Mena started modeling at age 12, and her acting career began when she did a Rice-a-Roni commercial at age 13. She was also a Wilhelmina model for a few years. Mena attended middle school at the Ashley Hall all-girls school in Charleston, South Carolina, and graduated from Providence High School in Burbank, California. Her nickname in high school was "bean". Mena was a natural for movies: she is petite (5'4"), has blue eyes, and her natural hair color is red. Mena's breakout role was as a choir girl in the teen comedy "American Pie" (1999). This was followed by her great performance in "American Beauty" (1999), which won 5 Oscars, and is currently #6 in the IMDb's top 250 movie list. Mena married Robert Brinkmann, a cinematographer, on March 18, 2000. Trivia: Mena's hobbies include: painting watercolors, playing the piano, and hiking.