Elisha Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. She became known for playing Kim Bauer in the series 24, Darcie Goldberg in the college comedy Old School, Danielle in the teen comedy film The Girl Next Door, and Carly Jones in the 2005 remake of House of Wax. In 2013, Maxim magazine named her “TV’s most beautiful woman”.
At the age of 14, Cuthbert made her feature film debut in the 1997 family-drama Dancing on the Moon. Her first major lead role came in the 1998 drama film Airspeed (No Control) alongside Joe Mantegna. In 2001, she starred in the movie Lucky Girl, in which she received her first award, the Gemini Awards, but her career began in earnest in the 2000s when she played Kim Bauer, daughter of Jack Bauer in the action series 24. 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 three seasons of the ABC comedy Happy Endings.
When she was nine, Cuthbert started modelling 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 regular on the show. 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.
Soon after her move 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.
She began her Hollywood film career with small roles in Old School, which grossed $87 million. Her next film, Love Actually, earned $246.4 million worldwide.
Cuthbert and hockey star Dion Phaneuf announced their engagement in September 2012, and they married on July 6, 2013 at St. James Catholic Church in Summerfield, Prince Edward Island. Living in Ottawa during the hockey season, Cuthbert and Phaneuf spend their summers at Phaneuf’s waterfront estate outside of New London, Prince Edward Island, in his parents’ home province.
