Alyssa Milano, an American actress of Italian descent, captivated the hearts of viewers as they watched her grow up on screen. Her first significant role arrived when she was just twelve years old in the film "Who's the Boss?", endearing her character, Samantha Micelli, to the American audience until 1992. For her brilliant portrayal of this character, Milano was honoured with four 'Young Artist Awards'.
Pictured: Alyssa Milano
Her international recognition burgeoned with the role of Phoebe Halliwell in the supernatural TV series "Charmed", where she played the youngest of the witch sisters.
Childhood, Family, First Roles
Alyssa Jayne was born in the winter of 1972 to Thomas and Lin Milano in Brooklyn. A decade later, she was bestowed with a baby brother named Cory. Her father worked as a music editor and was an avid yachting enthusiast, while her mother was a fashion designer. They were both part of the hippie subculture, fostering a liberal atmosphere at home, although they ensured their children attended the Catholic Church.
Alyssa Milano in Childhood
From an early age, Alyssa demonstrated an affinity for art, music and weaving fantastical tales, which she would recount to her younger brother, often enacting entire plays for him. She was undoubtedly grooming herself for a life on stage.
During one of her mother's fashion shows, a model-dancer took note of the little girl and suggested she audition for a new musical. At the tender age of eight, Milano triumphed over a thousand hopefuls to land the role of orphan Julie in the Broadway production of "Annie". This was followed by participation in the productions of "Jane Eyre" and "A Tender Offer".
Alyssa Milano in the TV Series 'Who's the Boss?'
When she was offered her first role in a television series at the age of eleven, the family decided to move to Los Angeles, the heart of the film industry. Here, she enrolled in the Buckley School, pursued music, and simultaneously starred in the family comedy "Who's the Boss?", playing the lead role of Samantha Micelli, the daughter of a former baseball player who becomes a housekeeper for a wealthy family.
A snashot from the TV Series 'Who's the Boss?'
Milano quickly won the affections of the audience. The series spanned eight years, during which time the aspiring actress also made her mark as a singer. In Japan, she recorded five studio albums, although only the last one, "Do You See Me?", achieved commercial success in the U.S.
Alyssa Milano – Look In My Heart
In the year 2017, the actress unveiled a shocking revelation. As it transpired, at the tender age of 15, she endured harassment on the set, yet she refrained from publicizing the incident. The actress chose not to disclose the name of her assailant. He put his hand under my underwear and tried to force his fingers inside of me. He violated me on a set with cameras rolling, she said.
Alyssa Milano MeToo story
Concurrently with her work in the TV series, Milano found time to appear in several films, albeit in secondary roles. She portrayed Jenny Matrix in the action film "Commando" alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Diana in the drama "Old Enough" with Sarah Boyd, and Jennifer in "The Canterville Ghost" with John Gielgud. She also played Diana in the comedy "Little Sister", with Jonathan Silverman embodying the character of her on-screen brother.
"Charmed" and Other Projects
Upon concluding her role in the series "Who's the Boss?", Alyssa transitioned into a new phase with a sigh of relief, much to the surprise of her fans accustomed to seeing her portray the girl-next-door. Thrillers and adult-only horror films began to populate the actress's filmography.
A Scene from the Movie 'Embrace of the Vampire'
She portrayed the young virgin Charlotte in "Embrace of the Vampire," student Christina in "Deadly Sins," and a young artist in "Poison Ivy II: Lily." In each role, Milano appeared in explicit bedroom scenes, exposing humanity's most base vices.
Alyssa Milano in 'Poison Ivy II'
After the young actress posed for a revealing photoshoot for "Bikini" magazine, her co-star from the family series, Tony Danza, expressed concern for Alyssa's moral state. In the meantime, she sued a web designer who had disseminated her explicit pictures on his website, and won the case, receiving nearly a quarter of a million dollars for emotional distress.
Young Alyssa Milano
During this period, Milano also participated in Maximilian Schell's television drama "Candles in the Dark." Her character, an American girl named Sylvia, arrives in Tallinn during the restructuring period when the Baltic states began their fight for independence from the USSR.
A Scene from 'Candles in the Dark'
In 1997, the actress joined the series "Melrose Place" as Jennifer Mancini, appearing in this role for one season.
Alyssa Milano in 'Melrose Place'
After Milano starred with Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon in James Foley's thriller "Fear," she began to receive offers for more serious roles. In 1998, she signed an eight-year contract to play the lead role of Phoebe Halliwell in the mystical TV series "Charmed," which brought Milano extraordinary popularity beyond America.
'Charmed': Alyssa Milano as Phoebe
A lot happened over the course of eight seasons of filming. For instance, after the third season, Shannen Doherty, who played the role of the oldest sister Prue, left the show amid a scandal. Rumors circulated that Alyssa had a hand in this.
Phoebe Halliwell - All Premonitions & Fights Scenes (s01)
Although at the beginning of the project the trio of girls were inseparable, with Holly Marie and Shannen Doherty even being bridesmaids at Milano's wedding, by the start of the third season, conflicts between Alyssa and Shannen had reached a peak. They ignored each other, and, according to rumors, Milano issued an ultimatum to the showrunners: either her or Doherty. Alyssa denies this version of events.
I'm sorry she left, and it's unfortunate that she now feels the need to publicly trash everyone involved in the show, as well as the audience. She seems to be very angry. I just hope I'm not the cause of that anger.
However, when Doherty was diagnosed with cancer 15 years later, the former colleagues buried the hatchet.
'Charmed' Cast
By the fourth season, only two sisters remained in the show – Phoebe and Paige (played by Holly Marie Combs). The producers had to quickly invent a lost fourth sister, played by Rose McGowan after Doherty's departure.
The Feud Between Rose McGowan & Alyssa Milano
After the end of the series, Milano was no longer offered roles similar to Phoebe, however, she continued to be actively involved in filming. Her repertoire includes TV series such as "Mistresses" (Savannah Davis), "Grey's Anatomy" (Hayley Peterson), and "My Name Is Earl" (Billie Cunningham).
Scene from the TV series 'Grey's Anatomy'
In the criminal biographical drama "Wisegal," the actress appeared as Patty Montanari, a widow who, to feed her two sons, strikes a deal with the mafia. She then played the bold and independent Jessie in the comedy "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend," and in the drama "Sundays at Tiffany's" she took on the role of the main character, Jane.
Scene from the movie 'Sundays at Tiffany's'
In 2019, the actress played the role of Gabby in the drama "Tempting Fate," and in 2020, the family movie "You're My Home" was released, starring Milano in the lead role.
Alyssa Milano in 2020
Alyssa Milano's Personal Life
For a long time, the actress's love stories didn't go beyond short-term affairs. The list of her former lovers is quite impressive. The first was Corey Haim, a Canadian actor. They met in 1987 when they were both young. Their first love ended after three years when Corey offered Alyssa to try drugs, from which he himself could never free himself, dying at the age of 38.
Alyssa Milano's first boyfriend - Corey Haim
Milano then turned her attention to actor David Arquette, then met New York Islanders hockey player Wayne McBean, and in 1993 the actress was set to marry up-and-coming Boston actor Scott Wolf. However, the groom disappeared a month before their wedding without any explanation. Milano believed that he was only interested in a relationship with her for the sake of PR. Much later, in 2019, she confessed that Scott did not want children, and she had to have two abortions.
Alyssa Milano and Scott Wolf
Alyssa's first husband was Cinjun Tate, the frontman of the band Remy Zero. Her "sisters" from "Charmed" served as bridesmaids at her wedding in 1999, but the marriage fell apart after a few months. As Milano stated, it was due to irreconcilable differences.
Alyssa Milano and her first husband Cinjun Tate
While filming the witch series, she started a relationship with Brian Krause, who played her character Phoebe's boss. Notably, the actor was married at the time, and his wife caught him and Milano in a compromising situation. Brian got divorced, but his attempts to start a family with Alyssa didn't work out: the couple broke up after two years.
On the set of 'Charmed'
Audiences, keenly following the development of relationships of their beloved "Charmed" characters, attributed affairs to Milano with Julian McMahon, with whom the actress portrayed a fiery passion in the series plot. Then there were rumors about Alyssa's closeness with the actor who played Chris, Drew Fuller. However, regardless of how much the series' fans wanted to link their favorites in real life, romantic relationships ended right at the shooting site.
By that time, Milano had met pop artist Justin Timberlake, who is nine years her junior. The young man confessed to the actress that he had a poster of her as Samantha Micelli from "Who's the Boss?" in his bedroom, which incredibly touched the actress. Justin had just broken up with Britney Spears, and Alyssa briefly consoled the young man. Another boyfriend of the actress was baseball player Barry Zito, with whom she dated for a year.
Alyssa Milano and Justin Timberlake dated
The actress's second husband was sports agent David Bugliari, whom she met in 2006. Two years later they got engaged, and in 2009 the couple officially tied the knot. The wedding celebration took place at David's parents' home in New Jersey.
The wedding of Alyssa Milano and David Bugliari
In 2011, Alyssa and David became the happy parents of a boy, whom they named Milo Thomas. In 2014, his sister Elizabella Dylan was born. After the birth of her daughter, the actress declined to appear in the sequel to the series "Mistresses" because she did not want to leave her family for four months to shoot in Canada.
Alyssa Milano with children
Alyssa Milano enjoys photography and charity work. She spends her free time with her pets. She has three dogs, the same number of cats, 13 birds, and 8 horses. The actress is a vegetarian and actively participates in advertising campaigns, urging to refrain from eating meat products.
The actress is afraid of water, which has repeatedly caused problems on set. Specifically, during the filming of the "Witch's Tail" episode.
Alyssa suffers from dyslexia:
I stumbled on reading words on the teleprompter. Sir Arthur Gilgud, who worked with me on 'The Canterville Ghost,' gave me good advice. I asked how he remembers his monologues, and he answered - 'I rewrite them several times.' I use this method now all the time.
Alyssa has eight tattoos: a fairy on her knees in the grass on her lower abdomen, a heart on her lower back, rosary beads on her right shoulder, an angel with a cross and the initials of her unfulfilled spouse on her left ankle, a garland of flowers around her right ankle, a snake biting its tail on her right wrist, the "om" sign on her left wrist, and a Chinese character on the back of her neck.
Part of Alyssa Milano's tattoos
From 1992 to 2003, Milano had breast implants. The implants had to be removed due to health problems.
The actress adores baseball and roots for the Los Angeles Dodgers. She has a season pass for all the team's games.
In 2007, a line of women's clothing by Alyssa Milano was launched, which is branded with the word "Touch". The actress promoted her product in a rather original way. The clothing line was written about on the Major League Baseball website and in her own baseball blog. By the way, besides the baseball team, Milano roots for the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL and the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. She designs clothes with these clubs' symbols.
The actress is a big fan of baseball
Alyssa Milano donated $250,000 to the "Global Organization for Neglected Tropical Diseases". She is also a goodwill ambassador for the UNICEF USA. In 2004, she started the "Trick or Treat" campaign under the aegis of UNICEF. By selling her photographic works, Alyssa raised $50,000 for South African children with HIV.
Alyssa Milano now
In 2021, it was announced that the actress would play the lead role in a film based on the romantic thriller "Brazen" by Nora Roberts. She appeared as the writer Grace, whose life drastically changed after her sister's murder. Grace will take on the investigation, despite the detective's warnings about the danger.
Alyssa Milano now
In addition, Milano will play Sarah in the series "The Now", and two more films with her participation are in production: Ben Epstein's drama "Who Are You People" and a film written by the actress herself "Alyssa Milano for Mayor".
She continues her active work as a goodwill ambassador for the UNICEF, participates in charitable projects of UNICEF and PETA. Apart from acting and public work, she continues to raise her children, devotes time to her pets, of which Milano has a lot: dogs, cats, horses, birds. And she does not forget about her hobby - photography.
