About
Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress, producer and former singer. She is known for portraying Samantha Micelli on the ABC sitcom series Who's the Boss? (1984–92), Jennifer Mancini on the Fox soap opera Melrose Place (1997–98), and Phoebe Halliwell on The WB series Charmed (1998–2006). Since 2013, she has starred as Savannah Davis in ABC drama Mistresses.
Career
Milano began her career at age eight after winning a role in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She was one of the four picked out of an audition with over 1,500 girls. She appeared in off-Broadway productions and television commercials, the latter of which she hated doing because of the long hours. Alongside the theater productions, she played a supporting role in the low-budget independent film Old Enough, which she recalled as a "great" way for "starting out".
At age 11, she won her first major acting role in the television sitcom Who's the Boss? with Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond. She co-starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character. After Milano won the role, she and her father relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. The rest of the family followed a year later, because her mother was initially unwilling to give up her home life "for a show that wasn't a guarantee." Although born and raised in Brooklyn, Milano had trouble getting this accent right because she worked to lose it to land more roles in the theater, including in a stage adaption of Jane Eyre. Throughout Who's the Boss?, Milano felt a strong connection with co-star Danza.
As a teen, Milano reportedly inspired two Disney animators, Glen Keane and Mark Henn to create the look and personality of Ariel in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid. On stage, she starred in Tender Offer, a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein, All Night Long by American playwright John O'Keefe, and the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre. She returned to the theater in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free from December 26, 1991 to January 19, 1992.
In 1985, Milano was in the film Commando as Jenny Matrix, the daughter of John (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Appearing at age 12 in an R-rated action film, Milano admitted she was sometimes "freaked out" by the weapons on set. A few years later this film was shown in Japan, prompting a producer to offer Milano a five-album record deal. Milano's albums, which she described as "bubblegum pop", scored platinum in the country, though she in later life showed her discontent in its musical quality. Subsequently, she appeared opposite John Gielgud in the children's film The Canterville Ghost (1986). The film did not achieve much praise or attention, and Variety magazine noted in its review: "Milano as the catalyzing daughter Jennifer adapts to the ghostly Sir Simon without a qualm; that, of course, is the true charm of the story, but Milano doesn't exhibit enough presence to match the droll, charming Gielgud".
By the late 1980s, Milano was established as a teen idol, appearing in made-for-television teen films such as Crash Course and Dance 'til Dawn (both 1988). Both projects allowed her to work alongside close personal friend Brian Bloom. Bloom and his brother Scott worked with Milano in episodes of Who's the Boss. This working camaraderie would later expand in 1993 when Milano made a cameo appearance in Bloom's film The Webbers. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam and achieved some fame outside the USA with her music career, which lasted until the early 1990s. Even though she scored platinum in Japan, Milano had no interest to pursue a music career in the United States, explaining: "I'm not interested in crossing over. I'd much rather have it released where it's appreciated than laughed at." Simultaneously, she wrote a weekly column called "From Alyssa, with love" for the teen magazine Teen Machine. In 1991, Milano wanted to quit acting to pursue an academic career, but was unable to gain release from her contract.
Instead, she auditioned for the female lead role as a homeless teenager in the independent film Where the Day Takes You. Although the crew was reluctant to sign a former child star, she was given a small role as a prostitute in the production, which she filmed in the summer of 1991. Even though she feared that viewers would only recognize her as "the girl from Who's the Boss?", she was noticed by the media, that helped her land the controversial role of Amy Fisher in the high profile TV movie Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story. Milano said that her portrayal of Amy Fisher was more based on Joey Buttafuoco's point of view, and that the film "was the least 'Alyssa' of anything [she had] done." The film was shot in the fall of 1992. By then, her role on Who's the Boss had ended, and she feared having trouble obtaining other roles, aware of the fate of many grown-up child stars in that period. Nevertheless, she was excited when she found out the show was cancelled, being ready "to move on", and enthusiastic to "showcase" what she was able to do. Looking back on eight years of playing the same role, Milano commented, "Creatively, it's been very frustrating. I gave her more of a personality. I changed her wardrobe, cut her hair, anything to give her new life."
Milano put her plans to pursue academic goals on hold, due to her negative prospect of having to be in class for four more years after experiencing eight structured years on a set. Instead, she auditioned for nearly every film role in her age bracket, including B movies[14] and finally tried to shed her "nice girl" image by appearing nude in several erotic films targeted at adults, such as Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1996). Milano said the nude appearances taught her to begin requiring a nudity clause in her contracts giving her "full control" over all her nude scenes. In a 1995 interview, she explained her motivation for some explicit scenes in Embrace of the Vampire: "I'm not going to say that I was manipulated into doing things that I didn't want to do. I did it because it was a woman director and I felt protected. And I learned a lot as far as knowing where the camera is and what coverage they need so that it's not all explicit."
Simultaneously, Milano continued her work for television. In 1994, she was considered to replace Shannen Doherty in the successful teen series Beverly Hills, 90210. She played the lead in several made-for-TV films, such as Candles in the Dark (1993), Confessions of a Sorority Girl (1994), The Surrogate (1995), To Brave Alaska (1996) and Fear (1996), which did not receive very positive reviews, although the Los Angeles Times called Milano "very good" in the production.
Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress, producer and former singer. She is known for portraying Samantha Micelli on the ABC sitcom series Who's the Boss? (1984–92), Jennifer Mancini on the Fox soap opera Melrose Place (1997–98), and Phoebe Halliwell on The WB series Charmed (1998–2006). Since 2013, she has starred as Savannah Davis in ABC drama Mistresses.
Career
Milano began her career at age eight after winning a role in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She was one of the four picked out of an audition with over 1,500 girls. She appeared in off-Broadway productions and television commercials, the latter of which she hated doing because of the long hours. Alongside the theater productions, she played a supporting role in the low-budget independent film Old Enough, which she recalled as a "great" way for "starting out".
At age 11, she won her first major acting role in the television sitcom Who's the Boss? with Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond. She co-starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character. After Milano won the role, she and her father relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. The rest of the family followed a year later, because her mother was initially unwilling to give up her home life "for a show that wasn't a guarantee." Although born and raised in Brooklyn, Milano had trouble getting this accent right because she worked to lose it to land more roles in the theater, including in a stage adaption of Jane Eyre. Throughout Who's the Boss?, Milano felt a strong connection with co-star Danza.
As a teen, Milano reportedly inspired two Disney animators, Glen Keane and Mark Henn to create the look and personality of Ariel in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid. On stage, she starred in Tender Offer, a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein, All Night Long by American playwright John O'Keefe, and the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre. She returned to the theater in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free from December 26, 1991 to January 19, 1992.
In 1985, Milano was in the film Commando as Jenny Matrix, the daughter of John (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Appearing at age 12 in an R-rated action film, Milano admitted she was sometimes "freaked out" by the weapons on set. A few years later this film was shown in Japan, prompting a producer to offer Milano a five-album record deal. Milano's albums, which she described as "bubblegum pop", scored platinum in the country, though she in later life showed her discontent in its musical quality. Subsequently, she appeared opposite John Gielgud in the children's film The Canterville Ghost (1986). The film did not achieve much praise or attention, and Variety magazine noted in its review: "Milano as the catalyzing daughter Jennifer adapts to the ghostly Sir Simon without a qualm; that, of course, is the true charm of the story, but Milano doesn't exhibit enough presence to match the droll, charming Gielgud".
By the late 1980s, Milano was established as a teen idol, appearing in made-for-television teen films such as Crash Course and Dance 'til Dawn (both 1988). Both projects allowed her to work alongside close personal friend Brian Bloom. Bloom and his brother Scott worked with Milano in episodes of Who's the Boss. This working camaraderie would later expand in 1993 when Milano made a cameo appearance in Bloom's film The Webbers. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam and achieved some fame outside the USA with her music career, which lasted until the early 1990s. Even though she scored platinum in Japan, Milano had no interest to pursue a music career in the United States, explaining: "I'm not interested in crossing over. I'd much rather have it released where it's appreciated than laughed at." Simultaneously, she wrote a weekly column called "From Alyssa, with love" for the teen magazine Teen Machine. In 1991, Milano wanted to quit acting to pursue an academic career, but was unable to gain release from her contract.
Instead, she auditioned for the female lead role as a homeless teenager in the independent film Where the Day Takes You. Although the crew was reluctant to sign a former child star, she was given a small role as a prostitute in the production, which she filmed in the summer of 1991. Even though she feared that viewers would only recognize her as "the girl from Who's the Boss?", she was noticed by the media, that helped her land the controversial role of Amy Fisher in the high profile TV movie Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story. Milano said that her portrayal of Amy Fisher was more based on Joey Buttafuoco's point of view, and that the film "was the least 'Alyssa' of anything [she had] done." The film was shot in the fall of 1992. By then, her role on Who's the Boss had ended, and she feared having trouble obtaining other roles, aware of the fate of many grown-up child stars in that period. Nevertheless, she was excited when she found out the show was cancelled, being ready "to move on", and enthusiastic to "showcase" what she was able to do. Looking back on eight years of playing the same role, Milano commented, "Creatively, it's been very frustrating. I gave her more of a personality. I changed her wardrobe, cut her hair, anything to give her new life."
Milano put her plans to pursue academic goals on hold, due to her negative prospect of having to be in class for four more years after experiencing eight structured years on a set. Instead, she auditioned for nearly every film role in her age bracket, including B movies[14] and finally tried to shed her "nice girl" image by appearing nude in several erotic films targeted at adults, such as Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1996). Milano said the nude appearances taught her to begin requiring a nudity clause in her contracts giving her "full control" over all her nude scenes. In a 1995 interview, she explained her motivation for some explicit scenes in Embrace of the Vampire: "I'm not going to say that I was manipulated into doing things that I didn't want to do. I did it because it was a woman director and I felt protected. And I learned a lot as far as knowing where the camera is and what coverage they need so that it's not all explicit."
Simultaneously, Milano continued her work for television. In 1994, she was considered to replace Shannen Doherty in the successful teen series Beverly Hills, 90210. She played the lead in several made-for-TV films, such as Candles in the Dark (1993), Confessions of a Sorority Girl (1994), The Surrogate (1995), To Brave Alaska (1996) and Fear (1996), which did not receive very positive reviews, although the Los Angeles Times called Milano "very good" in the production.
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