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MENA SUVARI BIOGRAPHY |
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The image of the actor that has proved defining
- on every website, tucked somewhere about each magazine
interview - is the American Beauty dream-sequence color-contrast
stunner in which a pale Mena Suvari sets off a bed of red roses
very nicely. We're sure it's the color composition that makes
the photo a favorite. Suvari, daughter of a Rhode Island
psychiatrist and nurse, was recognized both by her parents, and
by a couple of modelling agencies, as something special early on.
In 1991, at age 12 and already a veteran before the camera,
Suvari signed with the prestigious Wilhelmina agency and split
her time between high school at home, 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, for the aspiring actor found a career beyond
modelling in her chosen field. First came single-episode shots
on series television: i (1995/96, different characters), 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.
Those roles rolled 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. Suvari was also named
a Vanity Fair Star of Tomorrow, and one of YoungHollywood.com's
Most Promising Faces. Lovingly tended and oft-visited webshrines
devoted to their "incomparably beautiful" subject confirmed
audience devotion.
The year 2000 saw the 21-year-old graduate from high school
roles to silver screen college in the big-budget 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 (March, 2000) husband,
cinematographer Robert Brinkman, kept media flurry down with a
quiet wedding and low-key announcement.
Suvari's most recent project, Sugar and Spice (2001), puts her
back in high school, but the costumes for the upcoming
D'Artagnan will include no cheerleading outfits. Critically
acclaimed for a range that takes her characters from sweet to
vulgar, innocent to criminal, Suvari has found her calling in
acting. Only 21, she has hopes of future behind-the-camera work
- directing, she says, writing or producing. In the meantime, it
looks as if she'll have plenty to do before the camera. |
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