DWTS Season 6 Welcomes Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth is an actress, former fashion model, and believe it or not, professional poker player. But, does this beauty and her partner Derek Hough have what it takes to win this season of “Dancing with the Stars?”
Shannon Elizabeth was born Shannon Elizabeth Fadal on September 7, 1973 in Houston, Texas. Her father is of Syrian and Lebanese descent, which prompted Shannon to film a public service announcement after the September 11th tragedy. Due to racism toward Middle Easterners, Shannon revealed her heritage, stating she was half Arabic, but “one hundred percent American.”
Shannon was raised in Waco, Texas. When she was young, she took dance lessons, but in high school, became very interested in tennis, so much so that she considered becoming a tennis professional at one point. Shannon was a cheerleader in high school, the student council treasurer, and on the volleyball team. While a senior in high school, she got an agent and began to model in New York. After she graduated, Shannon modeled all over the world including Hong Kong, Japan, and Milan. In America, she worked at both Ford Modeling and the Elite Agency.
She was also interested in acting and began taking acting classes. Her first film was 1996’s Jack Frost. She followed that up with television appearances on “Arli$$,” USA High,” and “Step by Step.” Her big break cam when she appeared as Nadia in American Pie. After that, she went on to star in more movies, including Scary Movie and Tomcats. She appeared in 13 episodes of the UPN show “Cuts” until spring of 2006 when the network merged with The CW and the show was not picked up.
Shannon posed for Playboy magazine in 1999 and she was featured in Maxim in both 2000 and 2003. In September 2002, she was named the 8th Sexiest Female Movie Star by Australian Empire Magazine.
Shannon married actor Joseph D. Reitman on June 15, 2002. Although the two were in a relationship for many years before the marriage, Shannon filed for divorce in June 2005. Together, she and Reitman founded Animal Avengers, a not-for-profit organization which rescues homeless pets and finds homes for them as well as promotes responsible pet guardianship.
Shannon’s latest passion is poker. She has participated in many of the Bodog poker charity events. She played in the main event of the 2005 World Series of Poker and cashed four times in 2006 and 2007 World Series of Poker events. She made the semi-finals of the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, defeating World Series of Poker winners Jeff Madsen, Barry Goldstein, and Humberto Brenes along the way.
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