Tara Reid From Y2K And Back Again

From velour tracksuits, to chunky heels, to bedazzled denim jackets, to wide-leg jeans, Y2K fashion was essential to be the it-girl in the late nineties and early 2000’s. In a world before Tik-Tok and Instagram, to be known you had to have that special je ne sais quoi to really capture an audience. The internet was just beginning to take shape, while flip phones and computers were on the brink of new technology. Tech giants like Apple and Microsoft had not yet ruled our lives. And yet the best of the bygone era would be nothing without trend-setting lexicons, like Tara Reid. 

The Hollywood actress, who starred in block-buster hit movies like American Pie, The Big Lebowski, Urban Legend, Van Wilder, Sharknado, and Josie and the Pussycats, to name a few, has over four decades of experience in the industry. The quintessential pop-culture beauty, went from the who’s who of Hollywood to being harassed and bullied by the media; labeled as a party girl obsessed with surgery. Now at 47-years-old the actress is the face for Marc Jacobs’ newest ‘Heaven Baddie’ Spring 2023 Collection and has no plans on slowing down. In an exclusive interview with Mr. Warburton Magazine, Tara Reid sits down and talks about her 40-years in the industry, tabloid bullying, and taking back her freedom. 

At the tender age of seven, Reid was discovered at a mall food court by a talent manager. Serendipitously, young Tara appeared in Stephen King’s “Return to Salem’s Lot” and fell in love with the art of acting. “I fell in love with the world I am in and the art I do,” says Tara. “I remember when I watched “E.T.” and saw Drew Barrymore, I’m like, Mommy, I want to do that.” For Tara, she never gave way to chasing for her career, a mere stroke of good luck or “series of miracles” as she describes it, fell her into her lap.

Driven by both her passion and intuition, Reid’s gut instinct played a big role in her career choices. The Last American Pie Reunion was promoted worldwide, “We went around the globe. We were in London, Spain, and Italy,” says Reid. “When it was time to head back home. I felt that I needed to stay. It was my gut feeling.” She lived in Paris for a year, Santa Fe for the summer and eventually London. Upon returning home she received a phone call about a new project called “Dark Skies,” which later changed to “Sharknado.” Sharknado ended up making 2.5B$.

Despite being a box-office sensation, Reid became a media target. Long before the world knew the Kardashians, Lindsay Logan and Paris Hilton’s there was Tara. “I was the first one that started this image. The difference is I never did sex tapes.” She continues, “I never did anything wrong. I’ve never even gotten a speeding ticket. But what I did get punished for is if I wasn’t shooting, I went to Europe right away. I’d be popping bottles, and I had a great time!” Since social media did not exist, your ability to distinguish reality from fiction was dictated by the media. Tabloid propaganda and entertainment shows like TMZ and Page Six destroyed her career as an actress. Reid found herself surrounded by paparazzi and a false narrative branded as a “bad girl”, judged for surgery and personal decisions. Forcing her to step back from the industry she so dearly loved. “I was just on an attack. Anything I did was on tape, it was pretty awful. And that’s why I left. It wasn’t because I was just a girl. It was because I was an easy target,” says Reid.

Aside from the media vitriol, Reid is resilient. She’s returned stronger than ever and has propelled herself back into her craft. “I’m at the second coming of my age, and I’ve never been happier. If I didn’t fall down the steps and never realized what was happening, I would never be the girl sitting here.” Reid claims that she learned so much from everything she dealt with in the past, “I learned my privacy, I learned who’s my friend and who I need to keep around me, and who I love.”