Her screen debut came in A Return to Salem's Lot (1987), followed by The Big Lebowski (1998), Urban Legend (1998), and American Pie (1999). She has since portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in several films, including Dr. T & the Women (2000), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), American Pie 2 (2001), National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), My Boss's Daughter (2003), Alone in the Dark (2005) and American Reunion (2012). She was a housemate in the 2011 series of British reality television show Celebrity Big Brother.
Reid was born and raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the daughter of Donna and Tom Reid, both of whom were teachers and day-care center owners. She attended St. Elizabeth's Catholic Elementary, Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School, Ramapo High School, John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills and graduated from Barnstable Academy, an alternative high school. She also attended Professional Children's School, in Manhattan, along with fellow actors Christina Ricci, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Macaulay Culkin. Reid has twin younger siblings Colleen and Patrick and another brother, Tom.
Reid began acting at age nine, being a regular on the game show Child's Play, and appeared in over 100 commercials including Jell-O, McDonalds, Crayola and Milton Bradley. As a teenager, she was on Saved By The Bell: The New Class.
After moving to Hollywood in 1997, Reid transitioned to movies, landing her breakout role in 1998's The Big Lebowski. Though the film disappointed at the box office, grossing only $17 million in the US, it has gone on to become a cult favorite. Later that same year she appeared in a pair of more financially successful films, Cruel Intentions and Urban Legend, both which just under $40 million in the US and lead to two sequels each, though none included Reid. Reid found her first taste of real mainstream success when she portrayed the role of the virginal Vickie in the wildly successful American Pie (1999), which grossed over $100 million in US. The film also marked her first film to reach #1 at the box office. In 2001, she repeated this feat with American Pie 2, which opened to $45 million dollars and grossed over $145 million in the US, almost 50% more than its predecessor. Reid did not return for American Wedding.
Following the success of American Pie 2, Reid starred in a string of commercial and critical misfires including, Josie and the Pussycats, Dr. T and the Women, and National Lampoon's Van Wilder. She returned to the small screen as a recurring character on the NBC sitcom, Scrubs, appearing in 11 episodes of Season 3. Shortly thereafter, Reid appeared alongside Ashton Kutcher in My Boss's Daughter, for which she was nominated for both Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Screen Couple at the 2004 Golden Raspberry Awards.
In 2005, she co-starred in infamous German filmmaker Uwe Boll's Alone in the Dark alongside Christian Slater. Her mispronunciation of "Newfoundland" became a popular internet catch phrase. The film was panned by critics and Reid received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. As of October 2011, Reid has not headlined any wide release theatrical films since.
In January 2007, Reid filmed a commercial with Daniel Conn for Dodo, an Australian budget telephone and Internet provider. Reid signed on to host the E! Channel's Wild On Tara Reid (later renamed Taradise), a program that showcased high society vacations and hot spots. The show premiered in October 2005 but was canceled in February 2006 due to poor ratings, with only eight of the 14 episodes aired. Between 2007 and 2008, she starred in a string of direct-to-video films, including 7-10 Split/Strike, If I Had Known I Was a Genius (which was released at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival), and Clean Break/Unnatural Causes. She also played the main character in the made-for-television horror film Vipers. In 2010, she landed the role of Bonnie in the thriller The Fields, which is scheduled to be released in 2011.
Reid also has designed a clothing line with Ed Hardy designer, Christian Audigier, entitled Mantra, that hit high end department stores in 2009. Reid appeared in a pictorial in the January/February 2010 issue of Playboy, although earlier reports had indicated she had posed nude for the magazine. In March 2011 she filmed a Funny or Die spoof trailer for The Big Lebowski 2.
On August 18 Reid was the second housemate to enter Celebrity Big Brother 2011 (UK). On September 2, she received the fewest votes and became the third celebrity to be evicted from the house.
In September 2011, Reid announced via her official Twitter page, that she is to appear in Jedward's new music video for "Wow Oh Wow" which they started shooting in late October of the same year.
In June 2001, Reid and Carson Daly broke off an engagement.
In October 2006, Reid acknowledged in an interview with Us Weekly that she had liposculpting. In the interview she discusses how her plastic surgery "went wrong" and also explains why she decided to have plastic surgery done, saying that her breasts were uneven and that she wanted a "six pack" for a new movie role. The liposuction resulted in deformity. In the same interview, Reid's new plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Svehlak, reported that he performed a procedure called a "doughnut mastopexy" to correct her original augmentation, and performed additional liposuction in hopes to even out her stomach.
On January 18, 2010, Reid's boyfriend Michael Axtmann, an internet entrepreneur from Nuremberg, proposed to her at The Little Door restaurant in Los Angeles. The couple had reportedly planned an intimate ceremony for summer 2010. However, on April 20, it was reported that the wedding had been called off and her relationship with Axtmann had ended, with a representative stating: "Tara Reid has confirmed that she will not be moving forward with her May 22 nuptials."
Later that year in November, she started dating Danish businessman Michael Lillelund. According to People magazine, on August 14, 2011, Reid's spokesman reported that she and Lillelund were married the day before in Greece. However, Lillelund denied it, stating he had not been in contact with Reid since February. It was later publicized by Reid that she had married Bulgarian financier Zachary Kehayov. Although on 25 October 2011, Reid communicated that she and Kehayov were not legally married.
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