Elisha Cuthbert was born in Canada and grew up in Montreal, Quebec. Her father is an automotive design engineer and her mother a homemaker. She has a younger brother and sister. As a child, Elisha Cuthbert was a foot model for children's clothing.

She attended Centennial Regional High School and graduated in 2000. She was interested in acting and her first appeared on the television show "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" (1991) in 1996, and became a regular in the role of Megan in 1999. Elisha also co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids for 3 years. In 2001, she won a Gemini Award for her performance in the Canadian television movie Lucky Girl, Canada's equivalent of an Emmy.