Elisha Cuthbert was one of the most recognizable faces of the ’90s and early 2000s, starring in the hit series “24” and movies including “The Girl Next Door” and “House of Wax.”
But after spending much of her life in front of the camera, Cuthbert quietly stepped back from acting to focus on raising her family. Now, the actress is back on screen after taking several years away from Hollywood.
Where is Elisha Cuthbert Today?
The 43-year-old actress, who was one of the most recognizable faces of the early 2000s, has returned to acting this summer with a role in Prime Video’s “Every Year After.”
The eight-episode romantic drama, based on Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel “Every Summer After,” premiered June 10. Cuthbert plays Sue Florek, the mother of Sam Florek, played by Matt Cornett, and a pivotal figure in the life of Percy Fraser, played by Sadie Soverall.
The project marked Cuthbert’s first acting role since 2022, ending a four-year break she intentionally took to focus on raising her family.
“I’ve been at this for a long time. I started when I was 11. And I just got to a point, when my husband and I had our second [child],” Cuthbert told People ahead of the show’s premiere. “I just thought, this is a good time to be with the kids and without any distractions.”
Cuthbert has spent most of her life working in the entertainment industry.
The Canadian actress began acting as a child and appeared on the Nickelodeon series “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” before becoming a host on “Popular Mechanics for Kids.”
Cuthbert eventually moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and landed the role that introduced her to a much larger audience: Kim Bauer, the daughter of Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer, on the Fox thriller “24.”
She later described the experience of joining the hit series as “overwhelming and thrilling.”
Cuthbert’s profile continued to rise during the early 2000s. She appeared in “Old School” and “Love Actually” before starring opposite Emile Hirsch in the 2004 romantic comedy “The Girl Next Door.” The role cemented her status as one of the era’s most recognizable young stars.
She followed it with the 2005 horror movie “House of Wax,” starring alongside Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton and Jared Padalecki.
Cuthbert continued working steadily in the years that followed, including starring roles on the ABC comedy “Happy Endings” and Netflix’s “The Ranch.”
Inside Elisha Cuthbert’s Family Life
According to People, the actress married former NHL player Dion Phaneuf in 2013 after the couple began dating several years earlier. They welcomed daughter Zaphire in 2017 and son Fable in 2022.
Following the birth of their second child, Cuthbert decided it was time to step away from acting.
“Those first four years are — they go by so quickly,” she told People. “They say it’s, like, in the blink of an eye and they’re like teenagers.”
Cuthbert said taking that time away “felt important to me, and just felt right.”
The couple, who are both Canadian, have maintained strong ties to Canada and spend time on Prince Edward Island, where they were married in 2013.
Phaneuf played his final NHL game in 2019 before officially announcing his retirement in 2021.
Cuthbert, meanwhile, has largely kept her two children out of the public eye, making her four-year absence from acting a deliberate departure from the career she began before she was a teenager.
