Alyssa Milano is an American actress and former singer who is still remembered for her role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss?, Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series Charmed. She has recently launched her new female apparel clothing line Touch and appeared in Broadway show Annie. Her hobbies include photography, humanitarian work and spending time with her three dogs and eight horses. Milano is dyslexic.
Alyssa Jayne Milano was born on December 19, 1972 in New York City to 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, but has more recently started a band, called Chloroform Days, in which he is the lead singer.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Staten IslandNew York, her family later shifted base to Hollywood when Milano got the part of Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character, Tony Micell in the TV show Who's the Boss? when she was just 11. Earlier she had started her career at the age of eight when she won a part in an open audition for a national tour of Annie followed by television commercials and off-Broadway productions. In 1985, she starred in Commando as Arnold Schwarzenegger's daughter. Milano also produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam.
Career in Movies
After 1992, when the show got over, Milano in lieu of getting a make over of her nice girl image starred in several productions targeting the adult audience such as 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).
Her television stint brought her more recognition than her film career. Alyssa went on to work in as Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place (1997-1998), Meg Winston in Spin City and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on Charmed (1998-2006). She entered into production upon tying up with Holly Marie Combs and became producers for Charmed during the show's fifth season. She also played the role of Eva Savelot in MCI's 1-800-COLLECT commercials. In 2007, Milano filmed a pilot for ABC entitled Reinventing the Wheelers. She has also guest starred in 10 episodes of the show My Name is Earl.
She returned to her pervious love, theater in 1991 with Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free, which she also helped producing. Later, she worked in many stage productions like 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.
Besides this, Milano made an appearance in the Josie music video by Blink-182 and made a foray into television again with commercials for products likeVeet and SheerCover.
Milano was part of TBS' special coverage installment Hot Corner for the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. She reported at FenwayPark 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.
Her future projects include a starring role in the new comedic television show (The Untitled Kristin Newman Project) for the 2008-2009 season.
Alyssa has shown strong inclination towards the tattoo art and has in fact eight of them made on her body parts including both wrists, both ankles, shoulder, neck, hip and lower back. She is also a vegetarian and has appeared in numerous PETA advertising campaigns for vegetarianism.
Milano has been romantically involved with the likes of musicians Justin Timberlake and Fred Durst, Charmed co-star Brian Krause, former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron, Major League Baseball pitchers Brad Penny, Carl Pavano, and Barry Zito and MLB catcher Russell Martin.
Milano was recently appointed Founding Ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to which she donated $250,000 of her own money and is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.
