Elisha Ann Cuthbert (; born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. As a child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids. She made her feature-film debut in the 1997 Canadian family drama Dancing on the Moon. Her first major lead role came in the 1998 drama film Airspeed alongside Joe Mantegna. In 2001, she starred in the movie Lucky Girl, for which she received her first award, the Gemini Awards.
After moving to Hollywood in 2001, she was cast as Kim Bauer in the series 24, her first big role in an American production, alongside Kiefer Sutherland. For this role, she was nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards twice. In 2003, she played Darcie Goldberg in the college comedy Old School and Carol-Anne in Love Actually. Cuthbert received wide recognition for her breakout role as Danielle in the 2004 teen comedy film The Girl Next Door, being nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, and for her next role as Carly Jones in 2005's House of Wax, for which she received two nominations for the Teen Choice Awards, including Best Actress: Action/Adventure/Thriller. Subsequently, Cuthbert appeared in the lead role in the drama The Quiet (2005) and the horror Captivity (2007). This role, along with Are You Afraid of the Dark?, 24 series and House of Wax, established her as a scream queen.
From 2011 to 2013, Cuthbert starred as Alex Kerkovich in the three seasons of the ABC comedy Happy Endings. From 2016 to 2020, she had a recurring role as Abby Phillips on the Netflix series The Ranch, before becoming a main cast member in the series' second season. She received praise for her performance on the Canadian comedy series Jann (2020), being nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Performance in a guest role.
Cuthbert has appeared in numerous magazines, such as Maxim, Complex, and FHM. In 2013, Maxim magazine named her "TV's most beautiful woman".
Contents
Early life
Elisha Cuthbert was born in Calgary, Alberta. Her father worked as an automotive design engineer, and her mother was a homemaker. Cuthbert grew up with her younger brother and younger sister in Greenfield Park, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. As a result, she speaks both English and French.
In 2000, she graduated from Centennial Regional High School and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17. As a child, she participated in Girl Guide programs as a member of Girl Guides of Canada.
Career
Early work
When she was six, Cuthbert began modeling children's clothing while appearing as a foot model.
In 1995, she made her first televised appearance as an extra on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and later became a regular on the show in 1999. Cuthbert co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids with Jay Baruchel, filmed in Montreal. Her reporting captured the attention of Hillary Clinton, who invited her to the White House.
Cuthbert landed a role in a feature film in the family drama Dancing on the Moon (1997). She appeared in other Canadian family films and in an airplane thriller, Airspeed. In 2000, Cuthbert co-starred in Believe, a Canadian film with Ricky Mabe. The following year she starred in the Canadian television movie, Lucky Girl, and was awarded a Gemini Award for her performance.
2000s
Six months after moving to Hollywood, she was cast as 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. Speaking about her experience working on the series, Cuthbert said in 2026: "It's hard to imagine, really, the scope of it. It was a whirlwind, too. I mean, the success of it all was overwhelming and thrilling and exciting. I have great memories of that time, but also, it was really intense too. We were working so much that the one-hour format... especially with all the action and all the intense night shoots, I mean, it was not an easy show to film. It was a well-oiled machine, but it still was a grueling schedule. I don't know if I'd have the energy to partake in that again."
She began her Hollywood film career with small roles in Old School, which grossed $87 million. Cuthbert next appeared in Love Actually, which earned $246.4 million worldwide.
Her first break in a major film role was in 2004, The Girl Next Door. She played an ex–porn star, Danielle, opposite Emile Hirsch. She had reservations about taking the part, but director Luke Greenfield persuaded her to accept the role. Cuthbert did research for the film speaking to adult actresses from Wicked Pictures and Vivid Entertainment. The film was compared to Risky Business, although Cuthbert said her character was not directly based on Rebecca De Mornay's. Critics were divided; some praised the film for boldness, while others, notably Roger Ebert, called it gimmicky and exploitative. Ebert wrote that he saw Cuthbert's character as "quite the most unpleasant character I have seen in some time." The View London said: "Cuthbert is surprisingly good, too – aside from being drop dead gorgeous, she also proves herself a capable comic actress in the Cameron Diaz mould". Cuthbert won two nominations for the MTV Movie Awards for Best Kiss and Best Breakthrough Performance. Reflecting on making the movie, Cuthbert later said in 2026: "When I think about that movie and that character, it feels so foreign to me. It was such a departure for me, and it actually took a lot of confidence to push myself to make that happen. What some people think is me is just so the opposite. I was so nervous, so shy and didn't feel sexy at all for so long but it's still a lovely movie, and I'm proud of it. I'm glad people still enjoy it."
2010s
From April 2011 to May 2013, Cuthbert starred as Alex Kerkovich for three seasons on the ABC ensemble comedy Happy Endings alongside Eliza Coupe, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr., and Casey Wilson. Despite critical acclaim and having a cult following, the show was canceled by ABC after the conclusion of its third season on 3 May 2013. Cuthbert was nominated for the Online Film & Television Association Award in 2012 and 2013 in the category of "Best Cast in a Comedy Series" and TV Guide Awards for Favorite Cast. The series was also nominated for 28 other awards including the Satellite Awards for Best Series comedy television or music. Cuthbert's performance received positive reviews from critics. In 2013, she was regarded as a promising contender for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category, however she was not nominated. In 2026, Cuthbert went on to say that "Happy Endings would probably be the one (project I worked on) that brings a smile to my face the most. It was just a fun time for me. I was in my late 20s, early 30s — it was just a really good place to be. And then to be able to do comedy with five other actors who were all around the same age, it was maybe too much fun. We really had a blast working together on that show."
Around that time, Cuthbert was host of the American Music Awards in 2012. She also appeared in The Gaslight Anthem's music video "Here Comes My Man". Lastly, she appeared on the cover of Maxim, which named her TV's Most Beautiful Woman in 2013.
In February 2014, Cuthbert signed to play the female lead role in Liz Feldman and Ellen DeGeneres' NBC sitcom pilot One Big Happy However, the series was cancelled after one season. In 2015, Cuthbert was cast opposite Seann William Scott in Goon: Last of the Enforcers, a sequel to Goon..
In 2016, Cuthbert joined the cast of Netflix's The Ranch, a comedy series. The show was highly successful and ended in 2020 after four seasons.
2020s
Between 2020 and 2021, she shot and starred in the films Eat Wheaties!, The Cellar, Bandit, and the comedy Friday Afternoon in the Universe. For her performance in the comedy series Jann (2020), she was nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Guest Performance.
After 2021, Cuthbert took a four year hiatus from acting to focus on raising her children, specifically her newborn second child. Cuthbert's first major project post-hiatus was a recurring role on the television series Every Year After (2026). On returning to acting with that project, Cuthbert explained: "The show is so beautiful, and I get to play a mother, which felt correct on so many levels. To come out and be back on a show like this that feels right for me — and Sue is just so joyful and loving and maternal — it all felt really organic and great. It was a nice, smooth transition back to work. It was refreshing."
Public image
After Cuthbert began playing Kim Bauer, she was often included on lists of the "hottest women" published by magazines and websites. Her highest rank in FHM came in 2008, when she was ranked No. 4 on the 100 Sexiest Women in the World list in the UK edition. She was included on Maxim's Hot 100 list ten times between 2002 and 2013. In 2013, Maxim named her the Most Beautiful Woman in Television.
Cuthbert was ranked No. 10 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women of 2007". BuddyTV ranked her No. 33 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011 list, No. 13 in 2012, and No. 30 in 2015. She was included in the list of The 15 Best Comedy Supporting Actresses of the 2011–2012 TV Season and 2012–2013 TV Season. The Canadian Business named her one of the most powerful Canadians in Hollywood, and the New York Daily News listed her as one of the Sexiest Canadian celebrities of 2016.
Complex has ranked her in The 25 Hottest Canadian Women, The 100 Hottest Women of the 2000s, The 25 Hottest Blonde Bombshell Actresses, and The 50 Hottest Celebrity Sports Fans. In 2013, GQ magazine listed her among The 100 Hottest Women of the 21st Century and The 100 Sexiest Women of the Millennium.
Personal life
Cuthbert has two younger siblings and enjoys painting. She is also an ice hockey fan. In 2005, she maintained a blog on the NHL website, though she did not post for most of the season.
Cuthbert and ice hockey player Dion Phaneuf, then the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced their engagement in September 2012 and married on July 6, 2013 at St. James Catholic Church in Summerfield, Prince Edward Island. Living in Ottawa during the ice hockey season, Cuthbert and Phaneuf spend their summers at their waterfront estate outside New London, Prince Edward Island, his parents' home province. The couple have two children, a daughter born in 2017 and a son in 2022. In July 2025, Cuthbert listed her home in Hollywood Hills for $3.2 million.
