Elisha Cuthbert, 43, says she stepped back from acting to spend time with her kids—first during her second pregnancy and later because they’re now in school full time. After years away, she returned with Prime Video’s romance series “Every Year After,” premier
Elisha Cuthbert didn’t quit Hollywood in a quiet, gradual way. She made the decision while her second baby was on the way—after realizing she had spent the previous four years working through her first child, with the kind of effort that leaves little room for anything else.
On the “Today” show. Cuthbert—43. from Canada—told Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones that the turning point came during that pregnancy. “I realized I worked all four years through our first child, and it was really hard,” she said. “So. when we had our second. I just felt like I didn’t want to waste any second of it. and I didn’t want to be on set. I just felt like I needed to be at home with the kids, and I enjoyed every minute.”.
Cuthbert paused her on-screen career for years, and now she’s back in a major role. Her Prime Video series “Every Year After” premiered on June 10, and it is her first significant acting project since 2022.
In the series, Cuthbert plays Sue, the mother of Charlie (Michael Bradway) and Sam (Matt Cornett). Cornett’s character falls in love with Percy (Sadie Soverall). The romance series is based on Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel “Every Summer After.”
Cuthbert said she didn’t know Fortune’s books before taking the role. “It’s crazy because I hadn’t read any of Carley’s books, and then I got on the show,” she said. “Obviously had the script, but I wanted to read the novel. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m a superfan now.’”
She later added that she has read all of Fortune’s books and recommends them to others.
Her return to acting, though, wasn’t just about opportunity—it was also about timing at home. Cuthbert shares two children with her husband. former NHL star Dion Phaneuf: a daughter. Zaphire. born in 2017. and a son. Fable. born in 2022. She said that with both children getting older. the moment felt right to leave the house and step back into filming. “They’re in school now full time,” she said. “I feel like I have the space and the energy and the heart to kind of leave them and do it.”.
That shift also came with a different kind of perspective—one Cuthbert seemed eager to pass on. She said she’s grateful Sadie Soverall. 24. won’t have to endure the same level of fame pressure Cuthbert experienced during the 2000s. “It was a lot of pressure,” she said. “Sadie Soverall. it’s nice that she’s in a time now where she doesn’t have to worry about those things. It’s very different.”.
Cuthbert’s last major project before “Every Year After” was in 2022, when she starred as Andrea in Allan Ungar’s crime film “Bandit.” Her earlier career moved fast: she became a cult icon in the early 2000s after starring in the hit movie “The Girl Next Door.”
She got her start as a child model before making her acting debut in 1996 at age 13 as an extra on the horror series “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” She became a regular on the show in 1999. Her first feature film role came in 1997, when she played Sarah in the Canadian family drama “Dancing on the Moon.”.
She co-hosted “Popular Mechanics for Kids” with Jay Baruchel from 1997 to 2000. then landed a breakout role as Kim Bauer on the hit Fox thriller series “24” in 2001. She went on to star in the 2003 comedy “Old School” and 2005 horror “House of Wax.” Her last major role before her extended break was ending in 2020. when she played Abby Phillips-Bennett on the Netflix sitcom “The Ranch.”.
After the show ended, she took only a few minor roles before stepping away from the spotlight.
The spotlight found her again from another angle. too: during her time away from acting. Cuthbert toyed with changing her life in Los Angeles. She listed her longtime home base in Los Angeles for $3.13 million in July 2025. while offering the dwelling as a $12. 650-a-month rental. She purchased the three-bedroom. two-bathroom home in 2005 for almost $1.65 million. months after appearing in the cult 2004 movie “The Girl Next Door.”.
The residence is located just above the Sunset Strip and behind the Chateau Marmont hotel. sitting above a street-level two-car garage. Its layout includes a recessed entryway opening to a center-hall foyer. and a shared living and dining room with a walk-in wet bar. The home has a den that opens to an all-white kitchen with marble countertops. an apron-front sink. a professional-grade range. and a breakfast nook.
Upstairs, the primary suite includes a luxe bath and Juliet balconies. The home also has hardwood floors, hand-hewn beam ceilings, and accordion-fold glass doors that open to a courtyard patio with a fireplace. The backyard includes a turf-clad plateau with city views.
But property records indicate Cuthbert and her spouse never actually secured a buyer for the residence, which was taken off the market in May of this year. It’s also unclear whether they found a tenant for the home.
Cuthbert didn’t say what prompted her to put the Los Angeles property on the market. Still, she’s known to spend much of her free time in Canada, at a waterfront estate on Prince Edward Island that she and her husband have owned for years.
The through-line in her story is the same whether you’re talking about television or real life: the set could wait, but her children couldn’t. And now that school days are in place, she says she’s finally found the space—both in time and in energy—to return.
Elisha Cuthbert Hollywood quit acting Every Year After Prime Video Dion Phaneuf Zaphire Fable Every Summer After Carley Fortune Bandit The Girl Next Door