Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and on the supernatural series Charmed.
Biography
Early life and career
Alyssa Milano was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents Tom (a music editor) and Lin Milano (a fashion designer). She has a younger brother, Cory (born 1982), who is also an actor. She and Cory grew up on Staten Island. 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 11, she earned her first major role in the television program 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 Alyssa won the role, her family relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. Alyssa also appeared in the Josie music video by blink-182.
Later career
At the beginning of her career, Alyssa was known mainly for her role as Samantha Micelli 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 Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1992), Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Confessions of Sorority Girls (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 Alyssa and Holly Marie Combs became producers for Charmed during the show's fifth season. Alyssa played the role of Eva Savealot 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 is also filming a new movie called The Blue Hour; although very little has been released about the film, we know she plays a grieving mother named Allegra.
Personal life
Alyssa is an avid fan of tattoos and has eight of them. She has a sacred heart on her behind, a fairy kneeling in grass on her hip, rosary beads on her back, an angel on her left ankle, an ouroboros (a snake or dragon eating its own tail) on her right wrist, an Om on her left wrist, garland of flowers around her right ankle and the Buddhist seed syllable Hum in Tibetan script on the back of her neck.
She is a liberal and supported John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election.
Alyssa has engaged in several copyright suits regarding the World Wide Web. She has won several copyright infringement suits, and has dedicated the settlement money to the launch of an alternative search engine.
Outside of acting, her hobbies include photography, humanitarian work and spending time with her 4 dogs; Ripely, Stella, Hugo, and Lucy. Her other pets are birds and horses. Milano suffers from Dyslexia. In an interview in 2004, Milano explained how she deals with her Dyslexia:
"I've stumbled over words while reading from TelePrompTers. Sir John Gielgud, whom I worked with on 'The Canterville Ghost' years ago, gave me great advice. When I asked how he memorized his monologues, he said, 'I write them down.' I use that method to this day. It not only familiarizes me with the words, it makes them my own."
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: MLB.Com/shop. She also maintains a baseball blog at Alyssa.MLBlogs.com
Philanthropies
Alyssa became a National Ambassador for UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). 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 who have AIDS by selling her own photo work and a school's photo work.
Alyssa is also a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).