Nowhere was born November 8, 1975, in Wyckoff, New Jersey. The daughter of Tom and Donna, both teachers who run a pair of day care centers, Tara was immersed into acting early on. Of Irish, Italian, French, Hungarian, and English descent, Tara may have an All-American look, but she always had the unique look to make her a child actress.

She made her debut in a children's television game show, Child's Play, in 1982, and then appeared in commercials for products like Crayola, Jell-O and McDonald's. Joining a class consisting of fellow child actors such as Macaulay Culkin, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Holly Marie Combs, Tara attended the Professional Children's School in New York, NY.

Tara's earlier work includes bit parts in Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 1994, and Days of Our Lives and California Dreams in 1995, once she moved to LA to pursue a full-time acting career.

And she took Hollywood by storm. She was cast as Bunny, the much younger wife of The Big Lebowski, in the movie of the same title, in 1998. That same year, she appeared in I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, and had a larger role in the teen thriller, Urban Legend, as a college campus DJ, sharing the screen with Alicia Wittand Rebecca Gayheart

1999 was Tara's breakthrough year. She appeared in the made-for-TV movie What We Did That Night, and had a small role in the teen-oriented, sensuous film, Cruel Intentions .

After roles in Around the Fire and the independent film, Girl, Tara starred as Vicki in the surprise gross-out hit of the year, American Pie, along with sexpot Shannon Elizabeth and the virginal Mena Suvari

Now more of a recognizable star, Tara was seen in 1999's Body Shots, and in the star-studded flop, Dr. T & the Women; not even Helen Huntor Kate Hudsoncould save that disaster.

But while 2000 was a quieter year, it was nowhere near boring for Tara, as she met MTV VJ Carson Dalyduring Spring Break in March, and he proposed in October 2000. 2001 was a big movie year for Tara, with roles in Just Visiting and Josie and the Pussycats, as a third of a female rock group consisting of Rachael Leigh Cookand Rosario Dawson

Tara reprised her role in the anticipated sequel, American Pie 2, and she can be see in Van Wilder: Party Liaison and The Guest.