Date of Birth

30 December 1982, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Birth Name

Elisha Ann Cuthbert

Nickname

Leesh

Height

5' 2½" (1.59 m)

Mini Biography

Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. She became internationally known for playing Kim Bauer in the series 24 (2001); Danielle in the teen comedy film The Girl Next Door (2004) and Carly Jones in the horror remake House of Wax (2005). She was voted the sexiest actress in the world in 2015 by the magazine Glam'Mag. In 2013, she was elected the most "Beautiful woman of American TV."

Cuthbert is considered a sex symbol, and she has often been cited as one of the "sexiest" women and as one of the "most beautiful" in the world.

At the age of 14, Cuthbert made her feature film debut in the 1997 family-drama Dancing on the Moon (1997). Her first major lead role came in the 1998 drama film Airspeed (1999) (No Control) alongside Joe Mantegna. In 2001, she starred in the movie My Daughter's Secret Life (2001), in which she received her first award, the Gemini Awards, but her career began in earnest in the decade of 2000 when she was listed to play Kim Bauer, daughter of Jack Bauer in the award-winning action series 24 (2001). Subsequently, Cuthbert appeared in the lead role in the films The Quiet (2005) and Captivity (2007).

From 2011 to 2013, Cuthbert starred as Alex Kerkovich, in the series Happy Endings (2011).

In 2011, Cuthbert was named one of "The 100 Hottest Women of the 2000s", and also entered the list of "The 25 Hottest Blonde Bombshell Actresses" by Complex magazine. In 2013 GQ Magazine listed her among "The 100 Hottest Women of the 21st Century."

Trivia

• While trotting the globe as a correspondent for the award-winning series Popular Mechanics for Kids (1997), she caught the eye of First Lady Hillary Clinton and was invited to Washington for a meeting with her.
• Was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada but later moved and grew up in the Greenfield Park district, in Longueuil (south shore of Montreal), Quebec, Canada.
• Is a former foot model.
• Speaks French as a result of growing up in Montreal.
• Dislikes flying so much that she has certain rituals she must do, such as always boarding the plane with her right foot first (From an April 2004 appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993).).
• In June 2004 she became engaged to longtime boyfriend Trace Ayala, best friend and personal assistant to Justin Timberlake. Broke off her engagement in November 2005.
• Ranked #57 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002).
• Ranked #5 in the 2005 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
• She left Canada at age 17 to move to Los Angeles, CA, to pursue an acting career. Had a deadline of six weeks. By the end of the fifth week she was given the role of Kimberley Bauer on Fox's 24 (2001).
• For her 22nd birthday, her co-star in House of Wax (2005) Paris Hilton gave Cuthbert her autobiography and a bottle of her perfume.
• Loves to visit the beach, but is unable to suntan because of her fair skin.
• Both her mother and her brother play on hockey teams in Canada.
• She's a huge hockey fan and has season tickets to the Kings. She also writes a blog for NHL.com called "Hollywood Hockey Thoughts".
• She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and a younger sister, Lee-Ann
• Parents are Kevin and Patricia Cuthbert
• Named #54 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement.
• Ranked #25 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2007 list.
• Auditioned for but lost the lead role to Kirsten Dunst in Spider-Man (2002).
• Ranked #4 in the 2008 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
• Ranked #6 on Maxim magazine Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.
• In December 2008 former boyfriend Sean Avery was suspended for six games by the Dallas Stars, then kicked off the team, for a crude remark he made about the romance between Cuthbert and Dion Phaneuf.
• Ranked #65 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2011 list.
• Ranked #33 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
• (July 6, 2013) Married her boyfriend of 5 years Dion Phaneuf at St. James Catholic Church in Summerfield, Prince Edward Island, following a 10-month-long engagement.
• Her name comes from the Hebrew name Elisha, a contracted form of Elishu'a meaning "my God is salvation". According to the Old Testament, Elisha was a prophet and miracle worker. He was the attendant of Elijah and succeeded him after his ascension to heaven.
• Her surname is derived from the Old English elements cuþ "famous" and beorht "bright". Saint Cuthbert was a 6th-century hermit who became the bishop of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of England. He was known as performer of healing miracles. Because of the saint, this name remained in use in England even after the Norman conquest. It became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was (briefly) revived in the 19th century.
• Mother, with husband Dion Phaneuf, of daughter Zaphire Phaneuf (b. December 21, 2017).

Quotes

• [on having to wear the same wardrobe all season on 24 (2001)] I feel like I'm one of The Simpsons (1989).
• I believe not giving up on doing things.
• I was lucky . . . [in Los Angeles] I found what I wanted to do when I was 11.
• [on The Girl Next Door (2004)] I don't ever want to be doing the same sort of thing, I never want to be typecast, because I have way too much to give to be sort of, to always be the hot chick in the movie.
• I definitely believe in fate. And I believe what you put in is what you get in return. That's the way it's worked for me. As for the big picture--there's some sort of plan.
• [asked about moving from Montreal to Los Angeles at age 17] I just went with my gut feeling and thought that if I care this much about what I'm doing, then maybe there are opportunities elsewhere and I'd be stupid not to give it a try.
• [on her performance in a Weezer video] I remember just sort of thinking, "I'm not going to get to do this too, too often", so I just went crazy and threw alcohol around. I was acting ridiculous and screaming at everybody and throwing a fit.
• [about moving back to Montreal] With friends and family in Montreal, it's always in the back of my mind. I like going back. I miss the nightlife. It's such a great city. I've been a lot of places in the world, and I'm sure I'm biased because I grew up there, but I love it.
• At the time, Sex and the City (1998) was in its prime and I remember thinking, "God, those girls are so lucky! They got to wear all these different outfits and I'm stuck in the same thing for ten months.".
• I'm very mellow. I think if I hadn't become an actress, I would've lived the simple life. You know, get married and sit on my porch.
• I'm a huge fan of video games and comic books. I'm not die-hard or anything, but I definitely appreciate the art in it, which is really cool.
• [on Kiefer Sutherland] He taught me not to read anything in the media or on the Internet. He's definitely a long-time mentor to me.
• [on 24 (2001)] From the beginning, you could tell that it was something really different and it was ten years of my life. I went from being an 18-year-old girl to a woman.
• I'm not knocking 24 (2001), but after playing a character like Kim, you can't help wanting to do something completely different. The criticism didn't hurt me. I wasn't writing the storylines, I was just doing the best job I could.
• [on the difference between playing comedy and drama] In drama, you coast along your own plotline and know where your character is going.
• Off set, I'm always dancing and acting like an idiot. I'm kind of goofy and do stupid things. Am I comic genius? I don't know. But I can be funny.