# Lisa Eilbacher
**Lisa Eilbacher** (full name Lisa Marie Eilbacher) is an American retired actress, born in 1956 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, best known for playing Casey Seeger in *An Officer and a Gentleman* (1982) and Jenny Summers in *Beverly Hills Cop* (1984)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/). She worked in film and television from childhood until her last credited role in 1995[3](https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/39510/lisa-eilbacher-beverly-hills-cop-whatever-happened/%255D%255D/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, daughter of an American oil company executive[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) |
| Signature roles | Casey Seeger in *An Officer and a Gentleman* (1982); Jenny Summers in *Beverly Hills Cop* (1984)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/) |
| Career span | Active 1972–1995, from *The War Between Men and Women* to *919 Fifth Avenue*[4](https://cinegraph.org/people/lisa-eilbacher) |
| Television work | Guest and series roles including *Wagon Train*, *Gunsmoke*, *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries*, *The Winds of War* (1983), and *Midnight Caller* (19 episodes, 1990–1991)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/) |
| Spouse | Photographer Bradford May, married August 27, 1988[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) |
| Siblings | Cindy Eilbacher and Bobby Eilbacher, both also actors; all three had left the business by 1995[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) |
## Early life
Eilbacher was born in Saudi Arabia, where her father worked as an oil company executive, and spent her most formative years in Paris[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/). She was one of five children, and the family moved to [Beverly Hills, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/beverly-hills-california), when she was seven[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/). A talent agent spotted her while she was out walking with her mother, and the French-speaking girl began perfecting her English in television commercials and on TV westerns such as *Wagon Train*, *Gunsmoke*, *Laredo*, and *Bonanza*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/). She had no formal acting training; before working on each show she relied on instruction from her mother, and in a 1987 interview with the Anderson Independent Mail she said, "I really believe that no one can teach anyone to act"[3](https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/39510/lisa-eilbacher-beverly-hills-cop-whatever-happened/%255D%255D/).
As a teenager her father required her to hold a "real job" before continuing on-camera work, and she spent a summer working at [Taco Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/taco-bell)[3](https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/39510/lisa-eilbacher-beverly-hills-cop-whatever-happened/%255D%255D/).
## Film and television career
Her early screen credits include the feature *The War Between Men and Women* (1972), starring [Jack Lemmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-lemmon) and Barbara Harris, in which she played Caroline Kozlenko[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/228162). After high school she starred in *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries* (1977), and her television films of the late 1970s and early 1980s included *The Ordeal of Patty Hearst* (1979), in which she played [Patty Hearst](https://www.edgepedia.org/patty-hearst), *Love for Rent* (1979), *To Race the Wind* (1980), and *This House Possessed* (1981)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lisa_eilbacher).
**1980s prominence.** Two roles defined her screen reputation. In [Taylor Hackford](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-hackford)'s *An Officer and a Gentleman* (1982) she played Casey Seeger, the Navy cadet who could not make it over the wall on the obstacle course; she said the hardest part of the role was pretending she was out of shape[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/). In *Beverly Hills Cop* (1984) she played Jenny Summers, an art dealer and friend of [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy)'s Axel Foley who becomes a resourceful ally in his investigation[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/) • [7](https://www.looper.com/171922/what-the-cast-of-beverly-hills-cop-looks-like-today/). Other film roles of the decade include Laurie Kessler in *10 to Midnight* (1983) and Bridget Bowman in *Leviathan* (1989)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/). In miniseries she appeared in *The Winds of War* (1983) opposite [Robert Mitchum](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-mitchum) and *Monte Carlo* (1986) with Malcolm McDowell[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/).
**1990s and retirement.** She played Nicky Molloy in 19 episodes of the series *Midnight Caller* (1990–1991) and continued in television movies including *Deadly Matrimony* (1992), *Live Wire* (1992) with [Pierce Brosnan](https://www.edgepedia.org/pierce-brosnan), and *Joshua's Heart* (1990)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/). Her final credited roles came in 1995, in *Dazzle*, *The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A.*, and *919 Fifth Avenue*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lisa_eilbacher). After 1995's *919 Fifth Avenue* she appears to have made a conscious decision to step away from the Hollywood spotlight[3](https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/39510/lisa-eilbacher-beverly-hills-cop-whatever-happened/%255D%255D/).
## Other notes
She auditioned for the role of [Princess Leia](https://www.edgepedia.org/princess-leia) in *Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope* (1977)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/). In a 1977 interview with the Los Angeles Times she said, "I have a karate lesson this afternoon. The way things are today, I feel safer knowing how to defend myself"[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/). Most reference sources give her birth date as 1956, though the 1987 International Television Almanac lists 1954[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lisa_eilbacher) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1987/International-Television-Almanac-1987-Whos-Who.pdf).
## References
1. [Lisa Eilbacher - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/bio/)
2. [Lisa Eilbacher, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002060/)
3. [Whatever Happened to 'Beverly Hills Cop' Star Lisa Eilbacher?, Remind Magazine](https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/39510/lisa-eilbacher-beverly-hills-cop-whatever-happened/%255D%255D/)
4. [Lisa Eilbacher, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/people/lisa-eilbacher)
5. [Lisa Eilbacher, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/228162)
6. [Lisa Eilbacher, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/lisa_eilbacher)
7. [What The Cast Of Beverly Hills Cop Looks Like Today, Looper](https://www.looper.com/171922/what-the-cast-of-beverly-hills-cop-looks-like-today/)
8. [International Television Almanac 1987, Who's Who](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1987/International-Television-Almanac-1987-Whos-Who.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Do to Es*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license