‘American Pie’ alum Shannon Elizabeth turns to OnlyFans for ‘fresh start’ as divorce unfolds
· Fox News
Shannon Elizabeth is embracing her next act.
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The actress who played sultry exchange student Nadia in 1999’s "American Pie" has launched an OnlyFans account. She earned more than $1.2 million in her first week, Variety reported.
"Now is the right time for me to launch my OnlyFans for a few reasons," the 52-year-old told Fox News Digital. "I’m going through a divorce, and I’m in a phase of rebuilding, rebuilding myself and my life — fresh starts."
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"As I’m embarking on this new chapter in my life, it’s the most empowered I’ve felt in a very long time," she said. "This is the first time in so long that I’m really excited about what’s going to come and what’s happening every day. It’s about enjoying the journey. I feel like I’m on this amazing adventure now, and I’m really enjoying every minute of it."
"A lot of us, for a long time, were searching for something," the star said. "... And I finally feel like I’m in a space where I’m enjoying the journey every day, and I’m going to do everything I can to make everyone proud and excited and to bring them along for the journey. ... It’s really one of the best times of my life right now."
The subscription platform allows creators to charge directly for their content. It attracts celebrities, athletes and other public figures as a way to interact with fans and monetize those exchanges. Previously, many sex workers joined the site during the pandemic as an alternative to in-person venues and interactions.
WATCH: ‘AMERICAN PIE’ STAR LAUNCHES ONLYFANS, EMBRACES ‘FRESH START’
OnlyFans has been lucrative for some people, allowing them to earn thousands every month, The Associated Press reported. The company has reported making billions of dollars annually in gross revenue and has hundreds of millions of users.
"I’m absolutely exploring what my boundaries are going to be on the platform," Elizabeth said. "I don’t even know yet because I’m still getting comfortable with myself and with chatting and just filming all the time. ... I don’t know where it’s all going to go, so I guess we’re going to find that out together."
The "Scary Movie" alum said she’s been inspired by her encounters with fans at Comic-Con appearances.
"I wanted to do something where I could connect with them even further and have more of that personal connection day to day," she said. "I’ve never been one to do daily content about my life, but for years I’ve been thinking about it."
"The content that I will be creating, and have been creating, is my life," she said. "It’s every day. It’s everything — getting ready with me from the beginning, to going to an event to going to bed at night. I’m just trying to be an open book and share my life."
Following the success of "American Pie," Elizabeth appeared in popular comedies in the early 2000s, including "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and "Love Actually," among others. But it was "American Pie," which followed a group of high school friends determined to lose their virginity before graduation, that skyrocketed her to fame.
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"My confidence over the years is ever-changing, to be honest," Elizabeth said. "I am naturally a shy person [who] has to make an effort to come out of [my] shell. It doesn’t always seem that way, but I really do. But I think with a lot of actors, you find that people say they flip a switch, and they turn it on, and when they’re done working, they turn it off. Doing content like this about my life is very different."
"... I’m slowly getting more used to letting my guard down," she said. "Not worrying about hair and makeup all the time — just showing that other side of me that people don’t always get to see, that they never get to see."
"I’m trying to get more comfortable sharing all sides of myself like that," Elizabeth added.
Having personal connections with fans isn’t new to Elizabeth. After "American Pie" premiered, the pinup had a website where she would chat with users. She also described doing a livestream with Maxim. It was so popular that the servers shut down, and it "crashed the system," said Elizabeth. She has even messaged back followers on social media.
"I’ve met some incredible people, even on Facebook direct messaging, over the last, probably, 20 years?" she said. "It’s been a long time with some people. I recognize the names now, and some people I’ve met in person [at conventions]. I’ve met incredible people that way. So, with this, it’s all about chatting, seeing what people want and sharing a part of my life that I’ve never shared before."
"It’s quite exciting when people think that I’m not going to respond to them when they send a message," she laughed. "I can feel their excitement when I’m talking to them, even if it’s on an Instagram post or something like that."
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Elizabeth also isn’t fazed by any criticism she may be receiving for joining OnlyFans.
"I know people do make assumptions about creators on the platform," she said. "But I don’t go looking for it. And people have been nothing but really supportive and kind to me. ... I’m really happy doing it. I’m really having so much fun. I’m connecting with people. And I think no matter what you do in any industry, there’s always going to be people who don’t support you, who want to bring you down or who criticize you."
Elizabeth’s new project does have a wild side. Some of the content she’ll be producing will benefit her conservation charity, the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation. She launched it in 2018 and now calls South Africa home.
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"I think when you have so many people gathered in one space, you can’t help but use that to give back and do something for the greater good," she said. "It’s just a win-win because everything always comes back to my charity for me."
One piece of advice Elizabeth would give to another actress considering OnlyFans is simple: just do it.
"Absolutely do it," she gushed. "It’s been an incredible experience. And if you don’t like it, you just stop. That’s the beauty of it. The control’s in your hands. So if you want to do it for one month, do it for a month. See if you like it. In fact, I have already started talking to some friends about getting on the platform with me, and a lot of people are starting to consider it."
"[This is] something that we wanted to do 25 years ago, but the technology wasn’t there yet," she said. "Now the technology is there. I just wish I’d done it sooner."