Milla Jovovich: a success story

Milla Jovovich.
Фото: Depositphotos

Milla Jovovich is a popular American actress, musician, model and fashion designer. She gained a reputation as a rebel thanks to her bright and bold roles in several films in the action genre.

Her success story was told by the project. ”Museum of Russian-American Heritage".

Milla (Milica) Jovovich was born on December 17 1975 in Kiev (Ukraine) in the family of a Serbian pediatrician and famous Soviet actress Galina Loginova, who was popular in 70's thanks to her roles in movies and on television. In 1980, due to a difficult political situation, the family had to emigrate to the UK, and then to leave for the United States to settle in Sacramento (California).

As has often happened in other families of movie stars, the mother's profession influenced Milla's career and helped her on the path to fame. She became a photo model at the age of only 9 years, and in 12 she was offered a contract by the company Revlon. Unlike Natalie Portman, another wunderkind who caught Revlon’s attention, she accepted the offer, and this was the beginning of her professional career.

Another factor that may have influenced Milla: shortly after arriving in the US, her parents divorced, and her mother, not being able to find acting, due to poor English and not receiving fees from her films (they were banned in the USSR immediately after her departure), she started working as a cleaning woman, including in the house of director Brian De Palma, and often took her daughter with her to work.

When Jovovich turned 15 years old, her father was arrested and sentenced to 20 years for financial fraud with health insurance (he spent 5 years in prison). Milla was educated and promoted in show business at the initial stage by her mother, Galina Jovovich, who later herself returned to the cinema.

Milla Jovovich.
Фото: Depositphotos

Milla went to a public school in Los Angeles, where she was able to master English in just 3 a month. But she felt that she was not accepted and ignored by other schoolchildren who were attached to the fact that she came from the USSR. She became a rebel, sinning vandalism and even fraud with credit cards. All of this may have shaped her role as a strong, independent (but at the same time sensual) woman, or at least greatly influenced her vision of her characters.

Her first professional role was the work in the television movie “Night Train to Kathmandu” (1988), followed by a series of teleedra and TV series: “Heaven” (1988), “Married with Children” (1989) and “Parker Lewis Can't Lose” (1990).

In 1991, at the age of 16, Milla, thanks to her youth and beauty, was chosen to play the lead role in “Return to the Blue Lagoon” (1991) - a film that quickly made her a name among both audiences and directors and producers.

The sequel to the often criticized, but adored by fans, film “The Blue Lagoon” with another young star, Brooke Shields, turned out to be extremely controversial. For her role in the film, Milla was nominated for both the “Best Young Actress” award from the Young Artist Awards and the dubious “Worst Emerging Star” award from the Golden Raspberry Awards. The controversy was partly due to the fact that Milla appeared naked in some scenes of the film.

Soon, however, much more serious “adult” films followed, starting with “The Fifth Element” (1997), “Joan of Arc” (1999) and ending with the criticized but commercially successful series of films “Resident Evil” (2002).

In addition to a film career, Milla continues her modeling career, writes her own albums and, together with Carmen Hawke, releases a line of fashionable clothes.

In 2009, she starred in an erotic photo shoot for Purple Fashion magazine with photographer Mario Sorrenti.

Milla Jovovich.
Фото: Depositphotos

In 2010, she became the face of a special charity bag from Tommy Hilfiger, released in limited edition to help the Breast Health International association. The organization deals with problems of breast cancer in women.

In 2010, she starred in the movie “Freaks”, in which she played together with Russian actors Konstantin Khabensky and Ivan Urgant.

Milla's personal life is as chaotic and rebellious as her characters. She was married 2 or 3 times (assuming the annulled marriage entered into when the girl was only 16 years old) and had many novels with filmmakers, directors and musicians.

In October-November 1992, Milla was married to actor Sean Andrews, in 1997 — 1999 was the wife of director Luc Besson.

Milla is now married (happily) to director Paul Andersen and has given birth to a daughter from him, Ever Gabo Andersen.

The actress actively practices jiu-jitsu, is obsessed with healthy food, practices yoga, enjoys parachuting and actively promotes the legalization of marijuana - she even posed for the cover of High Time magazine.

Milla is fluent in English, Russian, Serbian and French.

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