Eliza Dushku facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eliza Dushku
Dushku in 2012
Born	Eliza Patricia Dushku (1980-12-30) December 30, 1980 (age 44) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Citizenship	United States, Albania
Education	Watertown High School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–2024 (acting)
Known for	Buffy the Vampire Slayer Dollhouse Tru Calling True Lies
Spouse(s)	Peter Palandjian ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Judy Dushku (mother)

Eliza Patricia Dushku (born December 30, 1980) is a retired American actress. She is famous for playing Faith on the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. A spin-off is a new show that features characters from an earlier show.

Dushku also starred in the TV series Tru Calling and Dollhouse, where she was also a producer. As a producer, she helped make important decisions about the show. She has acted in many movies, including True Lies, Bring It On, and Wrong Turn. She has also been a voice actress for video games and cartoons.

Early Life and Family

Eliza Dushku was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in the nearby town of Watertown. She is the youngest of four children. Her mother, Judy Dushku, was a political science professor, and her father, Philip Dushku, was a school teacher. Her father's family came from the country of Albania.

Her mother was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Eliza and her brothers were raised in the church. She went to Beaver Country Day School and later graduated from Watertown High School.

Acting Career

How Her Career Started

Eliza Dushku in 2004

Dushku's acting talent was noticed when she was only ten years old. After a five-month search, she was cast in her first movie, That Night, in 1992. A year later, she acted alongside famous actors Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie This Boy's Life.

In 1994, she played the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in the action movie True Lies. She also appeared in other films like Bye Bye Love (1995) and Race the Sun (1996).

Becoming Famous with Buffy

Dushku became very well-known for her role as Faith on the popular TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She joined the show in 1998. At first, her character was only supposed to be in three episodes. But fans loved Faith so much that she stayed for the entire third season.

Because she was still a teenager when she started on Buffy, she had to get special permission from a judge to work the long hours required for filming. This is called emancipation of minors. She later returned to Buffy for more episodes and also appeared as Faith on the spin-off show Angel.

Dushku at a comic convention in Philadelphia (May 2004)

In 2000, Dushku starred in the popular cheerleading comedy Bring It On. She also appeared in movies like The New Guy and City by the Sea with Robert De Niro.

Leading Roles in TV and Film

In 2003, Dushku starred in the supernatural TV show Tru Calling. She played Tru Davies, a medical student who works in a morgue and discovers she can go back in time to save people's lives. She also starred in the horror movie Wrong Turn that same year.

Dushku often played "bad girl" characters in her roles. She once said in an interview that it was easy to play a bad girl because "you just do everything you've been told not to do."

Dushku at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007

She also worked in theater, appearing in an Off-Broadway play called Dog Sees God in 2005. She has appeared in music videos for the bands Simple Plan and Nickelback.

From 2009 to 2010, Dushku starred in and produced the science fiction series Dollhouse. The show was created by Joss Whedon, who also created Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the show, she played Echo, a character whose personality could be erased and replaced with new ones for different missions.

Voice Acting and Later Work

Dushku has lent her voice to many projects. She voiced characters in video games like Yakuza, Saints Row 2, and WET.

She was also the voice of She-Hulk in the animated Disney XD series Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. from 2013 to 2015. In 2017, she had a role in the TV series Bull. In September 2024, Dushku confirmed that she had retired from acting.

Life Outside of Acting

Education and New Career

Dushku at a fashion event in 2009

After a successful acting career, Dushku decided to go back to school. In 2014, she moved from Los Angeles back to the Boston area to attend college. She studied sociology at Suffolk University and later studied holistic psychology at Lesley University, graduating in 2020.

She continued her studies and earned a master's degree in counseling and clinical mental health in June 2025. Dushku is now a certified therapist. She focuses on helping people who have experienced difficult events and supports the use of special therapies for mental health treatment.

Family and Personal Life

Dushku dated former basketball player Rick Fox from 2009 to 2014. In 2017, she got engaged to businessman Peter Palandjian, and they were married in August 2018. The couple has two sons, born in 2019 and 2021.

Dushku at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto, 2011

Helping Others

Dushku is involved in charity work. She is on the board of directors for an organization called THRIVE-Gulu, which helps war survivors in Northern Uganda. Her mother and stepfather helped start the organization.

She has also raised money for Camp Hale, a summer camp that her father and brothers attended. She helped create a special session for girls at the camp, which started in 2012.

Albanian Roots

Dushku is proud of her Albanian heritage. In 2006, she visited Albania after being invited by the country's Prime Minister. In 2011, she applied for and received Albanian citizenship. She is now an honorary citizen of Tirana, the capital city, and her father's hometown of Korçë. She and her brother made a documentary about their visit called Dear Albania.

Dushku at Wizard World in 2014

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Eliza Dushku para niños