Elisabeth “Judson” Shue was first seen in the 1982 American made-for-television biographical drama film ‘The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana’ directed by Peter Levin. In 1983, she made her first big-screen appearance in the fantasy drama film ‘Somewhere, Tomorrow’ where she played the role of ‘Margie.’ The following year, she portrayed Ali Mills in the John G. Avildsen-directed American martial arts drama film ‘The Karate Kid.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing over $130.8 million on an $8 million budget. She next starred in films like ‘Link’ (1986), ‘Adventures in Babysitting’ (1987), ‘Cocktail’ (1988), ‘Back to the Future Part II’ (1989), ‘Back to the Future Part III’ (1990), ‘The Marrying Man’ (1991), ‘Heart and Souls’ (1993), ‘Twenty Bucks’ (1993), ‘Radio Inside’ (1994), and ‘The Underneath’ (1995). She played the role of ‘Sera’ in the 1995 American drama film ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ directed by Mike Figgis. The film saw critical acclaim upon release and grossed over $49.8 million on a budget of $3.5–4 million. Shue received several award nominations, including the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations, for her performance in the film. She was next seen in films like ‘The Trigger Effect’ (1996), ‘The Saint’ (1997), ‘Palmetto’ (1998), ‘Cousin Bette’ (1998), and ‘Molly’ (1999).
In 2000, she starred as ‘Linda McKay’ in the Paul Verhoeven-directed science fiction horror film ‘Hollow Man.’ The film, while mostly panned by critics, was a financial success and grossed over $190.2 million on a budget of $95 million. She continued to star in films like ‘Tuck Everlasting’ (2002), ‘Mysterious Skin’ (2004), ‘Hide and Seek’ (2005), ‘First Born’ (2007), ‘Gracie’ (2007), ‘Hamlet 2’ (2008), ‘Don McKay’ (2009), ‘Piranha 3D’ (2010), ‘Janie Jones’ (2010), ‘Waking Madison’ (2011). In 2012, she joined the main cast of the American procedural forensics crime drama television series ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ where she portrayed Julie Finlay. The series ran for 15 seasons and aired its final episode in 2015. She starred as ‘Priscilla Wheelan’ in the 2017 biographical sports film ‘Battle of the Sexes’ directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Even though the film opened to a positive critical reception, it failed to achieve success at the box office. She next appeared in television series and shows such as ‘The Boys’ (2019-2020), ‘Cobra Kai’ (2021), ‘On the Verge’ (2021), and ‘Super Pumped’ (2022). She last appeared in the Episode: "One Plus One Equals Two" of the American adult animated superhero anthology series ‘The Boys Presents: Diabolical’ in 2022.