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Actor

1975-12-17 · Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Ukraine] · Female

11 series in the catalog

Milica Bogdanovna Jovović (born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich ( MEE-lə YOH-və-vitch), is an American actress and former model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction and action films led the music channel VH1 to deem her the "reigning queen of kick-butt" in 2006. In 2004, Forbes determined that she was the highest-paid model in the world.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in Los Angeles, Jovovich began modeling when Herb Ritts photographed her for the cover of the Italian magazine Lei in 1987. Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. In 1988, she made her screen debut in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu and appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction.

Jovovich gained attention for her role in the 1991 romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon. She was considered to have a breakthrough with her role in the 1997 French science-fiction action film The Fifth Element, written and directed by Luc Besson. Jovovich and Besson married that year but soon divorced. She starred as Joan of Arc in Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). From 2002 to 2017, she portrayed Alice in the action horror film franchise Resident Evil, which became the highest-grossing film series to be based on video games.

Jovovich released her debut album, The Divine Comedy, in 1994, and a follow-up, The People Tree Sessions, in 1998. She continues to release demos for other songs on her official website and frequently contributes to film soundtracks. In 2003, she co-created the clothing line Jovovich–Hawk, which ran until 2008, with model Carmen Hawk.

Early life and family

Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich was born on December 17, 1975, in Kyiv, then the capital of Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. She is the daughter of Galina (née Loginova), a Russian actress, and Bogdan Jovović, a Serbian doctor originally from Montenegro. Galina's parents were from Tula. Jovovich spent most of her early childhood in Moscow, Galina's native city. Jovovich has stated that she was born in Ukraine "pretty much by accident" and that she has no memories of her early years there; however, she "remembers a lot" about her life in Russia.

In 1980, the family moved to London and then to Sacramento, California, before settling in Los Angeles seven months later. Galina and Bogdan divorced soon after their arrival. In 1988, Bogdan had a relationship with an Argentine woman, with whom he had a son. Due to her parents' divorce years before, Jovovich saw little of her half brother.

In Los Angeles, Galina tried to get acting jobs but found little success because of language barriers. She eventually resorted to cleaning houses to earn money. Galina and Bogdan both served as cooks and housekeepers for filmmaker Brian De Palma. Bogdan was convicted and imprisoned for participating in the largest health-insurance fraud ever investigated. He was given a 20-year sentence in 1994 but was released in 1999. Jovovich has stated, "Prison was good for him. He's become a much better person. It gave him a chance to stop and think."

Jovovich attended public schools in Los Angeles, becoming fluent in English in three months. She was teased by classmates for coming from the Soviet Union. She has stated, "I was called a commie and a Russian spy. I was [never] accepted into the crowd." At the age of 12, Jovovich left the seventh grade to focus on modeling, which she had started at the age of nine. According to Jovovich, she was rebellious during her early teens, engaging in drug use, shopping-mall vandalism, and credit-card fraud. She became a naturalized US citizen in 1994.

Career

Early roles and hiatus (1985–1996)

Galina had "raised her to be a movie star." In 1985, Galina enrolled Jovovich in acting classes; when her acting jobs picked up, Jovovich started attending school for young actors rather than regular school. In 1988, Jovovich appeared in her debut professional film role as Samantha Delongpre in the romantic thriller Two Moon Junction. Later that year, she appeared in the made-for-television film as Lily McLeod in The Night Train to Kathmandu. She had several roles in television series, including Paradise (1988), Married... with Children (1989), and Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990).

At the age of 15, Jovovich was cast as the lead in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991), opposite Brian Krause. Given her age and beauty, she was often compared to Brooke Shields, another child model-turned-actress, who had starred in The Blue Lagoon (1980). The role was controversial as, like Shields, Jovovich appeared nude in the film. Jovovich was nominated for "Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture" at the 1991 Young Artist Awards, and "Worst New Star" at the 1991 Golden Raspberry Awards. In 1992, Jovovich co-starred with Christian Slater in the comedy Kuffs. Later that year, she portrayed Mildred Harris in the Charlie Chaplin biographical film Chaplin. In 1993, she acted in Richard Linklater's film Dazed and Confused. She played Michelle Burroughs, the on-screen girlfriend to Pickford (played by her then-boyfriend Shawn Andrews). Strongly featured in promotions for the film, Jovovich was upset to find her role much reduced in the released film. Discouraged, she took a hiatus from acting roles, moving to Europe.

Breakthrough (1997–2001)

Jovovich returned to acting in 1997 with a lead role in the French science-fiction action film The Fifth Element, alongside Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman. This was written and directed by Luc Besson. She portrayed Leeloo, an alien who helps to save the planet. Jovovich said she "worked like hell: no band practice, no clubs, no pot, nothing" to acquire the role and impress Besson. Jovovich co-created and mastered an alien fictional language of over 400 words for her role. She wore a costume that came to be known as the "ACE-bandage" costume; the body suit designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier was made of medical bandages. The Fifth Element was selected as the opening film for the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, and its worldwide box office gross was over $263 million, more than three times its budget of $80 million. The Fifth Element was often praised for its visual style; critic James Berardinelli wrote, "Jovovich makes an impression, although her effectiveness has little to do with acting and less to do with dialogue". Jovovich was nominated for "Favorite Female Newcomer" at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and "Best Fight" at the MTV Movie Awards. The film inspired a video game and a planned Leeloo action figure, but the figure was never released due to licensing problems. In a 2003 interview, Jovovich said Leeloo was her favorite role.

In 1998, Jovovich appeared in Spike Lee's drama He Got Game, as abused prostitute Dakota Burns; she acted with Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. In 1999, she appeared in the music video for the song "If You Can't Say No" by Lenny Kravitz. That year she returned to the action genre playing the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, under direction of Luc Besson. She cut her hair short and wore armour in several extensive battle scenes. Jovovich received generally good reviews for her performance. The historical drama did moderately well at the box office, gaining $66 million worldwide. In 2000, Jovovich appeared as the troubled Eloise in The Million Dollar Hotel, a film based on a concept story by Bono of the band U2 and Nicholas Klein. Directed by Wim Wenders, Jovovich starred alongside Jeremy Davies and Mel Gibson; she provided vocals on the film's soundtrack. That year she also played bar owner Lucia, in the British western film The Claim (2000). This was followed by a supporting role as the evil Katinka in the comedy Zoolander (2001).

International success (2002–2009)

In 2002, Jovovich starred in the horror-action film Resident Evil, released in the United States on March 15, 2002, and based on the Capcom video game series of…