Milla Jovovich (pron.: /ˈjoʊvəvɪtʃ/ YOH-və-vich; born Milica Jovović December 17, 1975) is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. During her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, earning her the sobriquet "reigning queen of kick-butt" from the music channel VH1 in 2006.
[>>]Source: WikipediaMilla Jovovich (pron.: /ˈjoʊvəvɪtʃ/ YOH-və-vich; born Milica Jovović December 17, 1975) is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. During her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, earning her the sobriquet "reigning queen of kick-butt" from the music channel VH1 in 2006.
Jovovich began modeling when Herb Ritts photographed her for the cover of the Italian magazine Lei ("She") in 1987. Richard Avedon then featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements and she also appeared in campaigns for L'Oréal cosmetics, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, and Versace. In 1988, she made her first professional acting appearance in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu and, later that year, she appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction. After a few more lower-profile film and television appearances, such as in the Married... with Children episode "Fair Exchange" (1989) as a French girl, Jovovich gained notoriety following her appearance in the 1991 romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon. In 1992 and 1993, she appeared as Christian Slater's character's love interest in Kuffs and as one of the teenagers in the comedy coming-of-age film Dazed and Confused, before her breakthrough alongside Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman in the 1997 Luc Besson science-fiction film The Fifth Element. She then appeared as the central character Joan of Arc in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), also directed by Besson, who was then her husband.
In 2002, Jovovich starred in the film adaptation of the video game Resident Evil, which, although disliked by critics, proved very successful. To date, four sequels have followed in which she has reprised her role of Alice: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Resident Evil: Retribution (2012).
Jovovich released a music album, The Divine Comedy, in 1994. She continues to release demos for other songs on her official website and contributes to film soundtracks. She has yet, however, to release another album. In 2003, she and model Carmen Hawk created the clothing line Jovovich-Hawk. It ceased operations in early 2008. Prior to its demise, its items could be found at Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Harvey Nichols and over fifty other stores around the world.
Jovovich now has her own production company, Creature Entertainment.
Early life and family [edit]
Milla Jovovich was born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, former Soviet Union, the daughter of Bogić Jovović, a Serbian pediatrician, and Galina Jovovich (née Loginova), a Russian stage actress. She was raised in the Russian Orthodox religion. She considers herself Russian and Montenegrin.
Milla's paternal family's estate was in Zlopek near Peć. Her paternal great-grandfather, Bogić Camić Jovović, was a flag-bearer of the Vasojevići clan and an officer in the guard of King Nicholas I of Montenegro; his wife's name was Milica, after whom Milla was named. Her paternal grandfather, Bogdan Jovović, was a commander in the Pristina military area, and later investigated finances in the military areas of Skopje and Sarajevo, where he uncovered massive gold embezzlement. He was punished for refusing to convict a friend of the crime. Later, the government briefly imprisoned him in Goli otok for refusing to testify. When he feared that he could be arrested again, he escaped to Albania and later moved to Kiev. A different version of the story claims that he was the one who took the gold. Milla's father, Bogić, later joined Bogdan in Kiev, where he and his sister graduated in medicine. In 2000, her grandfather, Bogdan Jovović, died in Kiev. Her mother was born in Tuapse (now in Russia) but moved in her childhood to Dnipropetrovsk (now in Ukraine). Her mother played a part in several films, including Vykrutasy, and the 2012 American silent film Silent Life.
In 1980, when Milla was five years old, her family left the Soviet Union for political reasons and moved to London. They subsequently moved to Sacramento, California, settling in Los Angeles seven months later. Milla's parents divorced soon after their arrival in Los Angeles.
In 1988, as a result of her father's relationship with a woman from Argentina, Milla's half-brother Marco Jovovich, was born. Milla's mother attempted to support the family with acting jobs, but found little success, and eventually resorted to cleaning houses to earn money. Her mother and father both provided cooking and cleaning services for director Brian De Palma. Milla's father was incarcerated for participating in an illegal operation concerning medical insurance; he was given a 20-year sentence in 1994, but was released in 1999 after serving five years in an American prison. According to Milla, "Prison was good for him. He's become a much better person. It gave him a chance to stop and think."
Milla attended public schools in Los Angeles, and became fluent in English in three months (as is common with young children). In school, she was teased by classmates because she had emigrated from the Soviet Union during the Cold War: "I was called a commie and a Russian spy. I was never, ever, ever accepted into the crowd." At age 12, in seventh grade, Milla left school to focus on modeling. She has stated that she was rebellious during her early teens, engaging in drug use, shopping mall vandalism, and credit-card fraud. In 1994, she became a U.S. citizen.
[<<]This text is based on a article from the open encyclopedia Wikipedia and stands under GNU license for free documentation. On Wikipedia there is List of the authors Available. Image: Georges Biard
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