Detailed Biography

Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, model, fashion designer and spokeswoman, best known for her role as Angela in American Beauty , as well as the comedies American Pie and its sequel American Pie 2 .

Biography

Early life

Suvari was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the daughter of Candice, a Greek American nurse, and Ando Süvari, an Estonian-American psychiatrist. She has three older brothers, one of them in the United States Army. She began modeling as a preteen and soon after starred in a Rice-A-Roni commercial.

The family later relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where her three older brothers attended The Citadel. Meanwhile, Mena was entertaining dreams of becoming an archaeologist, astronaut or doctor, when a modeling agency stopped by her all-girls school, Ashley Hall, to offer classes. By the time she started acting, she had been modeling for the New York-based Wilhelmina agency for five years.

Career

Suvari made appearances in television shows such as Boy Meets World and ER at the age of fifteen and sixteen respectively. In 1999, she starred in the Oscar-winning American Beauty and the popular American Pie. Suvari was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, for her role in American Beauty.

She followed these movies with roles in Loser , The Musketeer , and Spun . Suvari also became a recurring character in the fourth season of the critically acclaimed HBO serial Six Feet Under in 2004, as lesbian performance poet and artist, Edie. Suvari was nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Actress - Newcomer " in 2000 for American Pie.

In 2006, Suvari performed the voice role of Aerith Gainsborough in the Square Enix/Disney video game Kingdom Hearts II and the English-language version of Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.

She has lead roles in the remake of the zombie movie Day of the Dead as well as Stuart Gordon's controversial film Stuck.

In 2000, Suvari starred in the music video for the Wheatus song Teenage Dirtbag with her Loser co-star Jason Biggs.

Fashion

Suvari is a model for Lancôme cosmetics and print ads for Lancôme Paris Adaptîve. She has been featured in fashion magazines such as Vogue.

Suvari has collaborated with Echo Design to launch a limited-edition three scarf collection. The project features her own nature-inspired photography, digitally screened on silk and silk chiffon as wearable art. The collection depicts trees in three stages of foliage from fall to winter; a portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In June 2007, Suvari shaved her head for her lead role in the forthcoming movie adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Garden of Eden; photos appeared on the Internet rapidly.

Personal life

Her first name is that of a hotel in Egypt, given to her by her godmother. Suvari married German-born cinematographer Robert Brinkmann on March 4, 2000. Brinkmann is seventeen years her senior. On April 24, 2005, Suvari filed for legal separation, citing irreconcilable differences; the divorce was finalized in May 2005. After her divorce she began dating dancer Mike "Murda" Carrasco, but they broke up after dating for several months. In 2007, Suvari began dating Italian-Canadian concert promoter, Simone Sestito. Suvari and Sestito became engaged in July of 2008 during a vacation to Jamaica.

Suvari plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Starlight Children's Foundation.

She is also active in female empowerment issues. She is involved with several charities whose cause is breast cancer, the "End Violence Against Women" campaign, and tours high schools as a "Circle Of Friends" spokesperson, encouraging teenagers to quit smoking.