During her studies, she found a way to make a little extra money by acting in television commercials. Elisabeth became a common sight in ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellman's mayonnaise. In 1984, she landed a role in the "The Karate Kid" (1984) as the on-screen girlfriend of Ralph Macchio and a role as the teenage daughter of a military family in the short-lived series "Call to Glory" (1984). At this time, Shue got herself an acting coach and transferred to Harvard, where she began studying political science.

She continued her acting work with "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987), "Cocktail" (1988), "Soapdish" (1991) and "The Marrying Man" (1991). Unfortunately, time was catching up with the impressive girl-next-door. Her brother Andrew Shue had almost eclipsed her own fame by landing a starring role in the hit TV series "Melrose Place" (1992). It was at this time that Elisabeth took a chance on a low-budget, high-risk project entitled "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), directed by Mike Figgis.

Her gutsy portrayal of a prostitute mixed up with a suicidal alcoholic paid off as she was recognized with a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards that year. This was the turning point of her career. What followed was a barrage of film roles, including "The Saint" (1997), Woody Allen's "Deconstructing Harry" (1997), "Palmetto" (1998) and "Hollow Man" (2000).

Over forty years of age, Elisabeth still continues to impress with a variety of film and television roles that show off her versatility as an actress and not just her good looks and girl-next-door persona.