Milla Jovovich
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich[a][b] (/ˈjoʊvəvɪtʃ/ YOH-və-vitch; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (MEE-lə), is an American actress and former fashion model.[2] 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.[3] In 2004, Forbes determined that she was the highest-paid model in the world.[4]
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Bogdanovna and the family name is Jovovich.
Milla Jovovich
- Ukrainian (until 1994)
- American (from 1994)
- Actress
- model
- singer
1988–present
3, including Ever Anderson
- Galina Loginova (mother)
Born in Kiev and raised in Los Angeles, Jovovich began modeling when Herb Ritts photographed her for the cover of the Italian magazine Lei in 1987.[5][6] Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements.[7] 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.[8] 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 2016, she portrayed Alice in the action horror film franchise Resident Evil,[9] which became the highest-grossing film series to be based on video games.[10]
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[edit]
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich was born on December 17, 1975, in Kiev in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,[11] the daughter of Galina (née Loginova), a Russian actress, and Bogdan Jovović, a Serbian doctor.[12][13] Her maternal ancestors were from Tula.[14] She spent most of her early childhood in Moscow, her mother's native city.[15] Jovovich has stated that she was born in Ukraine "pretty much by accident",[16] while she has no memories of her early years there.[17] However, Jovovich "remembers a lot" about her life in Russia.[15]
In 1980, she immigrated with her family to London and then Sacramento, California[18] before settling in Los Angeles seven months later. Jovovich's parents divorced soon after their arrival. In 1988, her father had a relationship with an Argentine woman, with whom he had a son.[19][20] Due to her parents' divorce years before, Jovovich saw little of her half brother.[21]
In Los Angeles, her mother tried to get acting jobs but found little success because of language barriers, and eventually resorted to cleaning houses to earn money. Both of Jovovich's parents served as cooks and housekeepers for director Brian De Palma.[22] Her father was convicted and imprisoned for participating in the largest health-insurance fraud ever investigated. He was given a 20-year sentence in 1994[23][24] but was released in 1999.[25] Jovovich has stated, "Prison was good for him. He's become a much better person. It gave him a chance to stop and think."[26]
She attended public schools in Los Angeles, becoming fluent in English in three months.[27] She was teased by classmates for coming from the Soviet Union. Jovovich has stated, "I was called a commie and a Russian spy. I was [never] accepted into the crowd."[28] At age 12, she left seventh grade to focus on modeling, which she had started at age nine.[29] According to Jovovich, she was rebellious during her early teens, engaging in drug use, shopping-mall vandalism, and credit-card fraud.[26] She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1994.[30]
Career[edit]
Early roles and hiatus (1985–1996)[edit]
Jovovich's mother had "raised her to be a movie star."[26] In 1985, Galina Loginova enrolled Jovovich at the age of ten in acting classes, and when her acting jobs picked up, she started attending school for young actors rather than regular school.[18][31][32] 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 age 15, she 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).[33] The role was controversial as, like Shields, Jovovich appeared nude in the film.[28] 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.[33] Discouraged, she took a hiatus from acting roles,[34] moving to Europe.
Other endeavors[edit]
Music[edit]
Jovovich had begun working on a music album as early as 1988, when she was signed by SBK Records after the company heard a demo she recorded.[86] In August 1990, she asserted in an interview that the then-forthcoming album would be "a mix between Kate Bush, Sinéad O'Connor, This Mortal Coil, and the Cocteau Twins."[87] After it was initially presented by SBK strictly as a pop album, Jovovich protested, insisting on using her personal poetry for lyrics and recording her own instrumental material.[86] Jovovich had written the lyrics and composed the music of the songs when she was fifteen, except a cover of a Ukrainian folk song, "In a Glade". In April 1994, billed under her first name, she released The Divine Comedy, a title that was a reference to the epic poem by Dante Alighieri of the same name. Jovovich had chosen the title after seeing Russian artist Alexis Steele's proposed cover artwork sketch for the then untitled album. Jovovich found that the sketch had "all the struggle that I'm singing about. It is the divine comedy."[86] The Divine Comedy was well received by critics, and features pop-infused traditional Ukrainian folk songs that led to comparisons with Tori Amos and Kate Bush.[22] John McAlley of Rolling Stone called the album "remarkable", "strikingly mature and rich in invention", and as featuring "angst-laced poetry with vivid melodies and arrangements that find a common spirit in synth pop, European folk and psychedelic dream rock".[88]
Jovovich released the track "The Gentleman Who Fell (Before The Court)", with an accompanying music video, as the sole single from the album. The music video was originally directed by Lisa Bonet and featured Harry Dean Stanton, but Jovovich, unsatisfied with the results, decided to film another video. The second video for "The Gentleman Who Fell", a homage to Maya Deren, was directed by Kate Garner and Paul Archard and was subsequently played on MTV. Jovovich toured the United States and Canada during most of 1994 to promote the album, opening for Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Philosopher Kings, and Crash Test Dummies, as well as playing smaller acoustic sets. Jovovich had opted to perform in smaller and more intimate settings, turning down a musical appearance on Saturday Night Live. Jovovich has also been collaborating musically with longtime friend and musician Chris Brenner, who co-wrote with her on the Divine Comedy Album and who was the musical coordinator for the supporting tour. She and Brenner met in 1993 and have since worked together on several ventures.[89] Following The Divine Comedy, she expressed interest in releasing a second album, having had ten songs ready for a future recording that was intended for a mid-1996 release.[28][29]
In May 1999, Jovovich, along with Chris Brenner, formed an experimental band called "Plastic Has Memory", in which she wrote and composed the songs, sang, and played electric guitar.[90] The band was "[m]uch heavier and darker than the vaguely Ukrainian folk-sounding elements of her first album", and it had a similar sound to a grunge and trip hop Portishead.[91] "Plastic Has Memory" played about a dozen shows in Los Angeles and New York City for a potential Virgin Records album release,[92] one of which Mick Jagger had attended.[93] But though "Plastic Has Memory" was featured on Hollywood Goes Wild!, a benefit celebrity compilation album, the group never formally released any albums, and had disbanded as of 2021.[94]
Jovovich has contributed tracks to soundtracks of several of her own films, including The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) and Dummy (2002), and for others films such as Underworld (2003) produced by musician Danny Lohner, who was the bass player in Nine Inch Nails for many years. Her song "The Gentlemen Who Fell" is on The Rules of Attraction soundtrack of 2002. In 2001, Jovovich joined many celebrities whose vocals were featured in a cover of "We are Family" to raise money for the American Red Cross. She has appeared as guest vocalist on the song "Former Lover" on Deepak Chopra's album, A Gift of Love II: Oceans of Ecstasy (2002) and Legion of Boom (2004) by The Crystal Method.
Beginning in 2003, Jovovich worked with musician Maynard James Keenan, of Tool and A Perfect Circle, on his Industrial side project Puscifer,[95] contributing vocals to the track "REV 22:20," which was featured on various film soundtracks in its original or a remixed form.[96] In January 2009, she collaborated with Maynard and Danny Lohner on the Puscifer track called, "The Mission". She performed the song at the first live Puscifer performance on February 13, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Danny Lohner, and longtime music collaborator Chris Brenner record and perform with Jovovich, who has made several highly praised appearances.
A new single called "Electric Sky" was released on May 18, 2012,[97] and presented at the Life Ball. In 2017, she collaborated in the single "Attention of Ernest Shalubin". Jovovich writes songs which she refers to as "demos", freely downloadable from her website with license to remix the tracks and reserved right to sell and issue them.[98]
Modeling[edit]
Jovovich's early work with Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon, and Peter Lindbergh led to her success in advertising, bringing the young model contracts. Since then, she has been featured on more than 100 magazine covers, including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, and GQ.[99] She has walked for Balmain, Versace, Fendi, Trussardi, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Costume National, Iceberg, Anna Sui, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Salvatore Ferragamo, Missoni, Blumarine, Jil Sander, and Jean Paul Gautier. She has been part of campaigns for Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Jimmy Choo, Prada, Isabel Marant, Celine, Guess?, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, Tiffany & Co., Roberto Cavalli, Damiani, Donna Karan, Gap, Versace, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Coach, Giorgio Armani, H&M, and Revlon. Since 1998, Jovovich has been an "international spokesmodel" for L'Oréal cosmetics. She was referred to in a minor cameo in Bret Easton Ellis's novel Glamorama, a satire of society's obsession with celebrities and beauty.[100]
Jovovich was said to be designer Miuccia Prada's muse in 2002;[101] a 2003 article claimed she was Gianni Versace's "favourite supermodel".[84] In 2004, Jovovich topped Forbes magazine's "Richest Supermodels of the World" list, earning a reported $10.5 million,[4] and in 2006, Jovovich was picked up by Mango, a Spanish clothing line, as their new spokesmodel and is featured in their advertising campaigns;[102] she is in advertisements for Etro. She has said that "Modeling was never a priority"[103] and that the money she earns enables her "to be selective about the creative decisions [she] make[s]".[84]
In 2012, Jovovich was hired as the new "face" of a global advertising campaign for wristwatch and jewelry retailer Jacob & Co.[104] In 2018, Jovovich became the "face" of a global advertising campaign for Balmain.[105]
In 2019, Jovovich joined more than one hundred models who signed a petition to help protect Victoria's Secret models against sexual misconduct.[106]
Fashion design[edit]
Jovovich and fellow model Carmen Hawk launched a line of clothing called Jovovich-Hawk in 2003. The pair opened a showroom in New York City's Greenwich Village on September 13, 2005. All of the dresses for Jovovich-Hawk line were designed by herself and her partner Carmen Hawk. The atelier is based in Los Angeles, but pieces were at Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Harvey Nichols, and over 50 stores around the world. Vogue praised the line for its "girl-about-town cult status most designers spend years trying to achieve".[107] In November 2006, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and US Vogue nominated Jovovich-Hawk for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. Jovovich-Hawk was nominated as a finalist, although Doo-Ri Chung took the top prize.[108] In 2007, Jovovich and Hawk designed the costume for Jovovich's character Alice in Resident Evil: Extinction. Alice's shorts are a variation on the "Alice Star" Shorts from the Spring 2007 collection.[109] Later, Jovovich-Hawk signed a deal to design a diffusion collection for Target's Go International campaign, following in the footsteps of Luella, Paul & Joe, and Proenza Schouler.[110] In late 2008, Jovovich and Hawk mutually agreed to end the business due to increased demands on their time. Jovovich explained, "I'm an artist. I'm not someone who can deal with shipping rates and taxes".[111]
Personal life[edit]
Relationships[edit]
Jovovich married on-screen boyfriend Shawn Andrews in 1992 while filming Dazed and Confused. Andrews was 21 and Jovovich was 16; the marriage was annulled by her mother two months later.[120] Shortly after the annulment, Jovovich moved to Europe with her friend and musician Chris Brenner where she met and lived with her new boyfriend, ex-Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender, in London from May 1994 to October 1995.[23][89][121] She married The Fifth Element director Luc Besson in 1997 in Las Vegas where they went skydiving directly after the ceremony. They divorced in 1999.[84] In 2000, she briefly dated then Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante saying she fell in love with him after hearing his album Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt six years earlier.[122] Between 1998 and 2001, she befriended the young poet and musician, Anno Birkin, as mutual inspiration behind many of their compositions. Jovovich became romantically involved with Birkin just before his death in a car accident on November 8, 2001.[33]
Jovovich met film writer and director Paul W. S. Anderson while working on the 2002 film Resident Evil, which Anderson wrote and directed, and in which Jovovich starred. Anderson proposed to Jovovich in 2003, and the two were "engaged on-and-off for four years" before becoming a couple again early in 2007.[123][124] They married on August 22, 2009.[125] On November 3, 2007, Jovovich gave birth to their first child, daughter Ever Anderson,[126] at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.[127] Their second child, daughter Dashiel Edan, was born on April 1, 2015, also at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.[128] In 2019, Jovovich revealed she was pregnant with her third daughter after miscarrying two years prior.[129] She gave birth to their third daughter, Osian Lark Elliot, on February 2, 2020.[130] Jovovich resides in Los Angeles and New York City.[131]