Elisha Cuthbert Biography
Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian film and television actress. Cuthbert is known as the former co-host of the Canadian children's television series Popular Mechanics for Kids. In 1998, she had her first film role in Airspeed. She followed this in 2003 with a role in Old School. Her most prominent role is as Kim Bauer in the American action-thriller television series 24. She is currently starring as Alex Kerkovich on the ABC comedy series Happy Endings.
Cuthbert was born in Calgary, Alberta, the daughter of Patricia, a homemaker, and Kevin, an automotive design engineer. She has two younger siblings, Jonathan and Lee-Ann, and she grew up in Greenfield Park, near Montreal, Quebec. In 2000, she graduated from Centennial Regional High School and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career.
When she was 9, Cuthbert started modeling for various lines of children's clothing and also became a foot model. She made her first televised appearance as an extra in the horror-themed series for children Are You Afraid of the Dark?; she later became a series regular on the show. Cuthbert also co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids, which was filmed in Montreal. Her reporting captured the attention of then–First Lady Hillary Clinton, who invited her to visit the White House.
Cuthbert landed her first role in a feature film in the family drama Dancing on the Moon (1997). She appeared in several other Canadian family-themed movies and an airplane thriller, Airspeed. Cuthbert starred in the Canadian television movie Lucky Girl in 2001 and was awarded a Gemini Award for her performance.
Soon after her move to Hollywood, Cuthbert was cast in the role of Kim Bauer, daughter of federal agent Jack Bauer in the television series 24. She appeared in the show's first three seasons, but not in its fourth; she guest-starred in two episodes in the fifth season. She also reprised her role as Kim Bauer in 24: The Game and again guest-starred in five episodes of the seventh season and in two episodes of the eighth season.
Cuthbert regularly secures a place in FHM and Maxim's annual "hottest women" lists. Her highest ranking was #4 in the 2008 UK Edition of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World list. She was ranked #14 in 2003, #10 in 2004, #5 in 2005, #22 in 2006, #10 in 2007 and #7 in 2009. The U.S. Edition ranked her #53 in 2003, #63 in 2004, and #54 in 2006. She was not listed in the U.S. 2005 list. Cuthbert was ranked #10 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women of 2007." Maxim named her #92 in its 2006 Hot 100 list, #6 in 2008, and #43 in 2009, and the magazine features her in its Girls of Maxim Gallery.
In 2005, she maintained a blog on the NHL website, though she did not post for most of the season.