In theatre, she appeared opposite Eddie Izzard in Peter Hall 's West End production of Lenny and also in the successful Broadway comedic play Sly Fox and the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Hurlyburly , for which she received critical acclaim. In Candie's Foundation honoured her with a prize for her work raising awareness about the risks and hardships associated with teen pregnancy.
Her mother was a gift-basket business owner and her father was a lawyer. She has an older brother, Jason. Professional stage roles soon followed in regional theatre, earning her an Actors Equity card when she was still in middle school. She also ventured into modeling, initially doing print work for Hudson's and other regional outlets and later appearing in TV commercials for department stores in Atlanta , Milwaukee and Canada. After writing a personal letter to TV producer Norman Lear asking him to make her a star, she received a reply from Lear's assistant, who encouraged her to reach out whenever she was in Los Angeles.
Three years later, during a family vacation in California, she contacted his office and Lear helped her setting up with talent agent Judy Savage, of The Savage Agency. Still a teenager, she joined the New Faces division of Elite Model Management in New York alongside other up-and-coming models like Cameron Diaz [ 15 ] after placing as a finalist in their Look of the Year contest. During the final callback, the producers of the show could not decide whether to cast Tiffani-Amber Thiessen or her for the part of Kelly Kapowski.
The show debuted in August and aired on prime-time for three weeks, before relocating to its designated timeslot on Saturday morning. In she even appeared in Kathryn Bigelow 's Point Break but her small role as a surf shop countergirl was later cut. The transition from small to big screen turned out to be a difficult one, though, [ 26 ] and Berkley worked mainly for television for the following two years, landing roles in Baywatch , Step by Step , Raven , Diagnosis: Murder , Burke's Law and Crossroads.
In the spring of , Carolco Pictures opened the casting for the leads in Paul Verhoeven 's new film Showgirls , the script of which Berkley had retrieved months earlier while the movie was still in development. While on location at Yellowstone National Park , she received the call that she had booked the lead in Showgirls. Verhoeven later remarked: "We didn't have any more hesitation when we met again Elizabeth Berkley. Once the casting announcement was official, Berkley signed with Creative Artists Agency and began an intensive week rehearsal period with choreographer Marguerite Derricks and the dance ensemble hired for the film.
