Eliza Dushku, 12 in That Night

Eliza Patricia Dushku was born December 30, 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts and named after an aunt. Surrounded by brothers, she admits to being quite the tomboy when she was a little girl. Rumor has it Eliza has also studied dancing and singing and was often seen in children's theater, signing for the deaf. Now, 20 years old, she already is considered a veteran of the large and small screen.

Eliza has numerous starring roles in several acclaimed films. She began her movie career in the movie "That Night" at the tender age of twelve, playing Alice Bloom opposite Juliette Lewis. She has starred with such notable players as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro as well Arnold Schwarzeneggar in such major motion pictures as This Boy's Life &

Eliza as Faith on Buffy

True Lies, respectively. More film work from the nineties included the Hallmark TV movie Journey, the Paul Reiser flick Bye Bye, Love and Race the Sun. She began to get older roles, able to look a few years beyond her true age.

After graduating from high school, the then-17-nearly-18 year old Eliza auditioned for television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and won the part of Faith, a Slayer much more troubled than Buffy. The role began in the fall of 1998 and was only supposed to be a short stint, but actress and character soon won over the cast, crew and audience. The role became a recurring one and continued throughout the 1998-1999 season (the third year of BtVS). She has since had guest starred on

Eliza & brother Nate Out on the town

various episodes of both BtVS and its spinoff Angel. She steals every scene she is in.

The movie Bring It On opened #1 in the box office in August 2000. Eliza received second billing as Missy, a tough tumbler turned cheerleader. The movie held strong at the box office, topped in the charts two weeks in a row, then staying in the top ten for a few months' time. With four new films opening in 2001 alone, it's safe to say Eliza will continue to grace the big screen for quite some time.

There's no one quite like Eliza Dushku. An amazing talent, a commanding presence, an outgoing young woman, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Personal
Full Name: Eliza Patricia Dushku
Birthdate: December 30, 1980
Birthplace: Boston Massachusetts
Education: Watertown High Graduate
Siblings: Three older brothers

Favorites
Color: Black
Book: The Godfather
Movie: Beaches
TV Show: Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Music: "...just about everything...Beastie Boys, Lenny Kravitz, Lauryn Hill, Madonna, Korn. I love it all."
Sport: Girls Ice Hockey, New England Patriots
Actor: Robert De Niro.

Other
Eliza's middle name came from being named after her favorite aunt.

Eliza loves hanging with family and friends. "I love my family, my fam is the greatest. Any chance I can get to see them, is the coolest thing."

The tattoo on her right arm that we saw in her role as Faith is not real, but she wants to get a tribute tattoo on her hip when she is 21, for a family member who passed away.

She really enjoys traveling and dancing.

She's "dying to go to the Caribbean or on some cruise." So far, her favourite place is Bondi Beach in New South Wales, Australia.

She has a German shepherd/husky/beagle mix named Korbit, who lives in Utah. She also has "five little fish that are easy to take care of, and they don't bug me."

Her father is a university professor at Boston University

She was legally emancipated from her parents because of strict laws on the hours that a minor is allowed to work.