Mena Suvari

That rose petals poster burned itself into the visual memory of everyone alive in 1999, even people who never saw the film. She played Angela Hayes, the vain cheerleader objectified by a man old enough to be her father, in a movie that grossed $356 million and won Best Picture. She was 20.

That same summer, she was the sweet choir girl in American Pie. Entertainment Weekly named her the most "patriotic" artist of 2000 for appearing in three consecutive films with "American" in the title. A BAFTA nomination and a SAG Award followed, but the poster did more for her name recognition than any performance ever would.

The girl in the rose petals poster was, by her own account, "living a double life" during filming. Her 2021 memoir The Great Peace spelled out what that meant: sexual abuse starting at 12, a meth addiction she'd picked up as a teenager, none of it visible behind the image.

The book didn't restart her A-list career, but it changed what she represents. An Emmy nomination for a web3 sci-fi series called RZR, a son born at 42, and a production slate full of horror films suggest she's found a career that looks nothing like the one 1999 promised.

Going vegan in 2017 wasn't a branding exercise. She partnered with PETA for campaigns against the down industry and fur farming, and posed for a nude "Go Vegan, Baby!" ad while pregnant. Last Chance for Animals named her Celebrity Activist of the Year in 2018.

The Estonian-Greek kid from Rhode Island who grew up in a self-described haunted stone mansion and wanted to be an archaeologist doesn't map neatly onto "American Beauty girl." She designed a scarf line with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The acting career is the thing people know about. It isn't necessarily the thing she cares about most.