Eliza Patricia Dushku (; born December 30, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Faith in the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1998–2003) and its spin-off series Angel (2000–2003). She also had lead roles in the Fox supernatural drama series Tru Calling (2003–2005) and the Fox science fiction series Dollhouse (2009–2010), for which she was a producer.Dushku had starring roles in various films, including True Lies (1994), Bye Bye Love (1995), Bring It On (2000), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), The New Guy (2002), Wrong Turn (2003), On Broadway (2007), The Scribbler (2014), Jane Wants a Boyfriend (2015), and Eloise (2016). She has also done voice work for numerous video games and animated films.
“What was Eliza Dushku’s early life like?”
Dushku was born as the youngest of four children in Watertown, Massachusetts. She is the only daughter of Philip Richard George Dushku, a school teacher and administrator, and Judy Dushku (born Rasmussen), a political science professor. Born to a Boston-native father of Albanian descent and an Idaho-native mother with Danish, English, Irish, and German origins, Dushku’s parents divorced even before her birth. Her mother belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and raised Dushku along with her three brothers in the same faith. She received her education from Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts before graduating from Watertown High School.
What is Eliza Dushku’s career?
What Production Work Has Eliza Dushku Done?
In August 2011, Dushku embarked on a journey to Albania, her father’s homeland, accompanied by a team from the Travel Channel and Lonely Planet. They were there to shoot Dear Albania, a documentary aimed at promoting tourism in Albania. Dushku operates Boston Diva Productions, her own production company where she serves as CEO and collaborates with her brother Nate.
She obtained exclusive rights for an authorized film about the life of renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The project, which was once tentatively titled The Perfect Moment, took over a decade to develop. Eventually, with assistance from Ondi Timoner and Matt Smith portraying the lead role of Mapplethorpe, the film was released in 2018.
In 2017, it was announced that Boston Diva Productions would be partnering with IM Global Television to adapt Glen Cook’s The Black Company book series into a TV show. There was speculation that Dushku might star as The Lady in this series.
What is known about Eliza Dushku’s personal life?
Dushku was brought up in the Mormon faith and continues to display her religious background through a Mormon-themed tattoo. Despite diverging from the path of the LDS Church, she expresses gratitude for her upbringing within it. For over 15 years, Dushku resided in Los Angeles, while also spending significant time in Watertown and Boston prior to her stepfather’s death. She spent several years living in Laurel Canyon.
In May 2009, Dushku appeared nude in Allure magazine. Although she initially planned to attend college in Boston before landing a role on Buffy which disrupted those plans, Dushku announced at the Emerald City Comicon in March 2014 that she intended to pursue higher education later that year. On June 22, 2014, The Boston Globe confirmed that Dushku had relocated from Los Angeles back to Watertown near Boston and had plans to attend college.
By 2016, Dushku was enrolled at Suffolk University where she studied sociology. In 2019, Boston Magazine reported that she was pursuing studies in holistic psychology at Lesley University from where she graduated in 2020. Besides her academic pursuits, Dushku is politically active and supported Bernie Sanders during the U.S. presidential elections of 2016.
What are Eliza Dushku’s relationships like?
In October 2009, Dushku started a relationship with Rick Fox, a former basketball player for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. By August 2010, they had confirmed they were cohabitating. However, on June 24, 2014, it was revealed that they had parted ways. Dushku later got engaged to businessman Peter Palandjian in June 2017 and they tied the knot on August 18, 2018. The couple welcomed their first son in August 2019. Dushku took to Instagram in February 2021 to announce her second pregnancy and by August of the same year, they had their second son.
What is Eliza Dushku’s involvement in activism?
Dushku is a board member of THRIVE-Gulu organization, a non-profit dedicated to aiding war survivors, including former child soldiers, in Northern Uganda. This organization was co-founded by her mother and stepfather. She has contributed significantly to the organization, raising $30,000 for land acquisition for the center’s building and participating in other fundraising activities as well as lending a hand in the center itself. Dushku’s activism earned her an invitation to speak as a national keynote speaker by Millennium Campus Network (MCN) and she was also honored with the Global Generation Award alongside U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at MCN events in 2011. Dushku also fundraised over several years for Camp Hale- attended by her father and brothers- specifically advocating for a girls’ session at the camp which began in 2012 and which she attended personally.
Does Eliza Dushku have Albanian citizenship?
In 2006, Dushku paid a visit to her father’s family and their home city in Albania, following an invitation from the country’s Prime Minister, Sali Berisha. Besides Albania, she also made a trip to Kosovo and had an Albanian Eagle tattoo engraved on the back of her neck. During her second trip to Albania in 2011, she proceeded to apply for Albanian citizenship, successfully securing both an Albanian passport and ID Card. Mayor Lulzim Basha of Tirana honored Dushku by making her an honorary citizen of the city and bestowing upon her the title of Tirana Ambassador of Culture and Tourism in the World. Not only was she granted honorary citizenship in Tirana but also in Korçë, her father’s hometown. Alongside her brother Nate, Dushku produced a film titled Dear Albania which documented their shared visit to the country.
Are there sexual molestation and harassment allegations against Eliza Dushku?
In January 2018, actress Eliza Dushku disclosed an incident of molestation by Joel Kramer, a stunt coordinator, during her time on the set of True Lies at the age of 12. Dushku stated that an adult friend confronted Kramer about the incident on her behalf. On that same day, she was injured during a stunt which led to several broken ribs while under Kramer’s watch. Kramer denied the allegations of sexual misconduct.
A year later in January 2019, CBS paid $9.5 million to Dushku as a settlement after she was dismissed from her recurring role on Bull. Her dismissal happened after she reported alleged inappropriate behavior by Michael Weatherly, the series lead, to producers. Official mediation documents revealed Weatherly was filmed making inappropriate comments and jokes about Dushku including suggestive remarks about spanking and soliciting a threesome. After voicing her concerns with producers, Weatherly expressed his wish to discuss Dushku’s sense of humor with David Stapf, president of CBS Television Studios but was discouraged from doing so by Stapf who praised Dushku for enhancing the show.
Glenn Caron, the showrunner then terminated what could have been a regular role for Dushku on Bull in spite of objections from studio executives. The settlement amount compensated for lost earnings due to her planned promotion to series regular after her three-episode guest appearance stint on the show.
In December 2018, when news broke about the settlement, Weatherly issued a public apology for his comments which Dushku responded to stating he had violated their agreement by speaking publicly and labeled his apology as mere deflection and denial.
Fast forward to November 2021, Dushku testified before the House Judiciary Committee regarding her sexual harassment claims during her tenure on Bull. Earlier in February 2021, she had shown solidarity towards Charisma Carpenter following allegations of abuse against Buffy creator Joss Whedon.
What is Eliza Dushku’s Approach to Health?
Dushku has openly shared that she lives with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In December 2011, she revealed that after watching the documentary, Forks Over Knives, she had converted to a vegan diet. However, by December 2014, Dushku had renounced her vegetarian lifestyle. Several years later, in March 2017 at a Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness, Dushku disclosed her past struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction which began when she was just 14. She confessed that her addictions were once so severe that her brother prohibited her from being alone with his daughter Sofia. At the time of sharing this information publicly, Dushku had achieved eight-and-a-half years of sobriety.
What is Eliza Dushku’s Filmography?
What role does television play in Eliza Dushku’s career?
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What are the honors received by Eliza Dushku?
Maxim magazine ranked Dushku as the 6th woman in their “Hot 100 Women of 2009” list. In October 2011, she was appointed as the Ambassador for the Entertainment Matters program at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show.
