ALYSSA MILANO as Samantha Micelli
Birth Place: Brooklyn, NY
Birth Name: Alyssa Jayne Milano
She began acting at the age of eight, but her big break came at the age of eleven when she landed the role of Samantha Micelli on the ABC sitcom "Who's The Boss." She played the part for the next 8 seasons. Her first movie role came at the age of ten in "Old Enough." While working on the TV show Alyssa became a "Pop" music star in Japan recording five platinum albums and performing for large audiences. She didn't, however, experience the same kind of musical success in the U.S. She also released a work out video titled Teen Steam in 1988.
After growing up on national television, Milano felt the need to change her image. She took leading roles in "Embrace of the Vampire" and "Poison Ivy 2: Lily." Two movies that fared poorly, but succeeded in breaking her sweet and wholesome image. About the movies, Alyssa says
she did what she had to do at that point in her career. She also posed for a semi-nude pictorial for Bikini magazine in 1993. "I didn't need to be told that child stars don't make the transition. I couldn't even get a meeting," Alyssa says of that time in her career. "As I've said many times, I'd have loved Winona Ryder's career, but this is what I was getting offered, and I wanted to work."
In 1994, her 2 year relation with Scott Wolf ended with a broken engagement. Wolf went on to star in "Party of Five." Alyssa has his initials (SRW) tattooed on her leg. The two met while filming "Double Dragon" in 1993. Of the break up Alyssa said, "it's bad enough that I have his initials tattooed to my calf, but do I have to see his friggin' face everywhere?"' She has since decided that S.R.W stands for`Some Rad Woman,' and says it is much easier to deal with the break up now that several years have passed.
In 1995, Alyssa's younger brother Cori, then 12, found nude pictures of his sister on the internet. The pictures were a combination of video captures from the films "Embrace of the Vampire (1994)" and "Poison Ivy 2: Lily (1995)," plus photos from Bikini magazine and out right fakes. Alyssa, with the help of her mother Lin, sued the websites. They won more than $200,000 and the pictures were removed. Lin used the money to start a company to help other celebrities with the same problem. When topless pictures of Holly Marie Combs, taken from the movie "Reason to Believe," showed up on the internet Lin helped Holly get them removed.
Alyssa's movie contracts now include a clause giving her editorial control over any nudity she might do. The Milano's internet enterprise(safesearching.com) is now the host for numerous official celebrity websites. About her nude scenes she says "I have no problem with the nudity I've done. I just don't want someone taking it out of context and making $15,000 a month off of it."
In 1997, Aaron Spelling cast Alyssa as Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place. She played the bitchy sex kitten for close to two seasons.
On Charmed :After the first "Phoebe" backed out of the show, Aaron Spelling contacted Alyssa, who was working in Hawaii. Within a week she was on the set. The parts of the pilot which featured "Phoebe" were re-shot with Alyssa. "Charmed is the most satisfying thing I've ever done," Alyssa says of the show and how Spelling allowed her to help develop her
character. "There was no way I could do this show and have Phoebe not find the absurdity in killing warlocks." "That was my contribution to the character - fun."
Alyssa married Cinjun August Tate, a member of the little known rock band Remy Zero, on January 1, 1999. They were married at Rosewood Plantation in Saint Amant, Louisiana (near Baton Rouge) with Shannon Doherty and Holly Marie Combs serving as bridesmaids.
December 1, 1999 Alyssa filed for divorce in Los Angeles citing "irreconcilable differences" and asked not to be held liable for alimony. Milano says she and Tate were good friends who never should have married and the two continue to be close.
Tattoos:
Alyssa has six tattoos. She has a sacred heart on her behind, a fairy kneeling in grass on her hip, rosary beads on her back, an angel on her left ankle, garland of flowers around her right ankle and a an "om" on one wrist. Plus, the initials S.R.W. on her calf.
Other:
Alyssa was used as the model for the animated character Ariel in Disney's Little Mermaid.
After two seasons playing "Jennifer Mancini" on the hit Fox show "Melrose Place," Milano re-teamed with Spelling Television last year in The WB series "Charmed." Now in its second successful season, Alyssa stars with Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs, as one of three San Francisco sisters who discover they are Witches with magical powers. "Charmed" series debut had the highest Nielsen rating of any premiere on The WB.
Milano recently wrapped production on Destination Films' "Buying the Cow." The romantic comedy is scheduled for release in the spring of 2000.
Milano has done several highly rated telefilms, most recently, "Gold Rush," which aired as part of ABC's revival of "The Wonderful World of Disney." Also for ABC, Alyssa starred in "To Brave Alaska" and "The Surrogate," and for teh Showtime Network, Milano starred in the "Confessions of a Sorority Girl" episode of "Rebel Highway," directed by Uli Edel. She was also seen in "Casualty of Love: The Buttafuoco/Fisher Story," playing Amy Fisher; HBO films "Conflict of Interest," and "Candles in the Dark," directed by Maximiliian Schell.
Milano's feature film career includes the title role in the comedy, "Hugo Pool," which debuted at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. The film, directed by Robert Downey, Sr. and co-starring Sean Penn, Malcolm McDowell and Richard Lewis, chronicled a day in the life of a Bel Air pool cleaner (Milano).
Milano made her executive-producing debut in the thriller, "Body Count," in which she also starred opposite actor/recording artist Ice-T.
Milano's additional feature credits include the Imagine Entertainment/Universal Pictures' feature, "Fear," directed by James Foley. In this psychological thriller, Milano co-starred with Reese Whitherspoon and Mark Wahlberg as "Margo," a seventeen year-old going on twenty-five who is involved in a dangerous "fatal attraction" relationship. Other feature films include the action-thriller "Double Dragon," "Where the Day Takes You," "Commando," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and "Little Sister."
Milano got her thespian start in 1980 with the national touring company of "Annie." Besides this beloved musical, Alyssa has starred in "Tender Offer," a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein; "All Night Long," directed by Andre Gregory, and the first musical adaptation of "Jane Eyre." She returned to the theatre in 1991 when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles-based production of "Butterflies are Free."
Milano has also been very active on the Internet, offering millions of fans on the web The Official Alyssa Milano Home Page to visit for photos of herself and info about her acting projects and personal interests. She has also taken groundbreaking action to protect her rights and the rights of celebrities on the World Wide Web. Milano has won several copyright infringement suits, and has dedicated the settlement money to the launch of a new search index on the web, safesearching.com, a global community bringing a safe way to get the best entertainment on the Internet.