Supermodel
An unstoppable package Meet the gorgeous, leggy Milla Jovovich, who proves everyday that beauty with brains is not a myth
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t’s hard to define Milla Jovovich. You can call her a supermodel. You might peg her as a philanthropist, an actor, or a singer. The truth is, however, that she is all of these things wrapped into one unstoppable package. As she herself puts it, “I’m a dabbler.” Born on December 17, 1975 in Kiev, Ukraine to father Bogdanovitch Jovovich (Serbian doctor) and mother Galina Loginova Jovovich, Jovovich only spent six years living in the Soviet Union, moving in 1981 to London, England, then Sacramento, California and eventually Los Angeles, California. This soon-to-be supermodel began her career at the tender age of 11, when she was spotted by a photographer who immediately picked her up to be shot in a Revlon feature titled ‘Most Unforgettable Women in the World’. By the age of 12, she was on the first of many covers for Italian fashion magazine Lei. In 1987, continuing her budding modeling career, Milla signed on with a professional agency. From there, her career flourished. She gained exposure by modeling for several well-known brands such as Banana Republic, Gap, L’Oréal and Versace and featured in literally hundreds of magazines. But this versatile bombshell would never have been satisfied doing just one thing, “Modelling was never a priority. I was always taking acting classes.” At the early age of 14, Milla appeared in her first main role in The Night Train to Kathmandu. Later, following roles in television series Paradise and Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, she was cast as the lead in Return to The Blue Lagoon, a follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Blue Lagoon (which starred
“Before, being aa model, it was just aa job, “Before, being model, it was just job, and I was making fun ofof it. it. But today, I take and I was making fun But today, I take my career more seriously. The fact that aa my career more seriously. The fact that reader may buy anan Armani reader may buy Armaniitem itembecause because she’d seen it on me inin aa magazine is is very she’d seen it on me magazine very important toto me. SoSo much soso that I intend important me. much that I intend toto launch my own label.” launch my own label.” JUNE 2010
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Supermodel none other than Brooke Shields!). Her performance was, unfortunately, panned by critics the world over, and she was even nominated as ‘Worst New Actress’ at the Golden Raspberry Awards. After a string of equally unsuccessful films, it looked like Jovovich would never catch a break in Hollywood. Discouraged, she took a hiatus from her acting career. And yet at the same time she had reached the zenith of her modeling career, Jovovich began to expand her ever-growing reach in the entertainment industry by releasing her first album, The Divine Comedy, in 1994. It was an indie, folksy album that gained much critical acclaim from critics. However, the stunning reviews of the album did not match sales, and though it remains popular with devoted fans, the album never reached mainstream success. Jovovich continued to sing for soundtracks to movies and continues to pursue a career in music by posting demos of her new single for free download on her website. In 1997, Jovovich returned to acting with a whole new perspective on her career in Hollywood, “From
“I approach the cinema as a business woman. I intend to be in more action movies because, apart from Angelina Jolie, no other actress stands out in this genre.”
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now on, I approach the cinema as a business woman. I intend to be in more action movies because, apart from Angelina Jolie, no other actress stands out in this genre.” In 2002, she finally made her breakthrough, being cast as the lead character in Resident Evil, a movie that would spawn several sequels. The release of the action movie showing Milla do some very ‘Tomb Raider-esque’ moves cemented her reputation in Hollywood as a strong, self-sustaining girl, “I am a strong Ukrainian girl, that is why I work a lot.” With three installments so far, the films were an international success. Jovovich herself was extremely excited about the movie, “It’s Resident Evil, man. It’s my brother’s favourite video game! What’s amazing about Resident Evil is you get a chance to do a really great story and have fun. It’s like going to Disneyland or going to Magic Mountain. It’s fun to make a movie where you’re flying and you’re kicking butt and you’re training and you’re doing so much stuff that you would never do.” While the Resident Evil movies were being filmed, Jovovich also
“Modeling was never a priority. I was always taking acting classes.” began to redesign herself in the modeling industry, citing a shift in priorities as the reason, “Before, being a model, it was just a job, and I was making fun of it. But today, I take my career more seriously. The fact that a reader may buy an Armani item because she’d seen it on me in a magazine is very important to me. So much so that I intend to launch my own label.” And so she did. In 2003, Jovovich and Carmen Hawk launched a line of clothing called Jovovich-Hawk. Vogue magazine praised the line for its ‘girl-about-town cult status most designers spend years trying to achieve’, and, supported by these words of encouragement (not to mention publicity) the clothing line lasted for four years. However, it was discontinued in 2008 by Jovovich due to a sharp increase in demand that could not be met, “It was actually really amazing when we were very private and doing everything in-house, sewing all the clothes in-house, but as soon as the orders got too big and we had to outsource, it was disaster with production companies and factories. I mean, we just couldn’t handle it.” In 2009, Jovovich married Resident Evil director Paul Anderson and they have a threeyear-old daughter together called Ever Anderson. But what of the future? Jovovich plans to continue acting, modelling, and singing. She even hopes to open a new line, this time of baby clothes to support lowincome mothers. The gorgeous, leggy, versatile Milla proves every day that beauties with brains do exist. Radiant, talented and all over the entertainment industry, you’ll be hard placed to miss her! And let’s face it, she’s not going to give us a chance to miss her either. She arrived on the scene a long time ago and now plans to stay. And thank God for that! JUNE 2010
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