American beauty Big was born February 9, 1979, in Newport, Rhode Island. The youngest child of parents Ando, a retired psychiatrist, and Candice, a nurse, the natural redhead has three older brothers, who all enlisted in the US army.

Mena, named for an Egyptian godmother (her last name Suvari is after an Estonian river), began as a model with Wilhelmina. After lying about her age (she was 12 but claimed she was 13), Mena signed with the agency and worked as a model for the following 5 years.

While modeling, she balanced her education by attending high school and finally receiving her high school degree. She moved to Los Angeles with her parents after she got a job in an ad for Rice-a-Roni.

Before hitting it big in Hollywood, Mena appeared in several hit television shows. She had two separate roles in Boy Meets World in 1995 and 1996, and appeared in the hospital dramas ER and Chicago Hope. Mena played a teen infected with HIV on Chicago Hope, a portrayal which highly impressed critics.

Next up for Suvari: the movies. Although the title of her first film -- Nowhere (also starring Denise Richards), is exactly where the role got her...nowhere. Mena's next role won her much critical praise. Playing the object of a serial killer's affection in the 1997 thriller Kiss the Girls, which starred Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman Mena was on her way to becoming one of today's most promising young actresses.

For those who didn't catch her appearance in Kiss the Girls, Mena's memorable performance as the best friend of the title character, in The Rage: Carrie 2, made audience members notice.

While the NBC made-for-TV movie Atomic Train -- in which Mena played Rob Lowe's daughter -- was a bomb, she portrayed virginal choir girl Heather in last summer's sleeper hit, American Pie. The movie that made teenage audiences flock to the movies and howl with laughter, also brought actresses such as Big and Shannon Elizabeth into the spotlight.

From innocent high school girl Heather, to wild child temptress Angela in American Beauty, Mena proves how broad her acting abilities really are. In the Oscar winning and critically acclaimed film, American Beauty, Mena is the object of her best friend's father's (played by Kevin Spacey) obsession and rose-petaled sex fantasies.

She might not have been nominated for an Oscar, but she did receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination by the British version of the Oscars, The British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Returning to her days as a model, Mena has recently appeared on a slew of magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan and Vanity Fair.

Mena can next be seen in the dark comedy Sugar and Spice, again portraying a high school cheerleader (this time also robbing banks), and in this summer's comedy Loser, co-starring pastry loving American Pie co-star Jason Biggs.

Also the object of an older man's affection in real life, Mena married 38-year-old cinematographer Robert Brinkmann this past March. Interestingly enough, the age difference between her parents is 24 years.

Whether portraying an innocent choir girl with values or a seductive, cheerleading Lolita, Mena is only at the beginning of what is blossoming into a beautiful career.