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At a time when most young ladies
were dog-earing pages of Judy Blume books and bemoaning their first
pimples and crushes to their diaries, 11-year-old Milla Jovovich was being
photographed by celebrity shutterbug Richard Avedon as one of Revlon's
"Most Unforgettable Women in the World," and earning $3,500 for a day's
work.
The only child of Russian former film star Galina Loginova and Yugoslav
pediatrician Borgi Jovovich, Milla spent her early childhood years being
carted back and forth between the Soviet Union and London, where her
father completed his medical studies. The family emigrated to the United
States in 1980, when Milla was 5, alighting in Sacramento, Ca. They soon
relocated to Los Angeles, where Milla enjoyed rounds of acting classes,
days at the beach, and large numbers of bong hits.
Backed by her mother-manager, the exotic young beauty pursued work as a
child actor and succeeded in landing a modeling contract with Prima at the
age of 11. Photographer Avedon snapped her picture for a Mademoiselle
cover, but when the magazine discovered that the smoldering beauty was
only 11, they refused to run the photo. Avedon was so adamant that the
shot be used that he gave the magazine an ultimatum: run it, or risk
permanently losing his services. The end result of the tussle was that the
tarted-up Miss Jovovich became the youngest model ever to grace the cover
of a fashion magazine. Casting the original waif mold, she subsequently
found herself being used as fodder for the talk-show-friendly topic of
prepubescent supermodels, as Christian groups lamented the attendant
associations of kiddie porn and rampant eating disorders.
Milla used her minor celebrity status to branch out into acting
opportunities, and succeeded in landing a promising role in the film Two
Moon Junction. At 15, the modeling vet won a nationwide casting call to
star in the much-maligned Return to the Blue Lagoon. Fueling unclean
Nabokovian lust with her impish-vampish look and nubile form, Milla
carried on her tradition of appearing nude on film with a minute part as
Christian Slater's jilted girlfriend in Kuffs. A secondary role as Mildred
Harris in Chaplin, and a two-line part in Richard Linklater's Dazed and
Confused did little to hone her acting skills. Obviously, it was time to
try something new.
Having commanded both the catwalk and the silver screen, Milla set out to
conquer the pop music realm; 1994 witnessed the release of her first
album, The Divine Comedy. Informed by the pain she experienced as a child
growing up as a Russian emigrée in the Red-bashing Reagan era, the
introspective, European-folkish debut drew favorable reviews from critics
and celebrities alike—Winona Ryder and Beavis & Butt-Head loved it—and
comparisons to the angst-ridden poetic stylings of Kate Bush and Tori
Amos. The 18-year-old had become one of the few, the proud, the
multi-hyphenated: a model-actress-singer-songwriter.
Until her appearance in The Fifth Element, Milla's cinematic offerings
largely disappointed. But, with this film, she seemed to finally find the
perfect role: sporting bright orange dreads with lemon roots and an
absolutely fabulous Ace bandage costume, Milla played a divine
being-slash-warrior who helps Bruce Willis battle an evil force. It was
disclosed after the film's banner opening weekend that she and director
Besson had carried on a torrid affair during filming. No wonder the
director called her "the most talented person I've ever worked with." Not
surprisingly, they eventually married. The couple split after two years of
intercontinental wedded bliss, a period that coincided with their
collaboration on Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, in
which Jovovich portrayed the enigmatic martyred maiden. She is
collaborating on her follow-up to The Divine Comedy with current beau John
Frusciante, guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
What professional frontier Milla Jovovich will tackle next remains to be
seen, but she does plan to head back into the studio to record a second
album. She sums up her artistic ambitions as follows: "I just want to make
one really good movie a year. And when I die, to know I was honest as an
artist." Failing that, there are always those lucrative fashion shoots and
that high-profile cosmetics deal with L'Oréal to fall back on. |
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"I think that's one of the
only reasons God created celebrities. To help those who can't help
themselves."
"I worked like hell {on The Fifth Element}. No band practice, no
clubs, no pot, nothing."
"If this movie was made in America they would have had a guy and we
would have been his harem or entourage. Big studios don't trust that
women will bring in that kind of audience, "Tomb Raider" was really
an exception to the rule. Most of the time, if you make a big action
film there has to be a big action guy in it. It's very European to
trust a woman to play that kind of a role." [on 'Resident Evil']
"I'm a dribbler." [really meaning dabbler, English is not her first
language, after all]
About Madonna: "Oh, my God! I used to ride my bicycle around for
hours in the garage of our apartment building singing 'Material
Girl.'" (In Style magazine, Sept/2006) |
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Resident Evil: Extinction
(2007) .... Alice
... aka Resident Evil: Extinction (Germany)
.45 (2006) .... Kat
Ultraviolet (2006) .... Violet
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005) .... Druscilla
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) .... Alice
... aka Resident evil - L'apocalypse (Canada: French title)
"King of the Hill" .... Serena (1 episode, 2002)
- Get Your Freak Off (2002) TV Episode (voice) .... Serena
You Stupid Man (2002) .... Nadine
... aka Love Birds - Liebe auf den zweiten Blick (Germany)
... aka You Stupid Man (Germany)
The House on Turk Street (2002) .... Erin
... aka No Good Deed (USA: new title)
Resident Evil (2002) .... Alice
... aka Resident Evil (France) (Germany)
Dummy (2002) .... Fangora
Zoolander (2001) .... Katinka
... aka Zoolander (Germany)
The Claim (2000) .... Lucia
... aka Maître de Kingdom Come, Le (Canada: French title)
... aka Rédemption (France)
The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) .... Eloise
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) .... Joan of Arc
... aka Joan of Arc (Australia) (Philippines: English title) (UK)
... aka Jeanne d'Arc (France)
The Fifth Element (1998) (VG) (voice) .... Leeloo
... aka Cinquième élément, Le (France)
He Got Game (1998) .... Dakota Burns
The Fifth Element (1997) .... Leeloo
... aka Cinquième élément, Le (France)
Dazed and Confused (1993) .... Michelle Burroughs
Chaplin (1992) .... Mildred Harris
... aka Charlot (Italy)
Kuffs (1992) .... Maya Carlton
Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991) .... Lilli
"Parker Lewis Can't Lose" .... Robin Fecknowitz (1 episode, 1990)
... aka Parker Lewis (USA: new title)
- Pilot (1990) TV Episode .... Robin Fecknowitz
"Married with Children" .... Yvette (1 episode, 1989)
- Fair Exchange (1989) TV Episode .... Yvette
"Paradise" .... Katie (1 episode, 1988)
... aka Guns of Paradise (USA: new title)
- Childhood's End (1988) TV Episode .... Katie
The Night Train to Kathmandu (1988) (TV) (as Milla) .... Lily McLeod
Two Moon Junction (1988) (as Milla) .... Samantha Delongpre |
