Milla Jovovich
Milica Natasha Jovović (
Serbian:
Милица Јововић (
Militsa Jovović)
Ukrainian:
Мілла Йовович; born
December 17,
1975), better known as
Milla Jovovich, is a
Ukrainian-born
American supermodel,
actress,
musician,
singer, and
fashion designer.
Jovovich has been described by
Paul W.S. Anderson, director of her film
Resident Evil and Jovovich's husband, as a "rare combination of a good actress who could kick ass and look beautiful doing it."
Music channel
VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".
Family and Early life
Jovovich (pronounced "Yo-vo-vitch" ( in
IPA)) was born in
Kiev, Ukraine (then part of the
Soviet Union) to Bogdan Jovović, a
Serbian doctor, and Galina Loginova, a
Russian actress. Her paternal family is
Montenegrin Serb in origin, their estate being at
Metohija in Zlopek near
Peć. Many Croatians claim Jovovich is a Croat, but this assertion is in fact erroneous. Her paternal great-grandfather, Bogić Camić Jovović, was flag-bearer of the
Vasojevići tribe and officer of the guard of the King
Nicholas I of Montenegro; his wife's name was also Milica. Her paternal
grandfather, Bogdan Jovović, was a commander in the
Pristina military area, and later investigated finances in military areas of
Skopje and
Sarajevo, where he uncovered massive
gold embezzlement. He was punished for refusing to convict his friend for the crime. Later, the
communist government imprisoned him on
Goli Otok. When he feared that he could be
arrested again, he escaped to
Albania and later moved to
Kyiv. Another version of the story claims that he was the one to have taken the gold. Milla's father, Bogić Jovović, later joined her grandfather in Kyiv, where he and his sister graduated in
medicine.
.
In 1981, The family moved to
London, and subsequently lived in
Sacramento, California. Seven months later, they settled in
Los Angeles, California.
Career
|
Milla Jovovich, 11, on the cover of Italian magazine Lei |
At the age of eleven, Jovovich was spotted by the photographer
Richard Avedon, who featured her in
Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. In
October 1987, she was featured on the cover of the Italian fashion magazine
Lei, which was the first of her many cover shoots. She continued to model and in
1988, appeared in her first film role, the romance thriller
Two Moon Junction.
In
1991, Jovovich had a starring role in the romance adventure sequel
Return to the Blue Lagoon, opposite
Brian Krause, which led to comparisons between her and
child model-turned-actress,
Brooke Shields (who had starred in the original
Blue Lagoon). Most of Jovovich's film appearances during the early
1990s were in supporting or cameo roles.
In
1994, Jovovich, billed under her first name, released her critically acclaimed first musical album,
The Divine Comedy. Featuring unique-sounding songs that fused pop with traditional Russian folk music influences, the album led to comparisons with musicians
Tori Amos and
Kate Bush. After leading a band called
Plastic Has Memory, Jovovich returned to her acting career, receiving top billing and entering the world of
action heroes, with her performances in
The Fifth Element (1997) and in two popular films based upon the
survival horror series,
Resident Evil.
Jovovich's vocals appeared on the 2004 album
Legion of Boom by
The Crystal Method. She also recorded the single
Rocket Collecting, which appeared on the soundtrack for the film
Underworld.
Jovovich and fellow model Carmen Hawk have launched a line of clothing called
Jovovich-Hawk; the two opened a showroom in
New York City's
Greenwich Village on
September 13,
2005. Jovovich is also an "international spokesmodel" for
L'Oreal cosmetics and was the highest paid
supermodel in 2004. In 2006 Jovovich was picked up by Spanish clothing line Mango as their new spokesmodel. Mango told Vogue.com that Jovovich is "the image of the woman that [we] wish to dress: a very modern woman, with personality and self-confidence".[
1]. She has said that she enjoys having both a modelling and an acting career, and that she is "very grateful for [her] looks", which allow her to "make really great film choices".
Jovovich's latest film, the
science fiction/action thriller
Ultraviolet, was released on
March 3,
2006. It was not screened for critics, but when reviewed, it was critically panned.
It has grossed $17 million at the domestic box office.
She will appear in the third film in the
Resident Evil series.
Jovovich is also planning to publish her private diaries as an autobiography. Jovovich says, "I've been keeping a diary ever since I was a little girl. I've written about all the places I've been to and all the mad things that I've done, so it would be good to get it all into a book - like an autobiography, but with more of a diary feel to it. I'm not sure how interested anyone would be in publishing it, or reading it, for that matter."[
2]
Personal life
Jovovich married actor Shawn Andrews in October of 1992, while filming
Dazed and Confused together; the marriage was
annulled a month later. She married
The Fifth Element director
Luc Besson in 1997, but the two divorced in 1999. Jovovich also dated
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist
John Frusciante for several months in 2000 and was linked to actor
Stephen Dorff. She also had a relationship with
Jamiroquai ex-bassist
Stuart Zender, during which time they both lived in
London. Most recently she has appeared in public with Japanese soccer star
Nakata Hidetoshi, but is purported to be engaged to writer/director
Paul W. S. Anderson.
Jovovich is multilingual and speaks
Russian,
French and
English fluently.
The Divine Comedy - released April 1994 (single: "Gentleman Who Fell")
The People Tree Sessions - unauthorized 1998 release that still turns up with Amazon and other retailers
Compilations and soundtrack albums including Jovovich
The Million Dollar Hotel (soundtrack) - "Satellite of Love"
Hollywood Goes Wild benefit compilation - "On the Hill" by her band, Plastic Has Memory
Underworld (soundtrack) - "Rocket Collecting"
The Prince and Me (soundtrack) - "Separate Worlds"
The Rules of Attraction (soundtrack) - "The Gentleman Who Fell"
Dummy (soundtrack) - "Shein VI Di l'Vone" and "Mezinka"
*
Official site*
1989 interview in Metro magazine by Anthony DeBartolo
*
Milla Jovovich's profile in the Fashion Models database*
Milla Jovovich at MovieWorld.ru (Russian)
* Milla Jovovich
interview for
Ultraviolet at
Dread Central{{Persondata
NAME=Jovovich, Milla | ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Jovović, Milica Natasha; Јововић, Милица (Serbian); Йовович, Мілла (Ukrainian) | SHORT DESCRIPTION=Supermodel and actress | DATE OF BIRTH=December 17, 1975 | PLACE OF BIRTH=Kyiv, Ukraine | DATE OF DEATH= | PLACE OF DEATH=
|
