opposite Ralph Macchio
in The Karate Kid as the love interest of Macchio's character.
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, Cocktail as the love interest of Tom Cruise's
character 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; Woody Allen's 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 afforded her the chance to play a noir-ish femme fatale opposite Woody
Harrelson; and Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man 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.
In 2009, Shue appeared on the seventh season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm as an actress
competing with Cheryl Hines's character for – and winning – the 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 a family vacation.
Filmography Film
Television Awards and nominations
1984 – The Karate Kid Won – Young Artist Awards Best Young Supporting
Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama
1986 – Link Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Actress
1995 – Leaving Las Vegas Won – Independent Spirit Award for Best
Female Lead Won – Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Award for Best Actress Won – National Society of Film Critics Award
for Best Actress Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor
in a Leading Role References
External links Elisabeth Shue at the Internet Movie Database
Elisabeth Shue at FEARnet