From being a blockbuster star at the beginning of the 21st century to moving to South Africa 8 years ago for another noble dream

In the late 1990s, Shannon Elizabeth was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. She appeared in numerous movies, including Scary Movie (2000) Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), and Love Actually (2003) but is perhaps best known for playing exchange student Nadia in the American Pie franchise - a role that put her firmly into the spotlight. However, at the height of her fame, she chose to step back and focus on her true passion: looking after animals.

Shannon Elizabeth dedicated to looking after animals

Initially, Shannon worked with domestic animals, setting up a rescue center for stray dogs and cats, Animal Avengers, in 2001. “I started looking for shelters for dogs and cats in Los Angeles because dogs were what I knew,” she told the Life Outside Poker podcast. But her success in Hollywood gave her the resources she needed to “start giving back.”

The rescue center initiative led her to create the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation. By 2014, Shannon had become aware of the poaching situation in Africa and made several trips to get a clearer idea of what was going on.

Watching a particularly harrowing video, made a huge impact on her. “One night, I saw an Instagram post where a ranger was walking through the field and came across an elephant that had been poached," she recalled. “The first thing you see is its trunk, separated from the rest of its body. As you watch, it moves, and you realize it’s still alive, crying out for help, but no one comes. I couldn’t stop crying for days. I couldn’t get it out of my head”. Her journey into global conservation had begun.

“I wanted to see for myself and how I could help stop it,” says Shannon who now works alongside husband Simon and Cape Town-born conservationist and writer, Peter Borchert at the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation.

Shannon “fell in love” with Cape Town - so much so that she decided to relocate there with her family in late 2016. “As I became more and more aware of the poaching crisis in Africa, I wanted to see for myself and how I could help stop it,” she explains. “So much of my work is here but I also fell in love with South Africa so I now live here for much of the time.

Protecting black rhinos in the wild

The Shannon Elizabeth Foundation is involved in several missions - such as looking after Munu, a male Black Rhino who is completely blind and unable to fend for himself. Another is the Khusela Endangered Wildlife Sanctuary which will offer protection for endangered Black Rhinos.

“We’re building a sanctuary,” Shannon revealed at Steel City Con 2025 in Pittsburgh last week. “We have a blind black rhino we’ve been taking care of, and we’re going to bring in more rhinos as soon as we can do an expansion.”

Black Rhinos are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN’s Red Data list. And Munu, a South-western Black Rhino is one of just 254 are left in the wild in South Africa.

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