Mena Suvari is an American actress, model and fashion designer best known for her role in the the award-winning film American Beauty and in the widely successful comedy films American Pie and its sequel American Pie 2.
The daughter of Greek-American, Candice, who is a nurse, and the Estonian-American, Ando Suvari, who is a psychiatrist, Mena Suvari was born on February 13, 1979 in Newport, Rhode Island. Her family later relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where she attended the exclusive for girls’ school, Ashley Hall. She started to take interest in modeling when a modeling agency offered lessons to her school. At the age of thirteen, she landed a TV commercial for Rice-A-Roni. By the time Mena Suvari started acting, she was already modeling for the New York-based Wilhelmina agency for five years.
Suvari’s early works include her appearances in the television series Boy Meets World and ER. She finally got her big break in 1999 when she starred in the Academy Award-winning film American Beauty as the beautiful and confident girl Angela Hayes. The role earned her a nomination for a BAFTA for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. That same year, she co-starred with Jason Biggs, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Chris Klein, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Alyson Hannigan and Tara Reid in the popular teen comedy film American Pie, playing the choir girl Heather. Suvari was nominated in the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Actress - Newcomer (Internet Only) for her role in the film. She later returned as Heather in the film’s sequel, American Pie 2, which was released in 2001.
In 2000, Suvari reunited with Jason Biggs in the romantic comedy film Loser, in which she played Dora Diamond. This was then followed by her performances in the films The Musketeer in 2001 and Spun in 2002.
In 2004, Suvari earned high critical praises for her portrayal of the lesbian poet and artist, Eddie, in the HBO drama Six Feet Under. Her other films include Day of the Dead and Stuck.