After beginning her career as a model and guest-starring on several television shows, Suvari made her film debut in the black comedy drama Nowhere. She rose to international prominence with her appearances as Angela in the critically acclaimed comedy-drama American Beauty , for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress , and Heather in three of the American Pie films β, She is married and has one child. Suvari was born in Newport, Rhode Island.
By the time she started acting, she had been modeling for the New York-based Wilhelmina agency for five years. Suvari began acting with guest appearances in television series such as Boy Meets World and ER at the ages of 15 and 16, respectively. She next appeared in the independent dramedy Slums of Beverly Hills , as a teenaged neighbor of a Jewish girl struggling to grow up in the late s. The film received a limited release, [ 13 ] and has developed a cult following. She subsequently played a teenager who commits suicide in the horror sequel The Rage: Carrie 2 , and appeared as the daughter of an NTSB investigator in the disaster thriller NBC miniseries Atomic Train , [ 16 ] although both productions were panned by critics.
Her breakthrough came in , with significant roles in two highly successful films βthe teen sex comedy American Pie and the drama American Beauty.
The New York Times described her character as "stimulus enough for [Spacey's character] to wake up out of a marriage-long coma and start considering life's livelier possibilities". Suvari subsequently reunited with Jason Biggs in the romantic comedy Loser , playing the love interest of a small-town, intelligent man. A lukewarm critical and commercial reception greeted the film, [ 25 ] but The New York Times found Suvari to be "well matched with the handsome, unassuming Mr.
They're attractive without being offensively cute, and their characters manage to be genuinely nice without seeming bland or phony". She and Biggs also appeared in the music video for the song " Teenage Dirtbag " by American rock band Wheatus. The video was heavily based on their roles in Loser.
