Mena Suvari Biography

Mena Alexandra Suvari was born on February 13, 1979, in Newport, Rhode Island. Her father, Ando Suvari, was of Estonian descent. He was a psychiatrist. Her mother, Candice Suvari, is a nurse. Candice is of Greek descent. Suvari has three older brothers, AJ, Sulev, and Jüri.

Suvari spent her childhood in an ancient house in Rhode Island. Initially, she dreamed of becoming an archeologist. When a modeling agency conducted classes in her school, ‘Ashley Hall,’ Suvari became interested in modeling. She worked as a model for the agency, ‘Wilhelmina International Inc.’ for a period of 5 years. In 1997, Suvari graduated from ‘Providence High School’ in Burbank.

Suvari began her acting career by performing guest roles in several TV series. She made appearances in series such as ‘Boy Meets World,’ ‘Minor Adjustments,’ and ‘ER.’ From 1996 to 1997, Suvari performed in four episodes of the series ‘High Incident.’

In 1997, Suvari made her movie debut with the black comedy–drama movie ‘Nowhere.’ The film featured her as ‘Zoe.’ In 1998, she performed as ‘Rachel Hoffman’ in the movie ‘Slums of Beverly Hills.’

In 1999, Suvari bagged the role that proved to be a breakthrough in her career. She was chosen to portray ‘Heather Gardner’ in the teen sex comedy ‘American Pie.’ The film narrated the story of a group of teenagers determined to lose their virginity before their high-school graduation. Suvari’s character was an innocent choir girl. The movie was a commercial success.

In 1999, Suvari was seen in the drama movie ‘American Beauty.’ It was the story of a middle-aged man infatuated with his daughter’s best friend. Kevin Spacey played the protagonist, ‘Lester Burnham,’ while Suvari portrayed ‘Angela Hayes,’ his daughter’s best friend. She performed the part of the naïve teenager brilliantly. Her performance earned Suvari a ‘BAFTA Award’ nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress.’

In 2000, Suvari performed in the lead role in the movie ‘Loser.’ It was the story of an intelligent college student in love with his classmate. Suvari portrayed ‘Dora Diamond,’ the lover of the protagonist. The movie received a lukewarm response at the box office. The same year, she performed as ‘Katrina Bartalotti’ in the movie ‘American Virgin.’ Her character was the daughter of an adult movie director, who decided to lose her virginity on-screen, in order to take revenge on her father.

In 2001, Suvari reprised the character of ‘Heather,’ in the movie ‘American Pie 2.’ In 2002, she portrayed ‘Cookie,’ the girlfriend of a drug dealer, in the crime-drama movie ‘Spun.’ The same year, Suvari played the lead character in the movie ‘Sonny,’ which was the directorial debut of actor Nicolas Cage. The movie featured Suvari as a prostitute named ‘Carol.’

In 2004, Suvari was seen in a recurring role in the TV series ‘Six Feet Under,’ which aired on ‘HBO.’ It was a highly popular series that had a successful run for five seasons. The series told the story of the fictional “Fisher family,” who owned a funeral home. The fourth season of this series featured Suvari as ‘Edie,’ a free-spirited lesbian artist. Suvari and the entire cast of the series received a nomination for the ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ for ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.’

In 2011, Suvari appeared in the supporting role of ‘Tonya’ in the romantic comedy ‘You May Not Kiss the Bride.’ In 2012, she reprised the role of ‘Heather,’ in the movie ‘American Reunion,’ which was the last of the ‘American Pie’ series of movies. In the recent past, Suvari has been seen in series such as ‘South of Hell,’ ‘American Woman,’ and ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse.’

In 2019, she starred in the horror film ‘Apparition’ directed by Waymon Boone. The film received a 3.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb. That same year, she also portrayed ‘Nicole Brown Simpson’ in the Daniel Farrands-directed American crime horror film ‘The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.’ The film received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Suvari was next seen in films like ‘Don't Tell a Soul,’ ‘What Lies Below,’ ‘Grace and Grit,’ ‘Locked In,’ ‘Paradise Cove,’ ‘Ron's Gone Wrong,’ and ‘Breakwater.’ In 2022, she starred as ‘Alma’ in the horror film ‘The Accursed’ directed by Kevin Lewis. The film received a lukewarm response from critics and holds a 20% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Besides acting, Suvari has also modeled for reputed brands such as ‘Lancome’ cosmetics and ‘Coach New York’ luxury accessories. She has been featured in fashion magazines such as ‘Cosmopolitan,’ ‘Vogue,’ and ‘Vanity Fair.’ Suvari has designed a scarf line called ‘ECHO,’ for the luxury store chain ‘Bloomingdale’s.’

Suvari has been married thrice. In 2000, she married Robert Brinkmann. The couple divorced in 2005. In 2007, she started dating Simone Sestito, a concert promoter. They got married in 2010 but parted ways in 2012. In October 2018, Suvari married Michael Hope. The couple welcomed a boy named Christopher in 2021.

Suvari is associated with several charitable and social-awareness activities. She actively supports female empowerment campaigns and breast cancer awareness programs. Suvari is a supporter of the ‘African Medical and Research Foundation.’ She is vegan and supports the use of environment-friendly products.