Eliza Dushku

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Biography

Eliza Dushku was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Judith . 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.

  • Primary profession
  • Actress·producer·executive
  • Country
  • United States
  • Nationality
  • American
  • Gender
  • Female
  • Birth date
  • 30 December 1980
  • Place of birth
  • Watertown· Massachusetts
  • Spouses
  • Peter Palandjian

Movies

TV

Trivia

Was legally emancipated from her parents because of the restrictive laws that limit the hours that a minor is allowed to work.

Younger 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).

The only family with the Dushku surname in the United States of America in 1920 was living in Massachusetts according to US census.

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 directors 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 Dushku 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" .

For a long period of time, she refused to do nude scenes. She once stated "You have a better chance of seeing God than me naked". Still, in 2008, she appeared topless in the film The Alphabet Killer .

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 in Maxims 100 Sexiest Women.

She ranked #44 , #13 , #28 and #63 in Stuffs Sexiest Women.

She ranked #76 in FHM-USAs 100 Sexiest Women.

She ranked #93 , #58 , #48 , #26 , #83 , #38 , #28 , #21 in FHMs 100 Sexiest Women.

While filming Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back , was called Duck Shoot by director Kevin Smith after he mispronounced her last name accidentally.

Hosted the 2005 Winter Venatian Masquerade in New York.

Jamie Lee Curtis is her idol.

Named #46 in FHMs "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement.

Was featured as #13 in Maxim Magazines "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement.

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 , who 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 an acting coach, Peter Kelley , since she was a child.

Elizas father is Albanian. Elizas maternal grandparents were both of half Danish ancestry, and Elizas mothers other ancestry is Irish, English, and German.

Ranked #11 on Wizard magazines "Sexiest Women of TV" list (March 2008).

When she was told her naturally deep, husky voice was destroying her vocal chords, she went to a vocal coach to learn to speak in a higher register.

Says when she was a young child, her best friend lived in a funeral home and they would often hang out in the mortuary after school, thus desensitizing her to the image of dead bodies. She comments, "It was very "Six Feet Under"".

Of the three leads in Bring It On , she was the only one who wasnt a cheerleader in high school.

Her devoutly religious Mormon grandmother once tried to call powerful Hollywood super-agent Michael Ovitz (who headed the agency that then represented Dushku) to complain about a sex scene that her granddaughter participated in on the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" .

Is good friends with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" co-star Julie Benz , although the two never appeared together in an episode of either show. Dushku has said that she would love for Benz to appear in an episode of "Dollhouse" .

Has the words "Lead Kindly Light" as a tattoo. A hymn written in 1833 by John Henry Newman.

She ranked #26 on "Maxims Hot 100 of 2010".

Ranked #38 on FHMs 100 Sexiest Women in the World.

Considers herself a huge Boston Red Sox baseball fan.

Ranked #21 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

She has appeared in episodes of 3 different series with Alexis Denisof : "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" , "Angel" and "Dollhouse" . All 3 series were created by Joss Whedon.

Eliza Dushkus mother, Judith Dushku, is a Professor of Government at Suffolk University.

Supporter of President Barack Obama.

Was in a relationship with Rick Fox from 2009 to 2014.

Is close friends with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

She got hooked on smoking when she was 15 years old, after she had to smoke for a role.

She is a CEO of her own production company Boston Diva Productions.

She was interviewed, for a part in a movie Mel Gibson was producing, when she was eleven. She was also considered for the role of "Paige Matthews" on "Charmed" .

Her height is 5 5" (1.65m) but in "Tru Calling" , Eliza (as Tru) said she was 54" tall, making herself an inch shorter than she really is.

She was a tomboy growing up.

Her favorite movie is The Godfather .

She has always done theater acts. She was part of the Watertown Childrens Theater since she was in the first grade and she still sometimes acts on stage at the Childrens Theatre signing for the deaf. In late 2005, Eliza was in the off Broadway play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

(December 2005) Playing the character of Vans sister in the off-Broadway play "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" at the Century Center for the Performing Arts (New York, New York, USA).

(October 2006) In Spain shooting her new horror movie Open Graves , also co-starring Mike Vogel.

(November 2006) Back in the U.S. after shooting On Broadway , Nobel Son , Open Graves (in Spain), The Alphabet Killer and Sex and Breakfast . Choosing her next role.

Filming "Tru Calling" in Canada.

(October 2005) Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California, shooting Nobel Son .

(August 2009) Filming season 2 of "Dollhouse" in California.

She is of Teutonic Germanic, Celtic, Pelasgian and Illyrian ancestry.

She had a role in the since suspended Gregg Allman biopic, Midnight Rider. Production was halted after 1 crew member killed and 7 others were injured when they were hit by a freight train on the first day of filming.

Endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election of the United States.

(March 8, 2017) Admitted that she is an alcoholic and was a drug addict for a lot of years. She stopped using drugs after many of her friends have died from.

Was once addicted to opiates.

Attending Suffolk University, where shes pursuing a bachelors degree in sociology.[March 2017].

Addressed 8,000 middle and high school students at the first New Hampshire Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness.[March 2017].

Has now been sober for eight and a half years.[March 2017].

Her drug use occurred during her appearances on Buffy, Angel, and Tru Calling.

Quotes

There are a lot of actresses out there who are the girl next door. I,relate more to characters who have an edge.

There is definitely something sexy about a girl with an attitude and a pair of leather pants.

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