Family and Early life
Jovovich (pronounced "Yo-vo-vitch" (/ˈjɔvɔviʧ/ in IPA)) was born in Kiev, Ukraine to Bogdan Jovović, a Serbian medical doctor, and Galina Loginova, a Russian actress. 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, they had to leave the Soviet Union for political reasons and move to London; they subsequently lived in Sacramento, California. Seven months later, they settled in Los Angeles, California. She also has a brother named Marco Jovovich born in 1988.
Milla Jovovich on the cover of Italian magazine Lei
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.". 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".
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.
Jovovich received 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 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 Resident Evil: Extinction.
Milla Jovovich in a Jovovich-Hawk piece, from the upcoming film Resident Evil: Extinction.
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 Russian folk music influences, the album led to comparisons with musicians Tori Amos and Kate Bush. 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.
1998 saw the release of The Peopletree Sessions, a cd of "electronic folk music." Milla now claims that she did not authorize this cd, but its producer counters that she personally approved both 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'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. 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 have 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 and pieces can be found at Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Harvey Nichols, and over 50 stores around the world. The pieces were sold exclusively at Fred Segal stores, where the line sold out almost instantly. The line's second season was equally, if not more successful, with Fred Segal reordering its stock midway through the season.Jovovich-Hawk, with Jovovich modeling select pieces, was featured on the cover of the May 2006 issue of C (California Style) Magazine.
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.
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."[10]
Jovovich is a polyglot - she fluently speaks Russian,[11] French, English and Serbian (possibly to a lesser extent).[11]
Milla Jovovich on the poster for Ultraviolet (2006).
