American Beauty (1999 film) American Beauty (1999 film) American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in his feature film directorial debut. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a 42-year-old advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney also feature. The film is described by academics as a satire of American middle-class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has
Carolyn Murphy Carolyn Murphy Carolyn Murphy (born August 11, 1973) is an American model and actress. In 1998, Murphy was named VH1/"Vogue"s Model of the Year. She played Dubbie in Barry Levinson's film "Liberty Heights". She was one of the "Modern Muses" on the November 1999 millennium cover of American "Vogue" and was chosen to represent Calvin Klein's perfume, "Contradiction". In 1998, during a photo shoot for "Elle", the photographer noticed her resemblance to the actress Gene Tierney and dubbed her "The blonde Gene Tierney". Murphy has shot campaigns for Missoni, Versace and Tiffany & Co. In 2005 she was featured on