Biography:
Mena Suvari was born February 9, 1979 in Newport, Rhode Island. She is the daughter of a psychiatrist and a nurse. At an early age she as something special both by her parents and a couple of modelling agencies. In 1991 at age 12, she was already a veteran before the camera; that year Suvari signed with the prestigious Wilhelmina modeling agency and split her time between high school in Rhode Island and modelling in New York. By age 17 Los Angeles was calling, and her parents uprooted to the West Coast to give their daughter every chance at success.

The move worked, and Suvari found a career beyond modeling in her chosen field of acting. First came single-episode shots on television series such as ER (1996), Minor Adjustments (1996), and Chicago Hope (1997). Suvari continued attending school during this time, and fellow students noticed their self-described less-than-popular classmate turning up in everything they were watching. Suvari's "real high school experience," she says, came in the roles she played in later movies.

High school student roles poured in. The teen was cast in Nowhere (1997), Kiss the Girls (1997), Snide and Prejudice (1998), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), The Rage: Carrie 2 (1998), Live Virgin (1999), Atomic Train (1999, TV), and the big one - American Pie (1999). Suvari was "noticed" for her work in Pie and snapped up for the hugely successful American Beauty that same year.For the latter, the talented young actor netted a British Academy award nomination, and shared Online Film Critics Society and Theatrical Motion Picture ensemble awards.

The year 2000 saw the 21-year-old graduate from high school roles to silver screen college in the big-budget film Loser. The actor next lent her voice to the animated Angry Beavers.

Off-screen, Suvari delights industry press by being Best Dressed at every gala, but disappointed the fickle bunch with a "matronly upswept do" at the Oscars. "I still think I looked nice," the natty star shrugged, in interview. She and new husband, cinematographer Robert Brinkman, kept media flurry down with a quiet wedding and low-key announcement.

In 2001 Suvari went back to a high school roll in Sugar and Spice (2001). That year she also reprised her role in American Pie 2. Her next piece, however, was the period film The Musketeer (2002), where she played the love-interest of a young D’Artagnan. Upcoming she will be in Spun (2002), Sonny (2002), and Light in the Sky (2003).