ELISABETH SHUE was raised in South Orange, New Jersey and is the sister to Melrose Place star Andrew Shue. She says that her motivation to pursue a acting career was to get attention, because she grew up with three brothers and it was a way for her to express herself as an individual.
She began her career in commercials while still a student at Wellesley College. She studied acting with acting coach Sylvie Leigh at the Showcase Theater in New York. She put her studies on hold when she landed a regular role on the critically acclaimed television series Call to Glory with Craig T. Nelson. She then auditioned for and won the leading role opposite Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid.
Though her career had taken off, she refused to forego a college education altogether, and earned admission to Harvard University where she continues to work towards the completion of her degree in Political Science between film projects. While juggling a film career and an education, Shue completed several pictures, including Adventures in Babysitting and Cocktail (with Tom Cruise).
Sometime around 1989, she filmed the popular themepark ridefilm Body Wars for Disney's Epcot Center, in which she starred with Tim Matheson.
Also around that time, she was cast as Jennifer Parker for the two Back to the Future sequels, replacing Claudia Wells. A few years later, she starred with her Back to the Future co-star Christopher Lloyd, in the critically acclaimed film Twenty Bucks.
In 1993, Elisabeth enjoyed a smashing Broadway debut in "Some American Abroad" at the Lincoln Center. Her other stage credits include Tina Howe's "Birth and After Birth", which led her to participate in the development of a new theater group called The Cooperative.
Her television credits include guest appearances on HBO's Dream On and ABC's Anything But Love.
In her spare time, she enjoys gymnastics, soccer, baseball, football, tennis, basketball, and spending time with her dog, Sonny. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, producer Davis Guggenheim, and their son Miles.