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Eliza Dushku - A Rise To Fame

Updated on March 3, 2009

Eliza Dushku, is an American actress who was born on December 30, 1980. Eliza has appeared in over 20 different movies since 1992 (That Night), 9 different t.v. series, 2 of which she was the main character, and has also made special guest appearances on 18 different shows, with 6 return appearances.

Born in Watertown Massachusetts, Eliza attended Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, and graduated from Watertown High School. In 2005, she was personally invited to visit her father's family in Albania by the president. In Kosovo she visited the Albanian Community, and received a tattoo on the back of her neck of an Albanian Eagle.

When she was only 10 years old, Eliza caught the attention of various casting agents. In 1992, she played her first role as, Alice Bloom, in That Night. She also found herself in roles with, Robert De Niro, and Leonardo DiCaprio in This Boy's Life. Eliza would later say that was a role that paved the way for many other opportunities. In True Lies, she played the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jamie Lee Curtis. She also played Paul Reiser's daughter in Bye Bye, Love, and was also in Race The Sun, with Halle Barry and Jim Belushi. In able to finish her final two years in high school, Eliza, had to take some time away from acting. She was accepted to Suffolk University in Boston, as well as George Washington University, in Washington DC.

After Eliza completed high school, she played the role of Faith, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and although she was only scheduled to appear in 5 different episodes, she remained in the story line throughout the end of the third season, returned to appear in season four, as well as the final 5 episodes. She also played a part in Angel, which was a spin off of the Buffy series.

In the year 2000, Eliza was seen in Soul Survivors, and Bring it On, with Kirsten Dunst. The following year, she took part in The New Guy, and City by the Sea, with Robert De Niro. She was also invited to play a part in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, by Kevin Smith. Shannon Elizabeth, Ali Larter, and Ben Affleck also appeared in the movie.

Eliza starred in the horror film, Wrong Turn, in 2003, as well as The Kiss. Instead of starring in another Buffy spin off that would have been about her character, Faith, she began Tru Calling, a t.v. series on Fox that only produced 27 episodes.

From December 2005, to February 2006, Eliza starred in Dog Sees God, an off broadway production. She also played the lead in Nurses, but was not seen because it was the second Fox pilot that she played in that did not get broadcast. She was also in Rockstar, and I'm Just A Kid, which were music videos by Nickelback, and Simple Plan.

In 2007, Eliza appeared in On Broadway, and Sex and Breakfast, a dark comedy with Macaulay Culkin. She was also in the movie, Nobel Son, which didn't get released until the end of 2008.

Latest releases with Eliza include; The drama Bottle Shock, and the thriller The Alphabet Killer, which was also directed by, Rob Schmidt, who directed Wrong Turn.

Currently, Eliza also plays in 3 films which have yet to be released; the horror film Open Graves, The Thacker Case, and the animated film Noah's Ark: The New Beginning, in which Eliza does the voice of Zalbeth.

Eliza will also be starring in a new series on Fox called, Dollhouse, where she plays, Echo, a member of a group of "dolls" having had their memories erased so that they might take on a number of different personalities. They are hired out to do missions, and are watched by Handlers. In between missions they live in the "Dollhouse" where their minds are erased. Echo will look to become self aware, while Paul Ballard, a federal agent, looks to take down the illegal activity that goes on in the "Dollhouse". The executive producer is, Joss Whedon, who also produced Buffy, and Angel.

Eliza Dushku is...

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Eliza Said....

Go big or go home. Because it's true. What do you have to lose?

I don't let guys do hickeys. That's like a dog marking his territory or something.

It's easy to play a bad girl: You just do everything you've been told not to do, and you don't have to deal with the consequences, because it's only acting.

For the longest time, I thought I was a boy. I really did. I wore boys' clothes, played tag football.

I remember hitting Sarah Michelle Gellar with a right hook during my first week on the job. It was awful. They usually pair actors with stunt doubles to avoid things like that.

There is definitely something sexy about a girl with an attitude and a pair of leather pants.

When I worked with Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies, she told me, You need a plan B, because when you have six months to a year off, you can go nuts. You need to have another focus.

I can street fight, but in terms of precision and martial arts, they have a very specific style.

I found myself being a role model to young girls. And young girls make up a huge part of our society. It's a really hard place to be when you're a young woman in our society.

I know I'm not the most informed person, but I'm not the least informed person either.

I love a guy who can make me laugh, and I definitely dig intelligence. I get turned on by book smarts.

I play the girlfriend of Robert DeNiro's son. I was totally star struck. He's so talented.

I'm not the most graceful person, and I had to work with the choreographer on the cheerleader routines.

If I feel something, that's all there is for me at the time. But I also have a raging case of attention deficit disorder.

In high school I had a lot of aggression, and that's why I was perfect for roles like Buffy.

My mother would take groups of students to different countries and always brought us along, so by the time I was 10, I had been to Russia, China, Nicaragua and several other countries.

They see me drinking coffee and smoking and realize that I'm not a practicing Mormon.

When I'm shooting, I just try to make sure I wouldn't be embarrassed of it later.

When you're on a comedy, you're thinking, I need to do something serious.

I have said it before and I will say it again - I will follow Joss Whedon anywhere. I have never known such a creative genius.

I love my family, my fam is the greatest. Any chance I can get to see them, is the coolest thing.

There's a lot of actresses out there who are the girl next door. I relate more to characters who have an edge.

Some guy asked me if I was on TV, and I said yes, and he threw his drink at me. I was recognized, but my face was wet.

"You have a better chance of seeing God", is what Eliza said when she was asked about doing a nude scene.   

Facts About Eliza Dushku

Her Dushku family were the only family with that surname in America in 1920, and were living in Massachusetts.

Eliza is half-Albanian and half-Danish.

Her trade mark is that she often plays young debutantes "on the edge".

Eliza was voted 9th Sexiest Female Movie Star in the September 2002 issue of Austalian Empire Magazine.

She was ranked #13 in the Maxim Magazine "Hot 100" list in 2002.

In September 2002, Eliza made the 9th spot in Australian Empire Magazine's Sexiest Female Movie Stars.

Eliza describes her mother as the biggest influence on her life.

Eliza sometimes acts on stage at the Children's Theatre signing for the deaf.

Peter Kelley is Eliza's acting coach; they have been working together since she was a child.

While on location, she takes her bed linen so she feels comfortable. She also surrounds herself with pictures of family and friends. She is also known for taking the back of her director's chair after a shoot as a souvenir when finishing a movie.

Eliza is a good friend of Clare Kramer. Both of the two actress had important roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Eliza as Faith and Clare as Glory. They also both starred in the 2000 movie Bring It On. Eliza is also friends with Tobey Maguire. She even helped him get his role for Spider-Man by running lines with him as Mary Jane Watson, a role her Bring It On co-star Kirsten Dunst got.

Eliza has stated that her idol is Jamie Lee Curtis, with whom she co-starred in True Lies.

Eliza got hooked on smoking when she was 15 years old, after she had to smoke for a role.

Eliza graduated from high school in 1998 and was accepted to Boston University and George Washington University, but decided to take time off to work on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was then legally emancipated at 17 so she could start her work on the show.

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