Biography:
The product of a Syrian/Lebanese father and a mother of Cherokee decent, Shannon Elizabeth has captured the attention of casting directors and modeling agencies alike. Shannon was born in Houston, Texas on September 7, 1976. When she was three, her parents relocated to Waco, Texas to raise their daughter, under the belief that it would be safer than the big city.

As a child, Shannon found Waco to be boring, but admits that her parents probably had the right idea. She made the most of the opportunities in Waco and studied tap, ballet, and jazz. Shannon loved singing and dancing. She says on her official web page that her favorite things growing up were to make her mother laugh so hard that she had difficulty breathing and arguing until other people gave in to her way of thinking. She claims that as a result she entertained ideas of entering the entertainment field or becoming a lawyer.

It wasn't until her senior year in high school that she actually had the opportunity to make a decision on her future. Shannon was chosen to be in a video for a local band and the producer thought she would make a great model. At his urging, her parents took her to New York to see if there was any merit in the thought. By the end of the trip, Shannon had an agent and upon graduating high school, she moved to New York City to begin her modeling career. After numerous shoots overseas in places such as Tokyo, Japan, Milan, Hong Kong and other places, Shannon returned to the United States and stopped in L.A. to visit friends. While in L.A. she decided to try out at a couple of modeling agencies there and ended up signing with the Ford Modeling agency and then the Elite Agency. Not long after signing to model in L.A. she did a commercial for Taco Bell and realized she had a passion for acting.

Shannon signed up for acting classes and proceeded to storm the Show Business world. Soon after, the roles came in, both on television and film. She appeared in the television series Hang Time, Pacific Blue, My Generation, Step By Step, Blade Squad, USA High and My Generation.

In 1997, Shannon had a role in the film Jack Frost (where she appeared nude), as well as Dish Dogs soon after. It was her role in last year's summer hit American Pie as Czech foreign exchange student Nadia that launched Shannon's fame and career. She went on from American Pie to do the comedy spoof Scary Movie. In 2001 Shannon was in the movie Tom Cats, it was while on the set of that movie that she met future husband, Joseph Reitman. The couple married in 2002. The same year Tom Cats came out, Shannon reprised her famous role in American Pie 2, although she didn’t get quite so naked. She also appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as a jewel thief who falls in love with Jay after setting him up to take the fall for a robbery.

Coming up she will be in Johnson Family Vacation and Cursed in 2004.

-Celebrity1000.com, Askmen.com, and additional reporting