Alyssa Milano Biography

Summary

"Alyssa Jayne Milano" (born December 191972) is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom "Who's the Boss?" and Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series "Charmed".

Biography

Early life and career

Milano was born in New York, the daughter of Italian-American parents Lin, a former fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and a well-known boating enthusiast. She has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor. Milano grew up in Staten Island, New York and was raised Catholic. She began her career at the age of eight when she won a part in an open audition for a national tour of "Annie". She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions. At the age of eleven, she earned her first major role in the TV show "Who's the Boss?", alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond. She starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character, Tony Micelli. When Milano won the role, her family relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called "Teen Steam".

She won Kids' Choice Awards in 1988, '89, and '90 for her role on "Who's the Boss?" She nominated for an 'Annie' Award for her work on "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure".

Later career

At the beginning of her career, Milano was known mainly for her role on "Who's the Boss?" (1984-1992). She tried to shed her 'nice girl' image by appearing in several films targeted at adults, such as "commando(1985)Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story" (1992), "Embrace of the Vampire" (1994), "Confessions of a Sorority Girl" (1994), "Deadly Sins" (1995), and "Poison Ivy II: Lily" (1995), where she starred opposite Johnathon Schaech and Xander Berkley. She gained more mainstream success in TV as Jennifer Mancini on "Melrose Place" (1997-1998), Meg Winston in "Spin City" and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on "Charmed" (1998-2006). Both Milano and Holly Marie Combs became producers for "Charmed" during the show's fifth season. In 2007, Milano filmed a pilot for ABC entitled "Reinventing the Wheelers". The series was not picked up for the 2007-2008 season.

Milano played the role of Eva Savelot in MCI's 1-800-COLLECT commercials.

On stage, she starred in "Tender Offer", a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein, "All Night Long", and the first American musical adaptation of "Jane Eyre". She returned to her theater roots in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of "Butterflies Are Free".

Alyssa also appeared in the Josie music video by Blink-182.

In 2007, Milano began appearing on television commercials for Veet.

Milano was part of TBS' special coverage installment "Hot Corner" for the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. She reported at Fenway Park during the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. She also reported at Chase Field during the NLCS between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

Starting in November 2007 Milano will appear in a minimum of eight episodes on the show "My Name is Earl" as a 'possible love interest for Jason Lee'. This will reunite her with Jaime Pressly who guest starred in the Season 5 premiere of "Charmed".

Personal life

Outside of acting, her hobbies include photography, humanitarian work and spending time with her four dogs; Ripley, Stella, Hugo, and Lucy. Her other pets are birds and horses.

She has a phobia of water as well.

Milano suffers from Dyslexia. In an interview in 2004, Milano explained how she deals with the disorder:

Milano is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2007 she created her own signature 'Touch' line of team apparel for female baseball fans, currently available on Major League Baseball's website. She also maintains a baseball blog.

Philanthropy

Milano was recently appointed Founding Ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. The Global Network is an alliance formed to advocate and mobilize resources in the fight to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Milano will work to raise awareness of NTDs by educating the mainstream media and general public of the plight faced by the one billion people who are afflicted by NTDs, and the importance in controlling and preventing this global health crisis.

Milano is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States. She traveled to India, as well as Angola, to work with UNICEF field officers there. In the fall of 2004, she launched UNICEF's 'Trick or Treat' campaign as an official spokesperson. She raised approximately $50,000 for South African women and children with AIDS by selling her own photo work and a school's photo work.

Milano is also a supporter of PETA.