Mena Suvari, star of 'American Beauty', revealed the sexual abuse she suffered in her adolescence

07/22/2021 7:24 PM

• Clarín.com

• International

Updated 07/22/2021 7:24 PM

Mena Suvari

, actress who

rose to fame in 1999 for his participation in the film "

American Beauty"

(American Beauty), along with Kevin Spacey, now recounted a traumatic experience of his adolescence.

The 42-year-old actress presented her memoir, The Great Peace, and in an interview with People magazine she said that "

between the ages of 12 and 20 I was the victim of repeated sexual abuse

" -

She said the abuse started when she was in the sixth grade of elementary school, at which point she was raped by

one of her older siblings' friends.

"

A part of me died that day. He used me, had fun with me, and then got rid of me

. He called me a whore. I could never have a healthy expression (

of sex)

. My choice was lost. And that, coupled with the fact that I no longer I felt neither seen nor heard, established a concept that I would have of myself. That was my value, "he assumed.

Mena Suvari.

The American Beauty actress at the Oscars in 2000. Photo / AFP

The aftermath of the sexual harassment suffered by

Mena Suvari

The actress said that after that experience, and over the years, "I

resorted to any form of self-medication

I could find, just to get ahead. I was just trying to survive."

She

then said that she met a man at 17

, who also sexually abused her during their three-year relationship.

"I remember thinking that maybe the sexual relations between the couples were like this:

 with a lot of yelling, also insults and a feeling of abuse

. I felt that I had caused everything in some way."

Thanks to therapy and the support of her friends, she was

able to eliminate drugs from her life and create healthy relationships.

She married Mike Hope, whom she met on the set of the

Hallmark movie I'll Be Home for Christmas,

in 2016.

"

It was the first time I felt like I wanted to have a family with someone

. I found out I was pregnant when I finished writing the memoirs," Suvari said.

The bad memory of Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty"

During the filming of the film in 1999,

Mena Suvari

recalled an "unusual experience" she had with Kevin Spacey as they prepared to film an intimate scene.

Suvari thought about it again years later,

after allegations of abuse against the actor

that were made public and practically ended his career. 

Mena Suvari.

The actress published her memoirs and recalled her "dark" life.

Photo / AP

The actress told People magazine

that she "trusted him" throughout the shooting

of the Oscar-winning film.

However, she assumed that, at a particular point in the filming, she

began to feel strange. 

To prepare a scene one day, Kevin Spacey took her to a side room where "

they lay in bed very close to each other.

There he hugged me gently. It was very quiet, but strange and unusual."

When Suvari learned of the allegations of sexual abuse that several men filed against Spacey in 2018, she noted that "I thought on that day in the side room that it had left me a very strange feeling."

Finally, in the interview, Suvari confessed that "

my heart will, without hesitation, be with anyone who suffers abuse

." 

Look also

Faye Dunaway: why she is considered "the worst person in Hollywood"

Faye Dunaway replaces Vanessa Redgrave in Kevin Spacey's return to the cinema: a decision that arouses suspicions