Elisabeth Shue Biography

Elisabeth Judson Shue was born on born Oct. 6, 1963 in Wilmington, DE. Her mother, Anne Harms (née Wells), was the vice president of the private division of the Chemical Banking Corporation, and her father, James Shue, was a lawyer and real estate developer who was the president of the International Food and Beverage Corporation. James was active in Republican politics and ran (unsuccessfully) for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey. Raised with her three brothers - including Andrew, who would follow in his sister's later footsteps by starring as the lovelorn taxi driver Billy Campbell on "Melrose Place" (FOX, 1992-99) - Shue was a fourth grader when her parents divorced. Elisabeth Shue  was very close to her siblings, and even worked with Andrew and John later in film projects. Another brother, William, died in 1988 from a swimming accident while on a family vacation. Shue attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ, where she excelled in gymnastics. Several years later, both she and Andrew were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1994.

Wellesley College was Shue's next academic venture and it was while attending the all-woman institution that the future star focused on her studies instead of boys and partying. During her junior year, a friend inspired Shue to work as an actress in television commercials. Elisabeth Shue booked several jobs right away including an ad for a Florida theme park, DeBeers diamonds, Hellman's mayonnaise, and fast food giant Burger King where she earned the nickname "Burger King Girl," due to her appearance in over 20 spots. A role in the short-lived TV series "Call to Glory" (Paramount TV, 1984-85) gave Shue great acting exposure, but it was her first feature film that same year that jump-started her career.

"The Karate Kid" (1984) was a martial arts teen drama that starred Tiger Beat poster boy Ralph Macchio, fresh off his success in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders" (1983). As Macchio's understanding girlfriend who helps give him the courage to take on the school bully, Shue sparkled and found herself on every filmmaker's wish list virtually overnight. The actress, however, did not want to give up her education, so she transferred to Harvard University in 1985 to become an attorney. It was a noble effort, yet even Shue realized her passion for acting had truly taken over her life. Elisabeth Shue eventually dropped out of Harvard just one semester short of earning her degree.

While it could be argued that Shue made a risky choice to pursue acting instead of higher education, there was no denying her next big screen project truly defined her young acting career and made her an 1980s icon in her own right. "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987), directed by Chris Columbus, was a comedic romp about girl-next-door Chris Parker (Elizabeth Shue), who agrees to babysit for a teen girl and a young boy after her boyfriend cancels their date. "Adventures in Babysitting" was just the beginning of the actress' major 1980s film projects. A year later, she was cast opposite none other than the world's biggest male star at the time, Tom Cruise, in the romantic romp "Cocktail" (1988).