Eliza Dushku was discovered at the end of a five-month search throughout the United States for the perfect girl to play the lead role of Alice opposite Juliette Lewis in the film That Night. Since then, she has been in several films and has worked with actors such as Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Reiser, and James Belushi. Born in Boston on December 30, 1980, she has studied the piano, drums, and several types of dance (jazz, tap, and ballet). Her previous acting experience includes numerous amateur presentations at the Watertown Children's Theater where she was part of the company since she was in the first grade. In addition to acting, she is sometimes seen on stage at the Children's Theater signing for the deaf.
Was legally emancipated from her parents because of the restrictive laws that limit the hours that a minor is allowed to work. Sister of Nate Dushku. Her last name is pronounced DUSH-koo and rhymes with "push." In addition to Nathaniel (Nate), she has two older brothers named Aaron and Benjamin (Ben) (born February 5th 1976). Dushku was the only family with that surname in the United States of America in 1920 and were living in Massachusetts. Has worked with both halves of the Buffy season-five bad guy Glory/Ben outside of the Buffy show: Clare Kramer in Bring It On and Charlie Weber in The Kiss. Voted the 9th Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002. Her mother, Judy (born Judith Rasmussen), is a university administrator-professor at Suffolk University; her Father, Philip R. Dushku, is an administrator-teacher in the Boston Public Schools. While on location, she surrounds herself with pictures of family and friends. She always takes the back of her director's chair (the chair personalized with her name) after a shoot as a souvenir. She used to have a German shepherd-husky-beagle mix named Korbit. Now she has 2 dogs, a golden named Max Factor and a Bernese named Rigby Idaho. Turned down a Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off (based on her character, Faith) for her role on Tru Calling. Good friend of Clare Kramer. She started her career by getting hurt at one of her brother Nate's auditions and impressing the talent scouts with her emphasized drama. Planned to attended Suffolk University and be an English major, but she backed out at the last minute after she landed the role of Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She refuses to do nude scenes. She says, "You have a better chance of seeing God." The tattoo she wore as Faith was fake. She did a political, social, and economic study of women in post-apartheid South Africa with her mother. Stated in an interview that she is terrified of flying and will only do so if she has religious artifacts with her. She attended the John Kerry fund raiser on July, 2004. Attended the San Diego Comic Convention on July 25th, 2004, for a Q&A session. She ranked #13 (2002) in Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women. She ranked #44 (2000), #13 (2001), #28 (2002) and #63 (2003) in Stuff's Sexiest Women. Her favorite sport is Women's Ice Hockey. She ranked #76 (2002) in FHM-USA's 100 Sexiest Women. She ranked #93 (2001) and #58 (2002) in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women. Shares a birthday with actress Kristin Kreuk, actor-model-singer Tyrese Gibson, and some famous athletes: Tiger Woods, NBA superstar LeBron James, and former Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson. While filming Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, was called Duck Shoot by director Kevin Smith after he mispronounced her last name accidentally. According to Chinese calendar and astrology, she was born in the year of the monkey. Hosted the 2005 Winter Venatian Masquerade in New York. Her favorite color is black. Jamie Lee Curtis is her idol. Named #46 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement (2005). Was featured as #13 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002) She went to an audition for the part of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man. In one of the specials of the Spider-Man DVD you can see her reading opposite Tobey Maguire. The role later on went to Kirsten Dunst, after Kate Hudson declined the offer. Alicia Witt was actually set to play that part in the end, but when Sam Raimi saw Kirsten Dunst, she was a last minute audition, he chose her. Her maternal grandfather Richard Costley Rasmussen died at March 30th 2006. He was survived by his wife, Barbara Porter Hegsted. Has been working with acting coach, Peter Kelley, since she was a child. Is of Albanian, Danish and Colonial English descent.