Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and former singer. Her acting career began after she appeared in the Broadway show Annie. Her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? made her famous. Her eight year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series Charmed brought her a new round of fame.
She has a female sports apparel line, Touch.
Early life
Milano is the daughter of Italian American parents Lin, a fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and boating enthusiast.[1] Milano was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Staten Island, and was raised Roman Catholic.[2] She has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor.
Career
Early career
Milano began her career at eight when she won a part in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions.
At eleven, she earned her first major role in the TV show Who's the Boss?, alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro, and Katherine Helmond. She starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character, Tony Micelli. When Milano won the role, her family relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood.
She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam. In 1985, Milano was in the film Commando as Jenny Matrix who was John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger)'s daughter. A few years later this film was shown in Japan prompting a producer to offer Alyssa a five album record deal.
On stage, she starred in Tender Offer, a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein, All Night Long by American playwright John O'Keefe,[3] and the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre. She returned to the theater in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free.
Transforming from child actress to adult actress
At the beginning of her career, Milano was known mainly for her role on Who's the Boss? (1984-1992). She tried to shed her "nice girl" image by appearing in several films targeted at adults, such as Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1993), Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1996), where she starred opposite Johnathon Schaech and Xander Berkeley.
Recent roles
Milano portrayed Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place (1997-1998), Meg Winston in Spin City, and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on the eight year run of the popular series Charmed (1998-2006). Milano and close friend Holly Marie Combs became producers for Charmed during the show's fifth season.
She played the role of Eva Savelot in MCI's 1-800-COLLECT commercials. In 2007, Milano filmed a pilot for ABC entitled Reinventing the Wheelers. The series was not picked up for the 2007-2008 season, but instead, Milano appeared in ten episodes of the show My Name Is Earl. This reunited her with Jaime Pressly who guest starred in the two part Season 5 premiere of Charmed, "A Witch's Tail".[4]
Milano commercial work includes appearing in the Josie music video by Blink-182; and 2007 tv ads/commercials for Veet and Sheer Cover.
Milano was part of TBS' special coverage installment Hot Corner for the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs.[5] She reported at Fenway Park during the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. She also reported at Chase Field during the NLCS between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
Milano starred in the 2008 film Pathology alongside Milo Ventimiglia and was then cast in a television sitcom, Single with Parents, which was pulled prior to production.
On March 20, 2009, it was announced that Milano would provide a voice for the upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game.[6]
On March 24, 2009, her book on her baseball fandom, Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic, was released. Milano has signed on to star in and produce My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, a romantic comedy in which she plays a woman with a relationship dilemma.[7]
Personal life
Milano has dyslexia.[8] In an interview in 2004, Milano explained how she deals with the disorder:
"I've stumbled over words while reading from teleprompters. Sir John Gielgud, whom I worked with on The Canterville Ghost years ago, gave me great advice. When I asked how he memorized his monologues, he said, 'I write them down.' I use that method to this day. It not only familiarizes me with the words, it makes them my own."
Alyssa Milano at MLB.com All-Star Party, Roseland Ballroom in NYC 7-13-2008
Milano is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and writes a regular baseball blog on the Major League Baseball's website.[9] In 2007, Milano launched her signature "Touch" line of team apparel for female baseball fans, selling it through her blog and Major League Baseball's website.[9] It also became available in 2009 through a boutique store located in Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets.[10] She has an interest in the Los Angeles Kings, a National Hockey League team and is involved with a related clothing line. In 2008, she expanded that to NFL football, as a New York Giants fan. Since Milano is in the same hometown as NFL Network's Rich Eisen (Staten Island), she revealed some of her family's connections with the New York Giants.[11]
Milano has eight tattoos on her body, including one on each wrist and ankle, shoulder, neck, hip, and lower back. Milano is a vegetarian and appears in numerous PETA advertising campaigns for vegetarianism. Outside of acting, her hobbies include photography, humanitarian work, and spending time with her three dogs and eight horses. Milano has commented on her love for animals, and in a 2009 interview discussed one of her dogs, a German shepherd called Pinto, who had died at the age of 14; he had worked with the LAPD dogs and Milano had owned him for 10 years.[12]
In 2005, she was ranked #5 in the "50 Cutest Child Stars — All Grown Up".
Milano was engaged to Scott Wolf in 1993.[13] She was married to singer-songwriter Cinjun Tate in 1999; they were divorced later that year. She briefly dated Justin Timberlake in 2002.[14] She has dated a number of professional athletes, including Brad Penny, Carl Pavano, Barry Zito and Russell Martin. After one year of dating, she and CAA agent David Bugliari were engaged December 18, 2008.[15] Milano and Bugliari married on August 15, 2009 in New Jersey, at the home of Bugliari's family.[16]
Philanthropy
Milano was appointed Founding Ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to which she donated $250,000. The Global Network is an alliance formed to advocate and mobilize resources in the fight to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Milano will work to raise awareness of NTDs by educating the mainstream media and general public of the plight faced by the one billion people who are afflicted by NTDs, and the importance in controlling and preventing this global health crisis.
Milano is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States. She traveled to India, as well as Angola, to work with UNICEF field officers there. In the fall of 2004, she participated in UNICEF's "Trick or Treat" campaign as an official spokesperson. She raised approximately $50,000 for South African women and children with AIDS by selling her own and a school's photo work. In support of PETA, she appeared in an advertisement for them, advocating vegetarianism, in a dress made entirely of vegetables.
Filmography
Films
TV series
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Seasons |
Notes |
| 1984–92 |
Who's the Boss? |
Samantha Micelli |
1–8 |
Young Artist Award - Best Young Supporting Actress in a Television Series (1986)
Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress, Starring in a Television, Comedy or Drama Series (1986)
Best Young Female Superstar in Television (1988)
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards - Favorite TV Actress (1988, 1989)
Blimp Award - Favorite TV Actress (1990) |
| 1997–98 |
Melrose Place |
Jennifer Mancini |
6 & 7 |
Left after only 7 episodes in Season 7 to take a lead role on the WB show Charmed. |
| 1998–06 |
Charmed |
Phoebe Halliwell |
1–8 |
She and Holly Marie Combs became producers at the beginning of season 5.
Nominated - Blimp Award - Favorite TV Actress (2005)
Nominated - Teen Choice Awards - TV - Choice Actress (2006) |
| 2007 |
Reinventing the Wheelers |
Annie |
|
TV pilot |
| 2008 |
Single with Parents |
Lou |
|
TV pilot |
| 2010 |
Romantically Challenged |
Rebecca Thomas |
|
Slated to air during the mid-season of 2010 |
TV appearances
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Episode title |
Notes |
| 1990 |
Série rose |
|
"Softly from Paris" |
Season 4, episode 1 |
| The American Film Institute Presents: TV or Not TV? |
|
|
|
| 1995 |
The Outer Limits |
Hannah Valesic |
"Caught in the Act" |
Season 1, episode 16 |
| 1997-2001 |
Spin City |
Meg Winston |
"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" |
Season 2, episode 11 |
| "Rain on My Charades" |
Season 5, episode 17 |
| 1998 |
Fantasy Island |
Gina Williams |
"Superfriends" |
Season 1, episode 2 |
| 2004 |
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius |
April Gorlock |
"Win, Lose and Kaboom" |
Voice, season 2 |
| 2001 |
Family Guy |
Herself |
"Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" |
Season 3, episode 3 |
| 2007-2008 |
My Name Is Earl |
Billie Cunningham |
— |
Recurring in Season 3, episodes 6-22. |
Discography
The discography of American pop singer Alyssa Milano includes four studio albums, two compilations, and eleven singles. These albums were only commercially available in Japan, with the exception of one single that was only available in France and a charity single that was available in the US.
Studio albums
| Year |
Information |
Peak positions |
| JPN |
| 1989 |
Look in My Heart
- First Studio Album
- Released: March 25, 1989
- Formats: Vinyl, Cassette, CD
|
68
|
| 1989 |
Alyssa
- Second Studio Album
- Released: October 25, 1989
- Formats: Vinyl, Cassette, CD
|
15
|
| 1991 |
Locked Inside a Dream
- Third Studio Album
- Released: May 21, 1991
- Formats: Vinyl, Cassette, CD
|
19
|
| 1992 |
Do You See Me?
- Fourth Studio Album
- Released: September 18, 1992
- Formats: Vinyl, Cassette, CD
|
47
|
Compilations
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Album |
Peak positions |
| U.S. |
U.S. AC |
JPN |
| 1989 |
"What a Feeling" |
Look in My Heart |
- |
- |
- |
| "Look In My Heart" |
- |
- |
- |
| "Straight to the Top" |
- |
- |
- |
| "I Had a Dream" |
Alyssa |
- |
- |
- |
| "Happiness" |
- |
- |
- |
| 1990 |
"The Best in the World" |
The Best in the World |
- |
- |
- |
| "I Love When We're Together"1 |
Single Only |
- |
- |
- |
| 1991 |
"New Sensation" |
Locked Inside a Dream |
- |
- |
- |
| "Voices That Care" 1 |
Single Only |
11 |
6 |
- |
| 1992 |
"Do You See Me?" |
Do You See Me? |
- |
- |
- |
| 1993 |
"No Secret" 2 |
Locked Inside a Dream |
- |
- |
- |
Footnotes:
- 1 Non-album single
- 2 Only released in France
Other recordings
- "Teen Steam" - Theme song from Alyssa Milano's Teen Steam Workout Video (1988).
References
- ^ "Alyssa Milano Biography (1974-)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/43/Alyssa-Milano.html. Retrieved 2003-01-23.
- ^ "WITCH ON HEELS". Geocities.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5kmtBD5Ow. Retrieved 1999-05-14.
- ^ ""STAGE: 'All Night Long'" by Frank Rich". The New York Times. 1984-03-29. http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=990CE1DB1E39F93AA15750C0A962948260. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- ^ "Exclusive: Earl Charmed By Alyssa Milano". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/news/Exclusive-Earl-Charmed-8259.aspx. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
- ^ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: TBS Hot Corner". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/hotcorner/index.jsp. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
- ^ "Alyssa Milano to co-star in 'Ghostbusters' game". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29801049/. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Alyssa Milano commits to 'Boyfriend'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4722353a16827bf002a0583a79d6576b. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ "Us Weekly reports Alyssa Milano was spotted sipping champagne at Mansion in Miami Beach". Abstracts.net. http://abstracts.net/alyssa-milano/2004-04.html. Retrieved 2004-03-29.
- ^ a b "'I Want To Be Remembered as a Ballplayer Who Gave All He Had to Give'– Roberto Clemente". Alyssa.mlblogs.com. http://alyssa.mlblogs.com/. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
- ^ "Milano launches boutique store at Citi Field". AP. 2009-04-18. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/18/sports/s100516D86.DTL. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ Week 7 celebrity picks: Alyssa Milano[dead link]
- ^ Novak, Blaine; Alison Landis Stone (Spring 2009). "Alyssa Milano: Making a Difference in the Lives of People and Pets". Healthy Pet: 16-19.
- ^ Schindehette, Susan (1994-03-28). "Who'll Be the Boss!". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20107729,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ^ "Justin Timberlake flies solo". CNN. 2002-11-04. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/04/people.cel.timberlake/index.html.
- ^ "Alyssa Milano is Engaged!" US Magazine. January 6, 2009.
- ^ Wihlborg, Ulrica (2009-08-15). "Alyssa Milano Gets Married!". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20298139,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
External links
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Milano, Alyssa |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
Milano, Alyssa Jayne |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Actress, singer, producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
December 19, 1972 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| DATE OF DEATH |
|
| PLACE OF DEATH |
|
