Shannon Elizabeth Fadal (born September 7, 1973) is an American actress and poker player. Her film roles solidified her status as a

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British St ...

of the 1990s and 2000s. In film, Elizabeth is best known for her role as Nadia in the ''American Pie'' film series (1999–2001; 2012), which saw her have a supporting role in the first film, a lead ensemble role in the second film, and a cameo role in the fourth film. Her other notable credits include lead roles in ''

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon Wayans, Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon ...

'' (2000), '' Tomcats'' (2001), '' Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' (2001), '' Thirteen Ghosts'' (2001), '' Cursed'' (2005), and '' Night of the Demons'' (2009), and supporting roles in ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

'' (2003), '' The Grand'' (2007), ''

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot ''Jay and Silent Bob Reboot'' is a 2019 American satirical buddy stoner comedy film written, directed, edited by, and starring Kevin Smith. A sequel to '' Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'', it is the eighth film in the View Askewniverse. The film ...

'' (2019), and Plan B (2024). In television, Elizabeth had a recurring role as Brooke Rockwell on the Fox sitcom ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...

'' (2003–2005) and a main role as Tiffany Sherwood on the UPN sitcom '' Cuts'' (2005–2006). Elizabeth splits her time between

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa, and the USA, and runs her non-profit organization, an animal rescue turned conservation organization she co-created in 2001—previously Animal Avengers. The Foundation has also launched One Woman's Legacy, a scholarship program that helps African women break through the glass ceiling in conservation studies. She is a professional poker player, and in 2006 was named "one of the leading celebrity poker players."

Early life

Elizabeth was born Shannon Elizabeth Fadal in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, to a father of Lebanese ancestry, and to a mother of German, English and Irish ancestry. She was raised in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, from 3rd grade through high school; Elizabeth graduated from Waco High School in 1991. In high school, she was a member of the

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

team and at one point considered a professional tennis career. Elizabeth worked as a model for Ford & Elite models before she began a career in film.

Career

Elizabeth appeared in several films and television shows before being cast in 1999's '' American Pie'' in the role of Nadia. It was a major box office success, and she reprised her role in '' American Pie 2'' (2001) and '' American Reunion'' (2012). Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several Hollywood films, including ''

'' (2000), '' Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' (2001), and '' Tomcats'' (2001). Elizabeth starred in the UPN series '' Cuts'' until the show was canceled in May 2006. Elizabeth recurred in ''

'' for a number of episodes. In 2000 and 2003, she was featured in ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

''. In June 2008 she was ''Maxims cover girl. She provided the likeness and voice for Serena St. Germaine in the 2004 video game '' James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing''. Elizabeth was one of the celebrities on an episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Thank God You're Here'' along with Tom Green,

Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show '' Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documenta ...

, and

George Takei George Takei ( ; born April20, 1937), born , is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS ''Enterprise'' in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Takei was born to Japanese-American parents, with w ...

. Elizabeth was among the cast of the sixth season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'', partnered with

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC dance compe ...

. Elizabeth was the seventh star eliminated from the competition.In 2006, Elizabeth described

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

as her second career and was called "one of the leading celebrity poker players." At that time, she visited the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan St ...

up to three times each month to participate in poker games with top players. Elizabeth does not appear to have been as active a poker player since scoring 12 tournament cashes from 2006 through 2010 – she has only one tournament cash (in 2013) thereafter. Elizabeth played in the Main Event of the

2005 World Series of Poker The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or t ...

under the guidance of Daniel Negreanu, and won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

hotel in January 2006, beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000. She also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007, but again busted out of the Main Event early. In 2007, she advanced to the semi-finals of the

National Heads-Up Poker Championship The National Heads-Up Poker Championship was an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network. It is a $25,000 "buy-in" invitation-only tournament organized as a series of heads up poker, one-on-one ...

in a field consisting of the top poker professionals before losing to eventual champion Paul Wasicka. Elizabeth was the host of the comedy/burlesque series "Live Nude Comedy" in 2009. Elizabeth also featured in

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

's " Next to You" music video as Brown's girlfriend in 2011. In 2019 she reprised her role as Justice in ''

.'' In 2022, it was announced that Shannon Elizabeth would star in the comedy film ''Plan B'', alongside

Jon Heder Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his breakout lead role as the title character of the comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (2004). He also voiced the character in the Fox animated serie ...

, Jamie Lee and

Tom Berenger Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in ''Platoon'' (1986). He is also known for playing ...

Personal life

Elizabeth was married to actor Joseph D. Reitman from 2002 to 2005. She later married Simon Borchert.

Activism

She is an environmentalist and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

. She is a cousin of New York-based television host and relationship coach Tamsen Fadal. Animal Avengers, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

animal rescue organization founded by Elizabeth and her then-husband Reitman, is dedicated to rescuing and finding a home for homeless pets, reducing

pet overpopulation A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, int ...

, promoting responsible pet guardianship and preventing

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

. Among 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 tournament director Matt Savage. In 2016, she began participating in numerous other Bodog-sponsored charity events as well. The organization, based in Brazil, lead

3D printing 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

of prosthetic body parts for animals, including a beak for goose Victoria. Elizabeth has served as the spokesperson for Farm Sanctuary's Adopt a Turkey program, urging people to adopt a turkey instead of eating one for Thanksgiving. She uses social media, particularly

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

posts, to raise awareness about rhino poaching at the Poached Rhino fundraiser.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

''Dancing with the Stars''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth, Shannon 1973 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Houston Actresses from Waco, Texas American expatriates in South Africa American film actresses American people of Syrian descent American people of Lebanese descent American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American television actresses American female poker players American poker players Participants in American reality television series Waco High School alumni