.
.

Eliza Patricia Dushku (born December 30, 1980 in Watertown, Massachusetts) is an American actress best known for her roles on television, such as her recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel, as well as the main character, Tru Davies, in the series Tru Calling.

Dushku was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, the daughter of Philip R. Dushku, an administrator and teacher in the Boston Public Schools, and ex-wife Judith Rasmussen, a political science professor at Suffolk University in Boston. Dushku's father is Albanian American and her mother is of Danish and English descent. Dushku was raised a mormon, the faith of her mother (though she is not actively practicing). She has three older brothers: Aaron, Benjamin and Nathaniel.

Dushku came to the attention of casting agents when she was 10. She was chosen at the end of a five month search throughout the United States for the lead role of Alice, playing with Juliette Lewis in the film That Night. In 1993, Dushku landed a role as Pearl alongside Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in This Boy's Life, a role that she said opened a lot of doors. The following year, she played the teenage daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies.

Dushku took some time off from acting to finish her junior and senior years of high school.

After completing high school, Dushku returned to acting with the role of Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a Slayer much more troubled than the main character Buffy Summers. Though initially planned as a five episode role, the character became so popular that she stayed on for the entirety of the third season and returned for a two-part appearance in season four, after which the remainder of her original story arc was played out as part of the first season of the Buffy spin-off series Angel. Repentant and rededicated, Faith returned as a heroine in a number of further episodes of Angel and in the last five episodes of Buffy.

In 2000, Dushku starred in Soul Survivors, reuniting her with Race The Sun. In 2001, she appeared in The New Guy and City by the Sea with Robert De Niro. The same year, Kevin Smith invited Dushku to be a part of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where she co-starred with Ben Affleck.

In 2003, she starred in a new Fox TV series, Tru Calling, where she played the main character, medical student Tru Davies. She will play the main character in The Thacker Case and The Alphabet Killer, both based on real-life events and upcoming thrillers.

On August 26, 2007, Dushku signed a development deal with Fox Broadcasting and 20th Century Fox. Under the pact, the network and the studio develop projects tailor-made for the actress. Consequently, it was announced on October 31 that Dushku had lured Joss Whedon, famous for creating the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series, back to TV, as they agreed to create a new show called Dollhouse. Dushku played the main character, Echo, and served as a producer on the show, which aired on Fox during the 2008–09 TV Season.

Dollhouse was renewed for a second season but FOX cancelled Dollhouse on November 11, 2009. The show officially wrapped filming on the second and final season on December 16, 2009.

PHOTOS :