MILLA JOVOVICH

'Milla Jovovich' (Serbian: 'Милица Јововић'/'Milica Jovović', Ukrainian: 'Мілла Йовович/Mіlla Jovovič') (born 'Milica Nataša Jovović' on December 17, 1975) is an American supermodel, actress, musician, singer, and fashion designer. Jovovich has been described by Paul W.S. Anderson, director of her film ''Resident Evil'', as a "rare combination of a good actress who could kick ass and look beautiful doing it."^[1] Music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".^[2]

Contents

Family and early life

Career

Modeling

Acting

Singing

Fashion design

Personal life

Filmography

Discography

Compilations, soundtracks and albums including Jovovich

References

External links

Family and early life

Jovovich (pronounced "Yo-vo-vitch" ( in IPA)) was born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union to Bogdan Jovović, a Serbian Mila Jovović peva zanimljive pesme medical doctor, and Galina Loginova (after marriage, Galina Jovović), a Soviet actress of Russian origin.^[3][4]
Her paternal family's estate was at Metohija in Zlopek near Peć. Her paternal great-grandfather, Bogić Camić Jovović, was a flag-bearer of the Montenegrin Serb Vasojevići clan and officer of the guard of the King Nicholas I of Montenegro; his wife's name was 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 Kiev. 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 Kiev, where he and his sister graduated in medicine.
In 1981, when Milla was five years old, her family had to leave the Soviet Union for political reasons Svi Srbi sveta, , Marko, Lopusina, Princip, 1998, ISBN 86-82273-07-1 and move to London; they subsequently lived in Sacramento, California, USA. Seven months later, they settled in Los Angeles, California. She also has a brother named Marco Jovovich born in 1988.

Career

Modeling

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. In 1988, she also made her first professional model contract. Later she made it to the cover of The Face, which led to new contracts and covers of the Vogue and Cosmopolitan.
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 and is currently featured in ads for Etro. 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".^[5] 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".¹

Acting

''.]]
Milla's mother was directing her in her artistic career, by signing her up to an actors' school in California; she finished as the best pupil, as she did in the ballet school. She continued to act 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''). For her role, she was nominated for both 'Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture' in the 1991 Young Artist Awards, and 'Worst New Star' in the 1991 Golden Raspberry Awards. Most of Jovovich's film appearances during the late 1980s and early 1990s were in supporting or cameo roles in shows such as ''Married with Children''. Also notable was her role in Dazed and Confused in 1993 wherein she sang lines from "The Alien Song", from her album The Divine Comedy though.
Jovovich received top billing by 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 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.^[6] It has grossed $17 million at the domestic box office.^[7] She will appear in the third film in the ''Resident Evil'' series titled ''.

Singing

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 Ukrainian folk music influences, the album led to comparisons with musicians Tori Amos and Kate Bush.
1998 saw the release of ''The Peopletree Sessions'', a CD of "electronic folk music". Jovovich now claims that she did not authorize this CD, but its producer counters that she personally approved the CD and the liner notes and photos in its packaging, and authorized its release to the "underground" market (online and indie record shops). The CD featured electronic beats merged with scattered lyrics, a big change from her wistful first release.
Jovovich also led a band called ''Plastic Has Memory'' that played about a dozen shows in Los Angeles and New York City in 1999. Though ''Plastic Has Memory'' was featured on Hollywood Goes Wild, a benefit celebrity compilation CD, the group never formally released a record and is no longer together.
Jovovich recorded the single ''Rocket Collecting'', which appeared on the soundtrack for the film ''Underworld''. Her vocals also appeared on the 2004 album ''Legion of Boom'' by The Crystal Method.
Milla continues to write songs, which she calls "demos". These demos are provided for free in MP3 format on her website and Jovovich provides license to freely download and remix the tracks, but reserves the right to sell and issue the tracks.^[8]
Jovovich has reportedly been working with Maynard James Keenan of Tool on his side project Puscifer.^[9]

Fashion design

Jovovich and fellow model Carmen Hawk launched a line of clothing called ''Jovovich-Hawk'' in 2003. The two also opened a showroom in New York City's Greenwich Village on September 13, 2005. The line is currently in its third season. The atelier is based in Los Angeles, but pieces can be found at Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Harvey Nichols, and over 50 stores around the world. Vogue has praised the line for its "girl-about-town cult status most designers spend years trying to achieve."^[10]
In April 2006, Jovovich and Hawk launched the Jovovich-Hawk clothing range at Harvey Nichols in London. In November, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and ''US Vogue'' nominated Jovovich-Hawk as for the CFDA/''Vogue'' Fashion Fund Award. The award was founded three years ago and underwritten by ''Vogue'', Barneys New York, Coach, Juicy Couture, Kellwood Co., Nordstrom and Theory, with additional support from Gucci. The winner would receive $200,000 as well as a year of industry guidance and support. Although not winning, Jovovich-Hawk was nominated as a finalist, with Doo-Ri Chung taking the top prize. ^[11]
In Jovovich's upcoming film, '', the costume she will be wore is a Jovovich-Hawk design. The shorts Alice, her character, wears are a variation on the 'Alice Star' Shorts from the Spring 2007 collection.^[12]
Jovovich-Hawk has 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.^[13] The collection is set to debut in Spring 2008.

Personal life

Jovovich married actor Shawn Andrews (played Pickford) in October of 1992, while filming ''Dazed and Confused'' together; the marriage was annulled by her mother 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 Hidetoshi Nakata, but is purported to be engaged to writer/director Paul W. S. Anderson. She is pregnant with Paul W.S. Anderson's child; a girl, expected in November 2007. The couple has stated that they "would love to [get married], but maybe after the baby."^[14]
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."^[15]
Jovovich is a polyglot - she fluently speaks Russian, Svi Srbi sveta, , Marko, Lopusina, Princip, 1998, ISBN 86-82273-07-1 French and English. She also speaks Serbian, almost fluently.

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role	Notes
1988	''The Night Train to Kathmandu''	Lily McLeod
	''Two Moon Junction''	Samantha Delongpre
	''Paradise''	Katie
1990	''Parker Lewis Can't Lose - Pilot''	Robin Fecknoids
1991	''Return to the Blue Lagoon''	Lilli Hargrave
1992	''Kuffs''	Maya Carlton
	''Chaplin''	Mildred Harris
1993	''Dazed and Confused''	Michelle Burroughs
1997	''The Fifth Element''	Leeloo
1998	''He Got Game''	Dakota Burns
1999	''	Joan of Arc
2000	''The Claim''	Lucia	Limited release
2001	''The Million Dollar Hotel''	Eloise	Limited release
	''Zoolander''	Katinka Ingabogovinanana
2002	''Resident Evil''	Alice
	''You Stupid Man''	Nadine
2003	''Dummy''	Fangora 'Fanny' Gurkel	Limited release
	''No Good Deed''	Erin
2004	''	Alice
2005	Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula	''Druscilla''
2006	''Ultraviolet''	Violet Song jat Shariff
	''.45''	Kate
2007	''	Alice	Completed
2009	''Azazel''	Amalia Bezhetskaya	Announced, shooting starts in 2008

Jovovich at a ''Jovovich-Hawk'' launch party in the United Kingdom

Discography

★ ''The Divine Comedy'' - released April 1994 (single: "Gentleman Who Fell")

★ ''The Peopletree Sessions'' - Unauthorized by Milla, it's a 1998 release that still turns up with Amazon and other online retailers

Compilations, soundtracks and 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 Rules Of Attraction'' (soundtrack) - "The Gentleman Who Fell"

★ ''Dummy'' (soundtrack) - "Shein VI Di l'Vone" and "Mezinka"

★ ''A Gift of Love II: Oceans of Ecstasy'' Deepak Chopra's album- "Former Lover"

References

1. Movie Habit
2. The Electric New Paper
3. An interview with Mila Jovovich in Russian.
4. Details about Mila.
5. Milla for Mango
6. Rotten Tomatoes
7. The Numbers
8. Current Demos
9. James Maynard Keenan Cooks Up New Side Project Puscifer
10. JOVOVICH HAWK SPRING/SUMMER 2007 Vogue.co.uk
11. FASHION CHOICES Dolly Jones
12. UP CLOSE: MILLA JOVOVICH Chris Ward
13. Jovovich-Hawk to design a collection for Target Helen Lee
14. Baby Exclusive! Milla's Gonna Have a Girl!
15. Jovovich to publish diaries

External links

★ Official site

★

★

★ 1989 interview in Metro magazine by Anthony DeBartolo