Eliza Patricia Dushku was born in the dawn of 1980 on December 30th of that year to a Mormon family in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents are both college professors and she has three older brothers, whom she says used to terrorize her and taught her to become a tomboy, but she must have forgiven them as she still lives with her oldest brother Nate today.

At the age of twelve she already proved herself better than every waiter in Los Angeles when she made her way onto the silver screen in the 1992 film, That Night. The film wasn't a box-office smash, but it did lead to a role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in 1993's This Boy's Life.

Eliza recalls how she is "forever grateful" to DiCaprio, a former child actor himself, for teaching her to deal with bullies and petty jealousy from fellow classmates.

Other roles followed (mostly daughter roles), including Arnold Schwarzeneggerand Jamie Lee Curtis' offspring in James Cameron's 1994 blockbuster, True Lies and Paul Reiser's daughter in 1995's Bye Bye, Love

Eliza took a few years off from acting in order to bring up her grades and finish her junior and senior years at Watertown High School. But only a few months after graduation in 1998, she landed back in fictional high school as Faith in the cult hit, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Originally introduced in the third episode of the third season, Faith was never meant to become a permanent member of the show, but an overwhelming response from Buffy fans convinced the producers to sign Eliza on for the rest of the season, and eventually evolved Faith into a full-time character.

She has even found time on the Buffy spin-off, Angel. As a side note, Eliza legally separated from her parents in order to surpass child labor laws, which dictate the number of hours that actors who aren't yet eighteen can work.

Since then, the sexy brunette has become an important star in the teen world, with roles in last year's cheerleader blockbuster Bring it On (waving those pompoms with Kirsten Dunst; Kevin Smith's irreverent hit Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; and the horror flick Soul Survivors.

As for relationships, she is involved with a Ralph Lauren model named Colby, who's probably much better looking than all of us. Maybe once she breaks up with him, Eliza will be looking for smart guys like us who can spell her last name properly (Dushku!).

In the meantime, we can rejoice in the fact that the future is holding some big things for Eliza Dushku in her burgeoning film career. Apart from the films to her credit in 2001, she's also slated to star in City by the Sea with Robert De Niro in 2002.

Whether you're lounging around watching TV or going to the movies, you'll be sure to catch more of this rising star.