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Shannon Elizabeth
Elizabeth in March 2009
Born	Shannon Elizabeth Fadal September 7, 1973 (1973-09-07) (age 35) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Joseph D. Reitman (2002-present) (filed for divorce)

Shannon Elizabeth (born September 7, 1973) is an American actress and former fashion model. Elizabeth came to prominence in the 1999 comedy film American Pie.

Early life

Born Shannon Elizabeth Fadal, Elizabeth's father is Syrian and her mother is of Irish, English, German and Cherokee ancestry. She was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Waco, Texas.¹ In high school, she was very much interested in tennis and at one point even considered a professional tennis career. She worked as a model before she began a career in film.²

Career

Shannon Elizabeth (July 2005)

Elizabeth appeared in several films, including the horror film Jack Frost and Dish Dogs, before being cast in 1999's American Pie, which was a major box office success. Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several Hollywood films, including Scary Movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Tomcats. Elizabeth starred in the UPN series Cuts until the show was canceled in May 2006. Cuts and its parent show, One on One, were two of the many shows not to be picked up by The CW.

In August 1999, she posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy. In 2000 and 2003, she was featured in Maxim.³ In June 2008 she was Maxim's cover girl.

She provided the likeness and voice for Serena St. Germaine in the 2004 video game, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.⁴

Elizabeth was one of the celebrities on an episode of NBC's Thank God You're Here along with Tom Green, Chelsea Handler, and George Takei.{{cn{{

Elizabeth was among the cast of the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Derek Hough. Elizabeth was the seventh star eliminated from the competition. The elimination came one week after she and Hough criticized the judges for marking them down for a lack of hip action while couples with "heel leads", "feet coming off the floor", and "horrific, demented lines" received higher scores.^{citation needed}

Personal life

Elizabeth was in a relationship with actor Joseph D. Reitman for 10 years, including three years of marriage.⁵ The couple separated in March 2005,⁵ and Elizabeth filed for divorce in late June 2005.⁶ Some media outlets speculated that the cause of their breakup was Reitman assisting in a practical joke on Elizabeth on the MTV television series Punk'd, a year before their divorce, which involved leading Elizabeth to think that she was caught on a sex tape.⁷

Animal Avengers, a non-profit animal rescue organization founded by Elizabeth and her then-husband Reitman,² is dedicated to rescuing and finding a home for homeless pets, reducing pet overpopulation, promoting responsible pet guardianship and preventing animal cruelty. Among the many fundraising events, Team Bodog raised over $50,000 for Animal Avengers in a celebrity poker night on October 8, 2005. The event was hosted by noted tournament director Matt Savage. Over the past year Shannon Elizabeth has participated in numerous other Bodog-sponsored charity events as well.

After the September 11 attacks, Shannon recorded a public service announcement in which she said, "I'm half Arabic, but I am 100 percent American. What is going on affects me the same as everyone else."⁸

Elizabeth is currently dating her former Dancing with the Stars partner Derek Hough. Elizabeth denied rumours of a marriage proposal from Hough, or that the couple was engaged.⁹

Poker

At the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where she finished in the Semifinals, tied for 3rd.

Elizabeth describes poker as her "second career" and has been called "one of the leading celebrity poker players."¹⁰ She visits Las Vegas up to three times each month to participate in poker games with the top players of the United States. Elizabeth played in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker and won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at Caesars Palace hotel in January 2006, beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000. She has also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007,¹¹ but again busted out of the Main Event early. In 2007, she advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in a field consisting of the top poker professionals before losing to eventual champion Paul Wasicka. Among the four opponents she defeated were three World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners: Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes.

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shannon Elizabeth

• Shannon Elizabeth at the Internet Movie Database
• Animal Avengers
• Mensmagazineonline.com interview