Smart, stylish, and probably older than you think, Mena Suvari is poised to become one of the busiest leading ladies of Generation Y. The petite actress inched her way into film, only to rocket into the spotlight with back-to-back performances in American Pie and American Beauty. Now, with scripts pouring in and gossipmongers nipping at her heels, there's no going back to life as the girl next door.

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, and named after an Egyptian godmother, Suvari spent her early years in an old stone mansion that she insists was haunted. 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. Her interests took a turn for the... less cerebral, however, 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.

She commuted up and down the East Coast for two years before her parents, Candice (a nurse) and Ando (a retired psychiatrist), decided to move their budding starlet to California. When she reached L.A., Suvari started in on TV work almost immediately--commercials at first, followed by guest appearances on Boy Meets World, ER and Chicago Hope. She launched her movie career in 1997, picking up small roles in Gregg Araki's Nowhere and the Morgan Freeman- Ashley Judd thriller Kiss the Girls. She popped up again in the background of Slums of Beverly Hills, then landed a slightly meatier role as the best friend of the telekinetic heroine in The Rage: Carrie 2.

Suvari's ticket to fame was the teen sex quest American Pie, which cast her as a wholesome high-schooler who falls for a jock (Chris Klein). A few months later, she turned even more heads as the vampish cheerleader who captures Kevin Spacey's unwholesome imagination in American Beauty. The sultry-but-fragile character earned Suvari a British Academy Award nomination, as well as a flurry of job offers and gushing fansites. In the midst of the hubbub surrounding the film, she slipped off with her boyfriend, cinematographer Robert Brinkmann, to tie the knot in a secret ceremony. The media was quick to point out the pair's 16-year age difference, but Suvari shrugged it off (her parents are separated by more than 20 years). The in-demand actress completed her patriotic hat trick by starring in American Virgin (originally titled "Live Virgin") as the daughter of a porn king. The title change wasn't enough of a boost to keep the mediocre movie afloat in theaters--after a brief New York run, it headed straight to video. Her next effort was another underperformer, but the aptly named The Loser (a collegiate love story that reunited her with American Pie's Jason Biggs) at least made it into suburban circulation--perhaps on the name recognition of its two young stars. Suvari kept her chin up, heading back to high school for the cheerleading/bank heist flick Sugar & Spice and joining the cast of the period film The Musketeer.
Graduated from Providence High School in Burbank, California class of 1997. Her first name came from an Egyptian godmother. Is a natural blonde. Last name "Suvari", pronounced "soo-VAHR-ee", is Estonian. First name "Mena", pronounced "MEE-nah". Has 3 older brothers, 1 of them in the US army. Mother is a nurse; father is a psychiatrist. Mena was raised in a Rhode Island home that was built in 1870 and which she and her brothers believed was haunted. They saw several apparitions over the years, all of which she believed were friendly. People Weekly magazine titled an article about her "All-American Girl" (1999). Declared as the most "patriotic" artist of 2000 by Entertainment Weekly magazine, making allusion to her 3 consecutive movies with the word "American" on their titles: American Pie, American Beauty and American Virgin. In 2001, she added American Pie 2 to that list. Her mother is of Greek descent. Mena and her husband Robert Brinkmann have taken considerable flak because of their age difference - 18 years. Robert is a cinematographer. Did her own singing in American Pie. Auditioned for the role of Mary Jane in Spider-Man. Her father is Estonian. Her older brother A.J., formerly an Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Army, is currently a real estate agent in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Filed for divorce from cinematographer Robert Brinkmann after five years of marriage. The actress cited irreconcilable differences (10 May 2005). Attended workshops at TVI Actors Studio. Named #69 on the Maxim magazine "Hot 100 of 2005" list. Ranked #73 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.