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American beauty Mena Suvari was born February
9, 1979, in Newport, Rhode Island. The youngest child of parents Ando,
a retired psychiatrist, and Candice, a nurse, the natural redhead
has three older brothers, who all enlisted in the US army.
Mena, named for an Egyptian godmother (her last name Suvari is after
an Estonian river), began as a model with Wilhelmina. After lying
about her age (she was 12 but claimed she was 13), Mena signed with
the agency and worked as a model for the following 5 years.
While modeling, she balanced her education by attending high school
and finally receiving her high school degree. She moved to Los Angeles
with her parents after she got a job in an ad for Rice-a-Roni.
Before hitting it big in Hollywood, Mena appeared in several hit
television shows. She had two separate roles in Boy Meets World in
1995 and 1996, and appeared in the hospital dramas ER and Chicago
Hope. Mena played a teen infected with HIV on Chicago Hope, a portrayal
which highly impressed critics.
Next up for Suvari: the movies. Although the title of her first film
-- Nowhere (also starring Denise Richards), is exactly where the role
got her...nowhere. Mena's next role won her much critical praise.
Playing the object of a serial killer's affection in the 1997 thriller
Kiss the Girls, which starred Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, Mena
was on her way to becoming one of today's most promising young actresses.
For those who didn't catch her appearance in Kiss the Girls, Mena's
memorable performance as the best friend of the title character, in
The Rage: Carrie 2, made audience members notice.
While the NBC made-for-TV movie Atomic Train -- in which Mena played
Rob Lowe's daughter -- was a bomb, she portrayed virginal choir girl
Heather in last summer's sleeper hit, American Pie. The movie that
made teenage audiences flock to the movies and howl with laughter,
also brought actresses such as Mena Suvari and Shannon Elizabeth into
the spotlight.
From innocent high school girl Heather, to wild child temptress Angela
in American Beauty, Mena proves how broad her acting abilities really
are. In the Oscar winning and critically acclaimed film, American
Beauty, Mena is the object of her best friend's father's (played by
Kevin Spacey) obsession and rose-petaled sex fantasies.
She might not have been nominated for an Oscar, but she did receive
a Best Supporting Actress nomination by the British version of the
Oscars, The British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Returning to her days as a model, Mena has recently appeared on a
slew of magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan and Vanity Fair.
Mena can next be seen in the dark comedy Sugar and Spice, again portraying
a high school cheerleader (this time also robbing banks), and in this
summer's comedy Loser, co-starring pastry loving American Pie co-star
Jason Biggs.
Also the object of an older man's affection in real life, Mena married
38-year-old cinematographer Robert Brinkmann this past March. Interestingly
enough, the age difference between her parents is 24 years.
Whether portraying an innocent choir girl with values or a seductive,
cheerleading Lolita, Mena is only at the beginning of what is blossoming
into a beautiful career.Mena
Suvari Personal videos and photos - Click here!
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