The star-studded cast included Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, and numerous other A-listers of the time. But for one actress, Shannon Elizabeth, the film offered a breakout role. She played Nadia, an attractive foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic pursued by the film’s protagonist, Jim (Biggs), and quickly became a sex symbol of the era. Today, she’s living a whole new life with a completely different job—her fourth major career change since her first days in entertainment. Read on to see Shannon Elizabeth now and find out what she’s been up to!
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Before Shannon was an actress, she was a successful model.
Shannon grew up in Texas, but moved to New York City shortly after graduating high school to become a model. It wasn’t long before she moved once again to Los Angeles to sign with Ford Models, and later with Elite. During that time, she started taking acting classes with a range of coaches, landed an agent, and eventually began appearing in TV shows and movies.
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She’s been acting ever since American Pie.
Shannon landed her first TV role in 1996, was cast as Nadia in American Pie in 1999, and has had a steady stream of work in Hollywood ever since. After her breakout role in the raunchy comedy, she appeared in That 70’s Show, Love Actually, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Scary Movie, and of course, an American Pie sequel. Her most recent release was in 2019, when she starred in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Today, she has two projects in post-production, meaning we can likely count on seeing a whole lot more of the actor in the near future.
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She also became a leading celebrity poker player.
Though Shannon has been busy acting, she also had a career as a top celebrity poker player between 2005 and 2010. During that time, she was reportedly visiting Las Vegas up to three times per month to compete in poker games with professional players. In 2005, she competed in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker. The following year, she won $55,000 in a celebrity tournament at Caesar’s Palace hotel, beating 83 other entertainers and poker players along the way.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
She now runs an animal rescue foundation.
Shannon has long been vocal about her love for animals, and in 2001, she founded a non-profit dog and cat rescue called Animal Avengers. A decade later, she decided to broaden her animal rights work to include wildlife conservation, and developed a particular passion for fighting the poaching crisis in Africa.
A far cry from Hollywood, Shannon now lives in Cape Town, South Africa, and runs an animal rescue foundation in her name. The Shannon Elizabeth Foundation works to support conservation efforts in that region, with a particular focus on fighting big game hunting.
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