Elisabeth Shue born October 6, [ 1 ] is an American actress. She also leads the Netflix dramedy series On the Verge Her mother was a vice president in the private banking division of the Chemical Bank Corporation. Shue grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. Her parents divorced when she was nine. Her younger brother, Andrew , is also an actor, best known for his role as Billy Campbell in the Fox series Melrose Place. Shue has two half-siblings from her father's remarriage, Jenna and Harvey Shue.
After graduating from high school, Shue attended Wellesley College. She then transferred to Harvard University in , from which she withdrew to pursue her acting career she was inspired by a friend to work in television commercials as a way to pay for college one semester short of earning her degree. Over a decade later, in , Shue returned to Harvard and completed her B.
Shue made her feature film debut in , when she co-starred opposite Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid as Ali Mills , a high school cheerleader and the love interest of Macchio's main character. Shue was a series regular as the teenage daughter of a military family in the short-lived television series Call to Glory between and , which she followed in starring alongside Terence Stamp in the British horror film Link. In Shue appeared in the television movie Double Switch part of the Disney Sunday Movie series , co-starring with George Newbern , who would go on to support her in her first star vehicle, the hugely popular Adventures in Babysitting , in the same year.
In , Shue starred in Cocktail as the love interest of Tom Cruise 's lead character. It was around this time her older brother, William, died in an accident on a family holiday. The sequels were filmed back to back, and Shue featured prominently in Part II, appearing in bookend pieces in the third part of the trilogy. Shue auditioned for the Ione Skye role in Say Anything Between and , Shue appeared in a variety of supporting roles in both film and television.
Although often cast as a girl-next-door type, in a career-defining role Shue starred as a prostitute in the film Leaving Las Vegas with Nicolas Cage. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Shue's career flourished after her Oscar nomination, landing her diverse roles. She starred in The Trigger Effect in Shue also displayed some action movie skills in the spy remake The Saint opposite Val Kilmer.
