[6][7] Shue's mother is a descendant of Pilgrim leader William Brewster while her father's family emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 19th century.

She then transferred to Harvard University in 1985, from which she withdrew to pursue her acting career (she was inspired by a friend to work in television commercials as a way to pay for college) one semester short of earning her degree.

[13] She had small parts, credited as Lisa Shue, in The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982) and Somewhere, Tomorrow (1983) which provided an early starring role for Sarah Jessica Parker.

[16] The following year, Shue returned to cinema where she appeared in the comedies The Marrying Man with Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin, and Soapdish with Sally Field, Robert Downey Jr., Kevin Kline, Cathy Moriarty, and Whoopi Goldberg.

[17] Although often cast as a girl-next-door type, in a career-defining role Shue starred as a prostitute in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas with Nicolas Cage.

Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (1996) showcased her comedic abilities amongst heavyweight co-stars Billy Crystal, Demi Moore, Robin Williams and Stanley Tucci.

The thriller Palmetto (1998) afforded her the chance to play a film noir-ish femme fatale opposite Woody Harrelson; Shue co-starred in Cousin Bette (1998) with Jessica Lange, and Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man (2000) with Kevin Bacon proved another summer blockbuster.

In 1999, Shue starred as the titular Molly as an autistic young woman placed into the care of her unwilling bachelor brother, played by Aaron Eckhart.

Shue played a mother that reveals her dark past to her teenaged daughter in the 2001 ABC movie Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy and Isabelle.

Andrew also appeared as the soccer coach, and her previous co-star from The Trigger Effect Dermot Mulroney played the father of the main character.

Andrew initially conceived of it as a story about their late brother William, the oldest Shue sibling, who was the captain of the high school soccer team; he died in a freak accident while the family was on a vacation in 1988.

In 2009, Shue appeared on the seventh season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm as an actress competing with Cheryl Hines's character for the part of George's ex-wife for the Seinfeld reunion.

She also played the former groupie mother of Abigail Breslin in Janie Jones and a psychologist in Waking Madison alongside Sarah Roemer and Imogen Poots.

In 2012, Shue appeared in three wide-release theatrical films: the thriller House at the End of the Street with Jennifer Lawrence; Curtis Hanson's Chasing Mavericks opposite Gerard Butler; and David Frankel's Hope Springs as Karen the bartender in a cameo scene with Meryl Streep.

The year 2012 also marked Shue's return to television in a series regular role when she joined the cast of Season 12's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Julie Finlay opposite Ted Danson, and replacing Marg Helgenberger.

She had originally signed on as a tennis adviser for the film which recounts the 1973 showdown between female player Billie Jean King and former men's champ Bobby Riggs.

That same year, she reprised her Karate Kid role as Ali Mills for a guest appearance in the sequel series, Cobra Kai, alongside her original co-stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka.