Old School star Elisha Cuthbert, 43, who was also in Girl Next Door and 24, reveals why she ditched Hollywood

Old School actress Elisha Cuthbert has returned to the limelight after taking a hiatus from acting.

The 43-year-old actress – who also starred in the R-rated 2004 rom-com The Girl Next Door – revealed she took a four-year break from acting to focus on her family.

She shares daughter Zaphire, born in 2017, and son Fable, born in 2022, with 41-year-old husband Dion Phaneuf, a former NHL star.

Cuthbert admitted on the Today show, 'I realized I worked all four years through our first child and it was really hard to separate that mom from the working person I was.'

She added, 'When we had our second [child], I just felt like I didn't want to waste any second of it and I didn't want to be on set.

'I just felt like I needed to be at home with the kids and I enjoyed every minute.'

Now the blonde beauty is back to work starring in Prime Video's new show Every Year After, based on Carley Fortune's popular book series.

The doting mom said about her two kids: 'They're in school now full time. I feel like I have the space and the energy and the heart to kind of leave them and [go back to work].'

While preparing for her role in Every Year After, Cuthbert said she became a true fan of the novels.

'It's crazy because I hadn't read any of Carley's books and then I got on the show. [I] obviously had the script, but I wanted to read the novel. And then I'm like, oh, I'm a superfan now,' she told Today hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones.

'So, I read all her books. They're amazing. I recommend them.'

In 2022 the actress admitted she felt 'pressured' to pose for sexy shoots in men's magazines early in her career.

Speaking on the Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson podcast at the time, she said she felt she had 'no option' but to model in racy spreads to promote her movies. 

Cuthbert added that she's unsure about how the images, which are still available online, will affect her children.

'I mean, Halle Berry was doing it, for God's sake… Jennifer Aniston was doing it. We were probably too young to be subjected to that, and feeling pressured to do that,' she reflected. 

'This is what I have to explain to my kids. This weird, bizarre outfit and hair extensions,' she said.

'I was in my early 20s. I didn't look bad, but did I look [like] that? I don't even know if the fantasy's real,' Cuthbert wondered.

Years ago she posed for the likes of FHM and Maxim and ended up on a number of 'hot girl' lists at the time.

She said about the attention: 'It's not like I won an Olympic medal. It was just some list some random magazine decided to create.

'When someone reads my bio, those things come up. They actually don't mean anything in regards to me as a person or my career.'