American Pie star Shannon Elizabeth has lived in South Africa since 2016 — and she recently revealed there was one pivotal moment that confirmed her decision to leave the U.S.
“When I first went out there, and I came back, I was living in New York at the time,” the actor, 52, told Fox News Digital. “And I remember this moment of standing at a crosswalk. Everybody’s looking down at their phones, or they’re on their phones. The crosswalk changes, and everybody just starts rushing each way. Nobody’s paying attention except to whatever is in their hand at that moment.”
She recalled, “I just had this feeling come over me of feeling like I had just been to Africa, and the problems there felt so real — and they are real.”
Elizabeth said she felt that daily life in New York did not feel as crucial as the “war that’s happening with wildlife” and the people in need in South Africa.
“And it just felt like my phone and the work I was doing here just weren’t as important at the time,” she said. “I just felt like I needed to be closer to the issues. I needed to go over there and try to figure out what I could do, that I wasn’t making a difference here. That’s when I decided I’m going to move.”
Elizabeth played the mysterious exchange student Nadia in the raunchy 1999 hit comedy, which launched her to fame in the early aughts. She went on to land roles in Scary Movie in 2000, Love Actually in 2003 and That ‘70s Show.
While the Texas native kept up with her acting career, she also launched a dog and cat rescue called Animal Avengers in 2001. After running the organization for over a decade in Los Angeles, her activism and interest in endangered animals led her to travel abroad starting in 2015.
“I just wanted to understand what I could do to help,” Elizabeth told the outlet. “I love the U.S., but I also love exploring. I love other countries. I love other cultures and learning. And I think for a long time, I was immersed here. I knew what it was like here, and I just wanted a change. I just wanted something different and to feel like I was doing something more important than just working on myself.”
Elizabeth now lives in Cape Town and works as the president of the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation, which she founded, and runs the foundation’s Khusela Endangered Wildlife Sanctuary.
