Tara Reid was born on November 8, 1975, in Wyckoff, New Jersey. The daughter of Tom and Donna, teachers who run a pair of day care centers, Tara was immersed into acting early on. Of Irish, Italian, French, Hungarian, and English descent, Tara may have an All-American look, but her look has always been unique enough to get her acting roles, even as a child. She made her debut in a children's television game show, Child's Play, in 1982, and then appeared in commercials for products like Crayola, Jell-O and McDonald's. Joining a class consisting of fellow child actors such as Macaulay Culkin, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Holly Marie Combs, Tara attended the Professional Children's School in New York, New York.
Tara Reid's earlier work includes a bit part in Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 1994 and a guest spot on California Dreams in 1996. But in 1998 she scored her first high-profile role as Bunny Lebowski, the much younger wife of The Big Lebowski, in the movie of the same name. That same year, she appeared in I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, and had a larger role as a college campus DJ in the teen thriller Urban Legend, sharing the screen with Alicia Witt and Rebecca Gayheart. 1999 was Tara's breakthrough year. She appeared in the made-for-TV movie What We Did That Night and had a small role in Cruel Intentions, a teen-oriented version of Dangerous Liaisons.
After Around the Fire, Tara starred as Vicki in the surprise gross-out hit of the year, American Pie, along with sexy Shannon Elizabeth and Mena Suvari. Now more of a recognizable star, Tara was seen in Body Shots (1999) and in the star-studded flop, Dr. T & the Women (2000); not even Helen Hunt or Kate Hudson could save that disaster. But while 2000 was a quieter year career-wise, it was nowhere near boring for Tara, as she met former MTV VJ (and now NBC Last Call host) Carson Daly during Spring Break in March and he proposed that October. Tara and Carson called it quits in 2001, and the breakup allegedly led to Tara's brief bout with anorexia. By late 2001, she was healthy again.
2001 was a big movie year for Tara, with roles in Just Visiting and Josie and the Pussycats, co-starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Rosario Dawson. She also reprised her role in American Pie 2, and took on another "college girl" gig as a high school paper reporter in the comedy National Lampoon's Van Wilder. In 2003, Tara starred in Devil's Pond and played Ashton Kutcher's love interest in My Boss's Daughter. In 2005, Reid can add Alone in the Dark (a thriller based on the video game), Wicked Prayer and Land of Canaan to her resume.
Although Tara has not been in a memorable film since Van Wilder, she continues to make headlines. Known for her heavy drinking and party-girl lifestyle, Tara counts fellow partier Paris Hilton among her circle of close friends. One person she is not good friends with is Internet babe Cindy Margolis, whom she physically fought with. Margolis is married to Reid's ex-boyfriend, restaurateur Guy Starkman. In addition to Carson Daly and Guy Starkman, Tara has been romantically linked to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Kyle Boller and financial analyst Jason Ader. While the paparazzi always seem to get shots of Tara Reid stumbling out of bars drunk, the most famous image of her is another "Nipplegate," which shows her left breast popping out of her dress as she arrived at hip-hop artist P. Diddy's birthday party in New York. When she's not partying it up or acting, she also serves as a fashion consultant for her brother Patrick's clothing store, called Patrick Reid.
[ biography courtesy of AskMen.com ]
