Rise to Fame
A six-week ultimatum to herself at 17 was the whole plan. Cuthbert moved to LA from Canada in 1999, gave herself a deadline to get cast or go home, and got the call for 24 in week five. Playing Kim Bauer for three main seasons made her a household name, the kind of role that lands you on Maxim covers before anyone asks whether you can act. She'd already won a Gemini Award for Lucky Girl back in Canada, but the 24 fame was faster and louder than anything the Canadian industry could offer.
In the Spotlight
The cult comedy crowd found her on Happy Endings, where she played the ditzy-but-charming Alex for three seasons before ABC canceled it in 2013 despite strong reviews. Since then, she's been deliberately hard to find. Ottawa, two kids, an NHL husband, and summers on Prince Edward Island. In 2025, the Hollywood Hills house went on the market for $3.2 million. Amazon's Every Year After marks her biggest TV return in years, but the Hollywood she left seems fine with that arrangement.
Side Notes
Before Hollywood, she co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids alongside a teenage Jay Baruchel, a Canadian kids' science show that reportedly earned her a White House invitation from Hillary Clinton. She grew up in Quebec and is fluent in French, a detail that rarely comes up. Her Instagram handle is her married name (elishaphaneuf), not a stage name, which tells you something. She married Dion Phaneuf, a former NHL defenseman who played for Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Los Angeles, in July 2013 on Prince Edward Island, and hasn't looked back.