Alyssa Milano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alyssa Milano
Milano in 2024
Born	Alyssa Jayne Milano (1972-12-19) December 19, 1972 (age 52) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actress activist
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Cinjun Tate ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 1999)​ David Bugliari ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	2

Alyssa Jayne Milano (/mɪˈlɑːnoʊ/ mil-AH-noh; born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in Who's the Boss? (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in Melrose Place (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed (1998–2006), Billie Cunningham in My Name Is Earl (2007–2008), Savannah "Savi" Davis in Mistresses (2013–2014), Renata Murphy in Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017), and Coralee Armstrong in Insatiable (2018–2019).

Early life

Alyssa Jayne Milano was born in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of New York City's Brooklyn borough on December 19, 1972, the daughter of fashion designer and talent manager Lin Milano and film music editor Thomas M. Milano. She is of Italian descent and has a brother named Cory, who is a decade younger. She was raised Catholic.

Career

1980s and 1990s

Milano began her career at age seven, when her babysitter, without notifying her parents, took her to an audition for the national touring company of Annie. She was one of four selected from more than 1,500 girls. During the course of her work in the play, Milano and her mother were on the road for 18 months. After returning to New York, Milano appeared in television commercials, and performed several roles in off-Broadway productions, including the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre. While accompanying a friend from Annie to the office of a New York agent, the agent signed Milano. She does not feel that growing up in front of the camera harmed her childhood and has said: "I love my family very much – they've really backed my career. I consider myself to be normal: I've got to clean my room, and help in the kitchen." In August 1984, Milano made her film debut in the coming-of-age drama Old Enough, which she recalled as a "great way of starting out". The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won First Prize.

Milano auditioned as the daughter of Tony Danza's character on the sitcom Who's the Boss? After winning the part, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, where the show was produced. It premiered on ABC on September 20, 1984. Throughout Who's the Boss?, Milano developed a close relationship with co-star Danza. Commenting on their early years together, Danza observed: "She was just the sweetest little girl of all time ... She became much like my daughter." The series established Milano as a teen idol, and provided her opportunities for other roles. Her education was split between school and an on-set tutor with whom Milano would work for three hours a day.

Milano with Nancy Reagan in 1987

At age 12, Milano co-starred in Commando (1985) as Jenny Matrix, the daughter of John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Subsequently, she starred in the children's film The Canterville Ghost, which 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". 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 later criticised their musical quality. She has noted her love of English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) during her teens.

On stage, Milano 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, producing and starring in a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free from December 26, 1991, to January 19, 1992. Milano starred in two 1988 television films, Crash Course and Dance 'til Dawn. Both projects allowed her to work alongside close personal friend Brian Bloom, who worked with his brother Scott with her 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, Teen Steam, and achieved some fame outside the US 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: "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.

Milano welcomed the cancellation of Who's the Boss?, as she was ready to move on to other roles 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 starred in such films as Candles in the Dark, Confessions of a Sorority Girl, The Surrogate, To Brave Alaska and Fear, which did not receive very positive reviews, although Jack Matthews of the Los Angeles Times called Milano's performance in Fear "very good". Milano starred in the lead role in Hugo Pool (1997). In late 1996, Milano was offered a role of Jennifer Mancini on the drama Melrose Place by producer Aaron Spelling: "We were looking for someone with sparkle. Alyssa was the perfect choice." She left early in season seven. In 1998, she was cast as Phoebe Halliwell, one of the three lead characters on Spelling's show Charmed. She and Holly Marie Combs became producers for the show during season four. The series ran for eight seasons, concluding in 2006. Also in 1998, she played Mark Hoppus's love interest in the music video for Blink-182's "Josie".

2000s

Milano in 2003

In the early 2000s, Milano played Eva Savelot in MCI Inc. commercials for that company's 1-800-COLLECT campaign. In 2007, Milano's commercial work included two 2007 television ads for Veet and Sheer Cover. That year, she filmed a pilot for ABC called Reinventing the Wheelers, which was not picked up for the 2007–08 season. That season she appeared in ten episodes of My Name Is Earl. Milano was part of TBS's special coverage installment Hot Corner for the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. A fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in April 2007, Milano began writing a baseball blog on the Major League Baseball's website. That year she reported at Fenway Park during the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The same year, she launched her signature "Touch" line of team apparel for female baseball fans, selling it through her blog on Major League Baseball's website. It also became available in 2009 through a boutique store located in Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. She has an interest in the Los Angeles Kings, a National Hockey League team, and is involved with a related clothing line. In 2008, she expanded that to NFL football, as a New York Giants fan. Since Milano is from the same hometown as NFL Network's Rich Eisen, she revealed some of her family's connections with the Giants. In 2013, Milano expanded "Touch" into NASCAR.

On March 20, 2009, it was announced that Milano voiced Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. In a 2010 interview she told the press that she had 'a blast' working on the game, although she recalled it being 'odd' having to grunt in a room alone. On March 24, 2009, her book on her baseball fandom, Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic, was released. Milano has signed on to star in and produce My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, a romantic comedy in which she plays a woman with a relationship dilemma. Milano starred in the sitcom Romantically Challenged as Rebecca Thomas, a recently divorced single mother attorney in Pittsburgh who has not dated "since Bill Clinton was president". The series premiered on ABC on April 19, 2010. The series was cancelled after airing four episodes. Milano produced and led the cast of Lifetime's TV film Sundays at Tiffany's. which was her second collaboration with Lifetime, after Wisegal (2008).

2010s and 2020s

Milano promoting her graphic novel Hacktivist in 2015

In 2011, Milano appeared in two comedy films, Hall Pass and New Year's Eve. In 2013, Milano created the comic book series Hacktivist, which was written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, drawn by Marcus To, and published by Archaia Entertainment. The book, which explores the modern world of hacking and global activism, is described as "a fast-paced cyber-thriller about friendship and freedom in a time of war". The publication was released digitally in late 2013, while the first print edition issue of the four-issue miniseries was published in January 2014. A hardcover edition collecting all four issues was released in July 2014. The series received positive reviews, as it holds a score of 8.1 out of 10 at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup.

In June 2013, she played Savannah Davis in ABC drama series Mistresses, which is about the scandalous lives of four girlfriends, but she left the show after season two, due to conflict between filming location and family issues. She signed on as host and judge Project Runway: All Stars beginning with season three. On March 2, 2015, Milano was a guest host on The Talk. In September 2015, Milano began to make appearances as a brand ambassador for the preschool television channel Sprout, being billed as the network's "mom-bassador". In 2017 and 2018, Milano joined the cast of two Netflix comedy series: Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later and Insatiable. In 2018 she was cast in the lead role in Tempting Fate, based on the best-selling book by Jane Green.

In 2019, she released a children's book Hope: Project Middle School Book which is part of her 'Hope' book series which she co-authors with Debbie Rigaud. Also in 2019, Milano began hosting the podcast Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry. The podcast deals with social and political commentary and frequently features actors, activists, and political luminaries. In 2020, Milano was a recurring star on the Quibi comedy The Now. In 2021, Milano was cast to star in the Netflix film adaptation of Nora Roberts' novel Brazen Virtue.

In October 2021, Milano's book Sorry Not Sorry was released. It contains 32 essays describing her activism and thoughts on current political and social issues. On October 29, 2021, she signed a first-look production deal with A&E Studios. She also signed a deal with the United Talent Agency (UTA) more recently, on December 13, 2021. Milano will perform the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway in the fall of 2024.

Other ventures

She has appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Stuff, Seventeen, Cleo, Woman's World and Veronica. She has appeared in television commercials for Wen, Candies, Veet, Hi-C and Atkins diet. She was a spokesmodel for Sheer Cover cosmetics.

Activism

Since 2004, Milano has canvassed for national, state, and local candidates.

In October 2004, Milano participated in UNICEF's "Trick or Treat" campaign as the national spokesperson. She raised approximately US$50,000 for South African women and children with AIDS by selling her own and schools' photo work.

In support of PETA, she appeared in a 2007 advertisement for them, advocating vegetarianism, in a dress made entirely of vegetables.

In June 2007, The Sabin Vaccine Institute named Milano a Founding Ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an alliance formed to advocate and mobilize resources in the fight to control neglected tropical diseases, to which Milano donated US$250,000. She is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States of America. Her field work for the organization has included a 2004 trip to Angola to speak with HIV-positive women and people disfigured by land mines during the country's civil war; a trip to India to meet displaced mothers living in squalor following the 2004 tsunami; and a 2010 trip to the settlement of Kolonia in western Kosovo to witness impoverished living conditions. Milano wrote on her blog that the latter trip was "the hardest experience I've had on a field visit", and described a waste dump close to the settlement where children spent time looking for metal to sell or scavenging for food.

Milano in 2011

For her 37th birthday, December 19, 2009, Milano ran an online fundraising campaign for Charity: Water. Her original goal was to raise US$25,000, but a donation from her husband led to a total of over US$75,000 on December 18. The fundraiser ran until December 26.

In 2018, she was announced as a co-chair of the Health Care Voter campaign. She wrote an op-ed in Time on why health care would decide her vote in 2018. In July 2018, and again in December 2020, Milano encouraged Twitter users to seek out VoteRiders to help eliminate confusion about voter ID laws.

Milano, who spoke at the 2018 Women's March, refused to participate in 2019, citing the failure of 2019 Women's March leaders Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour to condemn the homophobia, antisemitism, and transphobia of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. In 2018, she was selected as one of the "Silence Breakers", who were picked as Time Person of the Year.

In October 2021, Milano was arrested during a voting rights demonstration outside the White House.

In November 2022, Milano announced via Twitter that she had exchanged her Tesla for a Volkswagen electric vehicle. She declared, "I gave back my Tesla, I bought the VW ev. I love it. I'm not sure how advertisers can buy space on Twitter. Publicly traded company's products being pushed in alignment with hate and white supremacy doesn't seem to be a winning business model." Critics were quick to point out Volkswagen's past relationship with the Nazi Party which founded the then state-owned company in 1937.

On May 28, 2024, Milano became an ambassador of the UNITED24 global initiative in support of Ukraine in the field of education and science.

Political views

Milano co-founded #NoRA, a coalition of artists, activists, and survivors of gun violence in an effort to reduce the influence of the National Rifle Association of America in American government. In September 2019, Milano met with Ted Cruz and Fred Guttenberg to discuss gun violence. Guttenberg said this was "a really important day."

Milano helped raise money for Richard Dien Winfield, a Democrat in Georgia's 2018 10th congressional district race. Milano phone banked, a political campaign strategy to collect voter data and get out the vote, with Piper Perabo and drove people to the polls for the United States Senate special election in Alabama on December 12, 2017, to vote for Democratic candidate Doug Jones. Milano, with actor Christopher Gorham, drove voters to the polls during early voting and on March 27, 2017, for Georgia's 6th congressional district 2017 special election for Jon Ossoff, and she later posted photos of herself with the voters on Instagram. Milano and Gorham had been in the area for the pilot of Insatiable.

In 2015, Milano endorsed Bernie Sanders for president of the United States. In 2016, after the Democratic Party presidential primaries, she expressed support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She was also involved in get-out-the-vote efforts for Rob Quist.

In March 2020, Milano endorsed former US vice president Joe Biden for president of the United States.

In October 2023, Milano signed an open letter from several artists to Biden, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

In 2024, Alyssa Milano supported Ukraine and joined UNITED24 ambassadors in raising funds for Ukraine.

Personal life

Milano was involved with actor Corey Haim from 1987 to 1990. In 1993, she became engaged to actor Scott Wolf, but they broke off their engagement the following year.

On January 1, 1999, Milano married singer Cinjun Tate from alternative rock band Remy Zero. They separated on November 20, 1999, and were divorced on December 1, 1999.

In a 2004 interview, Milano explained how she deals with her dyslexia: "I've stumbled over words while reading from teleprompters. Sir John Gielgud, whom I worked with on The Canterville Ghost years ago, gave me great advice. When I asked how he memorized his monologues, he said, 'I write them down.' I use that method to this day. It not only familiarizes me with the words, it makes them my own."

After a year of dating, Milano became engaged to CAA agent David Bugliari in December 2008. They were married at Bugliari's family home in New Jersey on August 15, 2009. They had a son on August 31, 2011, and a daughter on September 4, 2014.

In 2015, Milano sold her condominium in West Hollywood and moved to Bell Canyon, California, where she owns land and her then nine horses, eight chickens, two rabbits, and five dogs.

In 2017, Milano's $10 million lawsuit against her business manager resulted in a cross-complaint.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Discography

• Look in My Heart (1989)
• Alyssa (1989)
• Locked Inside a Dream (1991)
• Do You See Me? (1992)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Alyssa Milano para niños