Early life
Berkley was born in Farmington Hills, Michigan to Jere and Fred Berkley. She is Jewish and had a bat mitzvah. When Berkley was nine years old, she took part in the nation-wide search for the title role in the film version of Annie. After making it to the semi-finals, she was rejected for being "too tall". She attended North Farmington High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan, where she was a good student and also was a member of the school ballet club. She attended college at the University of California at Los Angeles, and she earned her B.A. degree in English in 1995.
Career
Berkley gained prominence for her role as Jessica "Jessie" Spano in the sitcom Saved by the Bell, whom she played from 1989 to 1992. Her character spoke against the objectification of women and had a pro-feminist bent. Aside from her work on Saved by the Bell, Berkley is best known for playing Nomi Malone, the lead character in the infamous 1995 film Showgirls. The sex and nudity-laden movie, given an NC-17 rating in the United States, was a box office bomb, widely panned by critics, and is generally credited with ruining Berkley's movie career. However, as years passed the movie progressively obtained a "so bad it's good" reputation.
As time has put distance between Berkley and the infamous film (and the fact that it had gained cult status among movie buffs), she has gained reasonable critical praise with her performances in smaller roles in independent films like The Real Blonde, Roger Dodger, and Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Berkley received much acclaim for her role as Honey Bruce in the 1999 London stage version of Lenny, opposite Eddie Izzard. She most recently got favorable reviews as Bonnie in the Off-Broadway production of Hurlyburly, which opened on June 11, 2005.
In 2002, she began a recurring role in the third season of the sitcom Titus as Christopher Titus' sister Shannon. The show was cancelled after the season ended. She has been seen largely in dramatic television roles since then, guest starring on series such as CSI, NYPD Blue,Without A Trace, and Threshold. Her most recent appearance was on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She also starred in the Lifetime made-for-television movie, Student Seduction in which she played Christy Dawson, a high school teacher wrongfully accused of sexual harassment by one of her students who becomes obsessed with her.
In October 2006 Elizabeth appeared in the audience of Dancing With the Stars to cheer on friend and former costar Mario Lopez and in an interview with Access Hollywood stated she would like to appear on the show for its 4th Season.
Personal life
Berkley has sectoral heterochromia; her right eye is half green and half brown, and her entire left eye is green. Berkley was the subject of a $45 million lawsuit filed by ex-boyfriend Roger Wilson against Leonardo DiCaprio. It was alleged that DiCaprio bombarded Berkley with messages after spotting her at the promotional party to his film The Man in the Iron Mask and was initially ignored. After encountering Wilson and Berkley outside a New York bar in 1998, DiCaprio allegedly instructed friends to attack Wilson, who suffered a serious throat injury after the subsequent assault. A judge threw out the case in 2004.
On November 1, 2003, Berkley married actor/painter Greg Lauren at the Esperanza Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Greg's uncle Ralph designed her wedding dress, a silk sheath with pearled spaghetti straps. She is a strict vegan and does not wear leather.
Complete filmography
Date
Film
Role
Notes
2005
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Danielle Quinn
TV series
2005
Threshold
Christine Polchek
TV series
2004
Without a Trace
Post-Makeover Lynette Shaw
TV series
2004
Meet Market
Linda
2003
Moving Malcolm
Liz Woodward
2003
Student Seduction
Christie Dawson
TV movie
2003
Detonator
Jane Dreyer
2003
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Renee, Foam Dancer
TV series
2003
Control Factor
Karen Bishop
TV movie
2003
The Twilight Zone
Marisa Sanborn
TV series
2002
Roger Dodger
Andrea
2002
Cover Story
Samantha Noble
2001
Titus
Shannon
TV series
2001
The Shipment
Candy Colucci
2001
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Jill
2001
The Elevator
Celeste
TV movie
2000
Becoming Dick
Maggie
TV movie
2000
NYPD Blue
Nicole Graf
TV series
2000
Jack & Jill
Gabi
TV series
1999
Any Given Sunday
Mandy Murphy
1999
Tail Lights Fade
Eve
1999
Brother's Keeper
Amy
TV series
1999
Last Call
Helena
1999
Africa (film)
Barbara Craig
1998
Random Encounter
Alicia 'Allie' Brayman
1998
The Taxman
Nadia Rubakov
1997
The Real Blonde
Tina
1997
Armitage III: Poly Matrix
Naomi Armitage
Voice
1997
Perversions of Science
Ruth
TV series
1997
A Time to Revenge
Tiffany Whittmar
Scenes deleted
1996
The First Wives Club
Phoebe LaVelle
1995
Showgirls
Nomi Malone
1995
White Wolves II: Legend of the Wild
Crystal Myers
1994
Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas
Jessica 'Jessie' Myrtle Spano
TV movie
1994
Molly & Gina
Kimberly Sweeny
1994
Bandit: Bandit Goes Country
Beth
TV movie
1994
Burke's Law
Heather Charles
TV series
1994
Diagnosis Murder
Shannon Thatcher
TV series
1992
Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style
Jessica 'Jessie' Myrtle Spano
TV movie
1992
Baywatch
Courtney Bremmer
TV series
1992
Step by Step
Lisa Morgan
TV series
1992
Raven
Deborah
TV series
1991
Point Break
Macrame Girl
Scenes deleted
1990
Life Goes On
Selena
TV series
1990
Married People
Isabel
TV series
1990
Valerie
Ashley
TV series
1989 - 1993
Saved by the Bell
Jessica 'Jessie' Myrtle Spano
TV series
1988
Day by Day
Lizabeth
TV series
1988
Platinum Blonde
Unknown
1987
Frog (TV movie)
Kathy
TV movie
1986
Silver Spoons
Melissa
TV series
1986
Gimme a Break!
Unknown
Awards
Preceded by
Stephen Baldwin
Gabriel Byrne
Benicio Del Toro
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Spacey
Chazz Palminteri
Pete Postlethwaite
Suzy Amis
Giancarlo Esposito
for The Usual Suspects
National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble
shared with
Bette Midler
Goldie Hawn
Diane Keaton
Maggie Smith
Dan Hedaya
Sarah Jessica Parker
Stockard Channing
Victor Garber
Stephen Collins
Marcia Gay Harden
Bronson Pinchot
Jennifer Dundas
Eileen Heckart
Philip Bosco
Rob Reiner
James Naughton
Ari Greenberg
Aida Linares
for The First Wives Club
1996
Succeeded by
Ian Holm
Caerthan Banks
Sarah Polley
Tom McCamus
Gabrielle Rose
Alberta Watson
Maury Chaykin
Stephanie Morgenstern
for The Sweet Hereafter
Awards
Preceded by
Sharon Stone
for Intersection (film)
Razzie Award for Worst Actress
for Showgirls
1996
Succeeded by
Demi Moore
for The Juror & Striptease
Footnotes
^ Zimmerman, Gail. "Catch a Rising Star", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2001-08-24. Retrieved on 2006 December 13.
