Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and former singer, known for her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and an eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed. She was also a series regular on the original Melrose Place portraying the role of Jennifer Mancini. Milano has a female sports apparel line, Touch. Alyssa Milano is the daughter of Lin, a fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and boating enthusiast.[1] Milano was born in Brooklyn, grew up on Staten Island, and was raised Roman Catholic.[2] She has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor. In a 2003 interview, Milano recalled having had a good childhood, having grown up in a "loving, true family." Milano is a cousin to actors Eric Lloyd and Emily Ann Lloyd.
Milano began her career at age eight after winning a role in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She was one of the four picked out of an audition with over 1500 girls. She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions. At age 10, she won her first major role in the television show Who's the Boss? After Milano won the role, she and her father relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood.On stage, she starred in 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. She returned to the theater in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free. In 1985, Milano was in the film Commando as Jenny Matrix, daughter of John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Appearing at age 12 in an R-rated action film, Milano admitted she was sometimes "freaked out" by the weapons on set. A few years later this film was shown in Japan, prompting a producer to offer Milano a five-album record deal.
By the late 1980s, Milano was established as a teen idol, appearing in made-for-television teen films such as Crash Course and Dance 'til Dawn. This working camaraderie would later expand in 1993 when Milano guest starred in Brian's series The Webbers. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam and achieved some fame outside the USA with her music career. In 1991, Milano wanted to quit acting to pursue an academic career, but was unable to gain release from her contract.Milano tried to shed her "nice girl" image by appearing nude in several erotic films targeted at adults, such as Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1993), Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1996), where she starred opposite Johnathon Schaech and Xander Berkeley.
In 1992, Milano auditioned for female lead as a homeless teenager in the independent film Where the Day Takes You. She was noticed by the media, that helped her land the controversial role of Amy Fisher in the high profile TV movie Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story. In 1994, she was considered to replace Shannen Doherty in Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1996, Milano appeared opposite Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon in the thriller Fear. Her performance in Fear led to a starring role in Hugo Pool (1997), her first film released through cinemas since Commando. Despite the milestone, Milano was soon out of work and after a period of six months, she decided to return to television. She portrayed bad girl Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place (1997-1998), Meg Winston in Spin City, and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on the eight-year run of the popular hit TV series Charmed (1998-2006). Her role on Melrose Place was offered to the actress by Aaron Spelling himself. The stint garnered her new fame and she was named the most successful and popular actress on the primetime soap, alongside Heather Locklear. Milano and close friend Holly Marie Combs became producers for Charmed during the show's fourth season.
She played the role of Eva Savelot in MCI's commercials. In 2007, Milano filmed a pilot for ABC entitled Reinventing the Wheelers. The series was not picked up for the 2007-2008 season, but instead, Milano appeared in ten episodes of the show My Name Is Earl. This reunited her with Jaime Pressly, who guest-starred in the two-part Season 5 premiere of Charmed, "A Witch's Tail". Milano's commercial work includes appearing in the "Josie" music video by Blink-182, as well as 2007 television ads for Veet and Sheer Cover. She also appeared in mid-1980s commercial for Hi-C.Milano was part of TBS's 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.
Milano starred in the 2008 film Pathology alongside Milo Ventimiglia and was then cast in a television sitcom, Single with Parents, which was pulled prior to production. On March 20, 2009, it was announced that Milano would provide a voice for the Ghostbusters: The Video Game. In a 2010 interview, she told the press that she had 'a blast' working on the game, although she recalled it being 'odd' having to grunt in a room alone. It was speculated that following the voice over in the video game, she was set to star in Ghostbusters III, although Milano claimed she was never approached. On March 24, 2009, her book on her baseball fandom, Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic, was released. Milano has signed on to star in and produce My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, a romantic comedy in which she plays a woman with a relationship dilemma.
Milano starred in the sitcom Romantically Challenged as Rebecca Thomas, a recently divorced single mom attorney in Pittsburgh who has not dated "since Bill Clinton was president". The series premiered on ABC on April 19, 2010. On May 16, 2010, the series was cancelled after four episodes had aired. Milano co-starred with Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate in the comedy Hall Pass (2011), in which she was cast in February 2010. She will produce and lead the cast of Lifetime's TV film Sundays at Tiffany's. The latter will be her second collaboration with Lifetime, the first being 2008's Wisegal. Milano appeared in the ensemble romantic comedy New Year's Eve.
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