Mena Suvari Biography
Summary
"Mena Adrienne Suvari" (born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, model, designer and spokeswoman. She is perhaps best known for her work in "American Beauty" (1999) and the first two "American Pie" films.
Biography
Early life
Suvari was born in Newport, Rhode Island to Ando Süvari, an Estonian psychiatrist, and Candice, a Greek nurse. By the age of twelve, Suvari was modeling; she starred in a Rice-a-Roni commercial by the age of thirteen. Attended Providence High School, in Burbank, California, class of 1997.
Suvari spent her early years in a stone mansion, built in 1870, that she insists was haunted. She and her brothers saw several apparitions over the years, all of which she believed were friendly. The family later relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where her three older brothers lined up to attend the Citadel (a military college). Mena, meanwhile, was entertaining dreams of becoming an archaeologist, astronaut, or doctor, when a modeling agency stopped by her all-girls school to offer classes. At age 12, after receiving a few pointers on her runway strut, Suvari attended a modeling convention and was snapped up by the New York-based Wilhelmina agency.
Career
Suvari made appearances in television shows such as "Boy Meets World" and "ER" at the age of fifteen and sixteen respectively. In 1999, Suvari 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: "American Beauty".
She followed these movies with roles in such movies as "Loser" (2000), "The Musketeer" (2001), and "Spun" (2002). Suvari is the only actress to appear in three consecutive movies that start with the word 'American': "American Pie" (1999), "American Beauty" (1999), "American Virgin" (2000). 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 (Internet Only) in 2000 for American Pie".
In 2006, she took the voice role of Aeris Gainsborough in the Square Enix/Disney video game "Kingdom Hearts II", as well as the English-language version of Square Enix's "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children". She has lead roles in the upcoming remake of the zombie movie "Day of the Dead" as well as Stuart Gordon's controversial film "Stuck".
In early August 2007 the first pictures of Suvari as a bald were published in many gossip websites. Suvari's representative has revealed the actress shaved off her locks in June while she was shooting a movie adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "Garden of Eden" in Spain. In the film, the actress plays a beautiful bored newlywed who falls for a sultry Italian girl while she is honeymooning in Europe. She has a lead role in the film. Suvari says she fulfilled a long-standing ambition by losing her hair. She explained: 'I was really excited to get to shave my head - it's something I'd wanted to do for a while and now I had a good excuse. It was nice to shed that level of vanity for a girl.?
Fashion
Suvari is a model for Lancôme cosmetics and print ads for Lancôme Paris Adaptîve (2004). She has been featured in many fashion blogs and magazines such as "Vogue".
Echo Design, (... more) , is collaborating with Suvari to launch a limited-edition three scarf collection. Suvari has gotten all wrapped up in the project, which features her own nature-inspired photography. The photographs are digitally screened on silk and silk chiffon, allowing Suvari's work to be reproduced as wearable art. The collaboration depicts trees in three stages of foliage-from the bright yellow leaves of fall to the barren grey branches of a winter scene. The collection, which will retail for approximately $115 (for the oblong shape) to $198 (for the square shapes), will be available beginning in September at www.echodesign.com, as well as at select retailers. Suvari was seen promoting the new line at Bloomingdales in early September 2007. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will go to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In August 2007 Suvari told: 'Basically, I have been very interested in fashion for a long time and the idea of designing something myself had been milling about in my head. It was a very organic process. Echo was willing to work with me on something and I was familiar with their line and excited about it. They wanted to do a set and from there I tried to come up with the theme. That's how the ball got rolling'.
In October 2007 Suvari appeared topless in Italian Vanity Fair magazine.
Personal life
Suvari married German-born cinematographer Robert Brinkmann on March 18, 2000. The marriage was notable as Brinkmann is 18 years older than Suvari. However, Suvari filed for legal separation from Brinkmann on April 24, 2005, citing irreconcilable differences. The two divorced in May of the same year. In summer 2005, she began dating professional breakdancer Mike 'Murda' Carrasco
, a member of Knuckle Head Zoo. They met in October 2005 in Braunschweig, Germany.
Suvari's favorite style of music is Reggae.
She has said, 'I really like most styles of music. I am very much into hip-hop, soul, funk, and especially reggae, and really, there are too many artists to mention, but I like a lot of old school music.'
Suvari also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the "Starlight Children's Foundation" charity.
Her hobbies include: jewelry making, photography, mountain biking, and hiking. In January 2007 Suvari was spotted working at a trendy Melrose boutique. It was so busy at the boutique that she wound up waiting until closing time -- and helped the staff put away all the displayed jewelry.
Mena is also heavily into issues about female empowerment. She is involved with several breast cancer charities and the End Violence Against Women campaign. She also tours high schools trying to encourage women to quit smoking. She has also visited New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to help women and girls who are in need, and donated millions of dollars to help women and children in need. Mena recently began setting up her very own organization that encourages strong bonds and friendships between women and girls. 'I would never have gotten through the rough times in my life if it weren't for all the strong women I know - my mother, my aunts and all of my girlfriends...and, I think too many women see each other as enemies'. Mena recently bad mouthed the media for its unfair treatment of young female celebrities.
Filmography
Film
"Kiss the Girls" (1997) - Coty Pierce
"Snide and Prejudice" (1997) - Geli Raubal
"Nowhere" (1997) - Zoe
"Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998) - Rachel Hoffman
"American Pie" (1999) - Heather
"The Rage: Carrie 2" (1999) - Lisa Parker
"American Beauty" (1999) - Angela Hayes
"Loser" (2000) - Dora Diamond
"American Virgin" (2000) - Katrina Bartalotti
"The Musketeer" (2001) - Francesca Bonacieux
"American Pie 2" (2001) - Heather
"Sugar & Spice" (2001) - Kansas Hill
"Spun" (2002) - Cookie
"Sonny" (2002) - Carol
"Trauma" (2004) -Charlotte
"Standing Still" (2004) - Lana
"Edmond" (2005) - Whore
"Rumor Has It" (2005) - Annie
"Domino" (2005) - Kimmie
"Beauty Shop" (2005) -Joanne
"Factory Girl" (2006) - Richie Berlin
"Caffeine" (2006) - Vanessa
"The Dog Problem" (2006)
"Final Fantasy VII Advent Children" (2006) - Aerith Gainsborough (voice)
"Dangerous Parking" (2006) - Kirstin
"Brooklyn Rules" (2006) - Ellen
"The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" (2007) - Phlox Lombardi
"Day of the Dead" (2007) - Sarah
"Stuck" (2007) - Brandi
"Crisis Core: "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children" (2007) (VG) (voice) (attached) - Aerith Gainsborough
"The Garden of Eden" (2008) (post-production) - Catherine Bourne
Television
"Death of a Cheerleader" (1994)-High School Student
"Boy Meets World" (1995)- Laura
"High Incident" (1996 & 1997) - Jill Marsh
"ER" (1996) - Laura-Lee Armitage
"Minor Adjustments" (1996) -Emily
"Boy Meets World" (1996)- Hilary
"413 Hope St." (1997) - Crystal
"Chicago Hope" (1997) - Ivy Moore
"Atomic Train" (1999) - Grace Seger
"Saturday Night Live" (2001) - Host
"Six Feet Under" (2004) - Edie
Other career activities
TV commercial for Rice-A-Roni (1992).
Appears with Jason Biggs on the music video 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus. From the soundtrack of the movie Loser (2000).
"Kingdom Hearts II" (2006) (Video game) - Aerith Gainsborough
'Orange Mobile Phone Advert' in which she stars as Joan of Arc. This clip is shown before some films in cinemas to tell people their mobile phones should be switched off.
Spokeswoman of "Circle Of Friends", a new campaigned aimed at urging young women to quit smoking.
External links
(Mena Suvari's iTunes Celebrity Playlist (Requires iTunes))
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Mena Suvari.
