Born:
December 30, 1980
in
Boston, Massachusetts
Best Known For:
True Lies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bring it On.
Early-life:
Eliza Patricia Dushku was born on December 30, 1980, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents divorced when she was an infant. While at Beaver Country Day School she began exhibiting dramatic skills that belied her years, which soon attracted the attention of Hollywood talent spotters. At the age of 10 she was chosen to end a five-month search for the lead role of Alice in That Night.
Career:
Two years after That Night, Dushku was catapulted into the spotlight when she appeared opposite Hollywood heavyweights Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies. Future Avatar director, James Cameron, chose her to play Dana Tasker, whose mundane life is flipped upside down by the revelation that her father is a secret agent. Five minutes after this earth-shattering discovery she's forced to cling onto the bonnet of an airborne jet - well what did you expect? Cameron's everything-including-the-kitchen-sink approach worked wonders for Dushku as she expanded her palette and became the newest name to look out for. Towards the middle of the 1990s she disappeared from screens to concentrate on her studies, but re-emerged in 1998 to star as Faith in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Her character was a dark reflection of the squeaky clean title character. Dushku revelled in playing this edgy, leather-clad anti-hero: she's all grown up and doesn't need Arnie to rescue her anymore. After turning down a chance for her own spin-off, Dushku took the title role on Tru Calling, a supernatural drama about a woman who relives days to stop deaths from happening. Four years after Tru Calling was cancelled, Dushku teamed up once again with Buffy creator Joss Whedon; she took the lead role in his new science fiction romp called Dollhouse, in 2009.
Quote:
"I love leather and it's great to be a bad girl at times. But there is a time and place for everything. When I'm with Grandma it's flowers, and when I'm out on the town scoping guys, you know..."
Trivia:
She has voiced characters in a number of video games.