Shannon Elizabeth shows up at poker competitions more often than just about any current Hollywood actor or actress I know. You might also notice a series of Shannon Elizabeth poker related appearances in recent movies, such as Deal and The Grand. She really has immersed herself in the world of poker. Shannon Elizabeth's ex-husband, Joseph D. Reitman, is supposedly in a relationship with Annie Duke, and he won a major UltimateBet.com online tournament, the $1 Million Guaranteed. Shannon Elizabeth hasn't had quite that success at a professional poker event, but she's beginning to build a fairly impressive poker resume.
Shannon Elizabeth Background
Shannon Elizabeth was born and raised in Waco, Texas. Her mother was the standard Irish, German, English and Native American hodgepodge that most Americans are, while her father was an Arab of Syrian descent by way of Lebanon. Shannon Elizabeth showed a competitive streak as a child by competing in tennis, and considered a serious career in the sport. Instead, Shannon Elizabeth became a model.
Shannon Elizabeth Acting Career
Modeling led Shannon Elizabeth naturally into an acting career. She got her start in a 1996 horror flick names Jack Frost as one of Jack's victims. She followed this up with a 1997 portrayal of a frightened hostage in the action movie, Blast, one of a hundred really bad Diehard ripoffs.
Shannon Elizabeth's big break came in 1999, when she made a huge impression on the American viewing public in American Pie. Elizabeth played the hot exchange student who loved to get naked, and at age 26, Shannon Elizabeth Fadal became one of America's most recognized sex symbols. Since then, Shannon Elizabeths has played in a myriad of movies, including Scary Movie, Love Actually, Tomcats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and, of course, American Pie 2.
After a 2 year absence from the big screen after her divorce, Shannon Elizabeth returned to acting in 2007.
Television Appearances - Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth also appeared on numerous television shows, including a Punk'd episode where Reitman (the ex) and Ashton Kutcher convinced Shannon that she had a sex tape about to hit the media mainstream. Some reports this might have contributed to her eventual break-up with Reitman the next year; in all, the relationship lasted from 1995 until 2005, with the last three involving marriage.
A less ignominious television appearance was Shannon Elizabeth's time on Dancing With the Stars, where Shannon's competitive streak came out again. Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough made it through seven weeks of the show and danced seductively enough that internet rumors began to spread of a relationship between the two. Controversy struck when Shannon Elizabeth and Hough criticized the judges and their fellow competitors, and the next week the two were voted off the show. These days, poker satisfies Shannon Elizbeth's need for competition.
Shannon Elizabeth Poker Career
Playing poker, Shannon Elizabeth has had her share of successes. Perhaps the most impressive Shannon Elizabeth poker accomplishment was finishing tied for 3rd in the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which is broadcast on NBC every year.
The Heads-Up Poker Championship pits 64 noted poker players -- most of them the best poker professionals in the world. The competition is a single-elimination head-to-head tournament, so a player can't survive while someone else knocks out the competition. A winner has to personally defeat their opponent in single poker combat. Shannon Elizabeth personally put out three WSOP bracelet winners: Barry Greenstein, Humberto Brenes and Jeff Madsen. Eventually, Shannon lost to Paul Wasicka in the semi-finals; Wasicka went on to win the event.
Another red letter moment in poker Shannon Elizabeth experienced was in January 2006, when she won a special 83-player tournament commemorating the opening of the newest Caesars Palace poker room. She took home $55,000 in prize money for winning the event.
World Series of Poker - Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth's World Series of Poker Main Event career has been less stellar. In the 2005, 2006 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, Shannon Elizabeth busted out relatively early. That being said, Shannon Elizabeth has played in other WSOP events and has finished in the cash on four occasions. At a time, Full Tilt Poker and Shannon Elizabeth had a sponsorship arrangement, but this arrangement has lapsed.
