mena suvari

Mena Suvari is an American actress and model, widely lauded for her BAFTA-nominated role in American Beauty and her starring role in three of the popular American Pie movies. As a model, she has featured in many top magazines including Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Vanity Fair, and has been the centre of campaigns for Lancôme cosmetics and luxury accessories company Coach New York.

Suvari began her career as a model before moving into acting, with guest roles on television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident in the 1990s. She made her film debut in 1997 in the drama Nowhere, but it was her breakthrough role in romantic drama American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes and co-starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening and Thora Birch, that catapulted her into Hollywood’s A-List and landed her a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1999. More success followed for Suvari the same year, after she was invited to appear in the cult bro-comedy American Pie, starring opposite Jason Biggs. The film was a huge commercial hit, grossing US$235 million worldwide and raising Suvari’s acting career to the next level.

Suvari’s versatility as an actress has seen her take on roles ranging from comedy (two further American Pie movies and Loser) to more challenging and leftfield projects such as the role of Richie Berlin in the 2007 Andy Warhol/Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl. Her numerous television roles have included a memorable appearance in HBO’s drama series Six Feet Under in 2004: Suvari was part of the award-winning cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2005.

A humanitarian and philanthropist with a generous spirit, Suvari is an activist for the African Medical and Research Foundation. She has visited Africa to work on sanitation and housing projects, while acting as an advocate for a worldwide campaign to end violence against women.