Milla Jovovich is an actress who also works as a model, musician and fashion designer. She was born December 17th, 1975 in Kiev, Ukraine. Her real name is Milica Natasa Jovovic which she changed to be easier to read in English. Jovovich's father is Serbian and her mother Russian. They left the Soviet Union in 1981 with their daughter because of political reasons. They first went to London then Sacramento, California and finally settled in Los Angeles. Jovovich's parents then separated shortly afterwards. She lived with her mother who tried to support them with acting though she was unsuccessful and ended up working as a housekeeper instead. Jovovich was teased as a child because of her Slavic background and was called a commie.
She left school at 12 years old to pursue modeling which she had been doing for the last three years. That year, 1987, Jovovich was on the cover of Lei, an Italian fashion magazine and got a modeling contract the next year. Since her early start, Jovovich has been on over 100 covers including "Glamour", "InStyle", "Seventeen", and "Mademoiselle". She also modeled for prestigious campaigns like "Versace", "DKNY", "Christian Dior", and many others. Milla Jovovich still models and was named one of the richest supermodels in the world by "Forbes" magazine.
While her modeling career was taking off, Jovovich's acting career was also underway. She had many roles as a child actress though her breakthrough wasn't until 1997 with the film "The Fifth Element". Luc Bresson directed the film and became Jovovich's husband that year, though they divorced in 1999. Jovovich also has performed vocals on several collaborations and has two of her own albums. From 2003 to 2008, Milla Jovovich worked as a fashion designer for her own line of clothing. She is currently married to Paul W.S. Anderson and the couple lives together in Los Angeles and New York City.
