What began as a means to pay for college fees, eventually paved way for an Academy Award nomination for the American actress Elisabeth Shue, who began working in television commercials only to support for her college fees. Shue, the daughter of James William Shue and Anne Brewster, began appearing in television commercials for brands such as DeBeers and Burger King in the 1980s. She made her acting debut in 1984 with the movie The Karate Kid and won the Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama Award at the 1984 Young Artist Awards. However, one of the most prominent roles of her career came with the 1995 movie Leaving Las Vegas wherein she portrayed the role of a prostitute. For her performance in the movie, Shue was nominated for several awards including the Academy Award for Best Actress and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.

Few of her other movie credits include Back to the Future Part II (1989), Hollow Man (2000), Piranha 3D (2010), House at the End of the Street (2012) and Behaving Badly (2014). Her 2018 releases include the movies Battle of the Sexes and Death Wish.