Who's the Boss?, Melrose Place, Charmed
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“Actors are an insecure breed. It’s hard to have your career depend upon other people’s opinions of what you do.” Alyssa Milano launched her career as an actress at the age of seven when she landed a starring role in a local production of Annie in her native New York. Spending the next year and a half on the road, Milano returned to the Big Apple where she appeared in several off-Broadway productions before finding a new home on television as Tony Danza’s on-screen daughter in the hit family series, Who’s the Boss?
Growing up with the world watching on Who’s the Boss?, Milano transitioned into more adult roles when she snagged the part of Jennifer on Melrose Place (1997-1998) and followed up with a leading role on the fantasy series, Charmed, from 1998 to 2006. Over the last decade, she’s made guest appearances in My Name is Earl (2007-2008), Castle (2010), Mistresses (2013-2014), and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017) with her most recent work bringing her back to television as Coralee Armstrong in Insatiable (2018). Also carving out time to work as a liberal activist, let’s look at the 46-year-old’s rise to fame and her work to relaunch the #MeToo movement in the last few years!
A New York Girl: Early Life and Career
“I’ve always believed in experiencing everything in life. When you walk out with blinders on, you cut yourself off from the angels and the fairies.” The daughter of a film and music editor and a fashion designer and talent manager, Alyssa Jane Milano was born on December 19, 1972, in New York, New York. She was raised in a devout Roman Catholic home alongside her younger brother in Staten Island. Thanks to her parent’s involvement in the entertainment industry, the young Milano had an interest in performing but her parents weren’t quite yet ready to let their daughter enter the harsh and often critical world of show business. That’s exactly why Milano convinced her babysitter to secretly take her to an audition for one of the leading roles in a touring production of Annie.
The seven-year-old Milano beat out 1,500 girls for one of the leading roles and joined her mother on the road for the next 18 months as the production toured the country. By then, Milano’s talent and her passion for performing were undeniable. Once she returned to New York, she appeared in a handful of television commercials and snagged minor roles in several Off-Broadway productions. During this time, she signed on with an agent and, within a few weeks, made her film debut in the 1984 coming-of-age flick, Old Enough.
It wasn’t long before Milano made her way to television and auditioned for a starring role opposite Tony Danza on ABC’s new sitcom, Who’s the Boss? Cast as Danza’s on-screen daughter Samantha, Milano’s natural talent and charm made her a fan favorite as her family moved out west to Hollywood to support the youngster’s blossoming career. The move from New York to California was beneficial for Milano as Who’s the Boss? became one of the highest rated sitcoms on the network and earned over 40 award nominations as well as numerous wins at the Golden Globe Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards. Even then, however, Milano was humbled by her overnight success and admitted that her family kept her grounded. “I love my family very much—they’ve really backed my career,” she said. “I consider myself to be normal: I’ve got to clean my room and help in the kitchen.”
As Who’s the Boss? ran for eight seasons from 1984 to 1992, Milano cashed in on her fame and appeared in television films like The Canterville Ghost (1986), Crash Course (1988), and Dance ‘til Dawn (1988) as well as in films like Commando (1985), Speed Zone (1989), Where the Day Takes You (1992), and Little Sister (1992). After the sitcom ended, she snagged credits in television films like Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1993), At Home with the Webbers (1993), and Candles in the Dark (1993) as well as in the 1993 film Conflict of Interest.
From Child Star to Pop Sensation and Leading Lady
“Italian men age very well. That’s what I’ve learned from Tony Danza.” In the middle of filming the final season of Who’s the Boss?, Milano produced and starred in the Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free from December 1991 to January 1992. The production attracted a large Japanese following and made Milano a crowd favorite overseas. This earned Milano a five-album record deal as she made her debut abroad as a bubblegum pop singer. Unfortunately, her vocals failed to impress listeners in the United States and furthered the “nice girl” image from Who’s the Boss? that she so desperately wanted to leave behind.
Over the next few years, Milano did her best to reinvent herself and auditioned for every role she could find that might establish her as a leading lady. After a handful of failed B-movie auditions, she turned heads when she made several nude appearances in adult erotic films like Embrace of the Vampire (1995), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1996). While the appearances certainly shocked her fans, Milano’s nudity taught her to negotiate more control over her risqué appearances. “I’m not going to say that I was manipulated into doing things that I didn’t want to do,” Milano said of her explicit work in Embrace of the Vampire. “I did it because it was a woman director and I felt protected. And I learned a lot as far as knowing where the camera is and what coverage they need so that it’s not all explicit.”
Following her brief stint in erotic film, Milano returned to mainstream television in 1996 when Aaron Spelling cast her as Jennifer Mancini in his hit series, Melrose Place. “We were looking for someone with sparkle and Alyssa was the perfect choice,” Spelling later said of casting the young actress. “Aaron Spelling always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture; he knew what the public wanted to see,” Milano said of the famed producer. “He was one of the most loyal men in the business and believed in me at a time in my career when no one else would.” That belief followed Milano to her next job—Spelling’s fantasy drama series, Charmed. The show debuted in 1998 with Milano cast as Phoebe Halliwell alongside Shannon Doherty as Prue Doherty and Holly Marie Combs as Piper Doherty.
Milano spent eight seasons on the show and even stepped into the producer’s seat for the fourth season. In 2006, she wrapped up the award-winning series and made the rounds on television with appearances on several commercials before she landed a recurring role as Billie Cunningham on My Name Is Earl from 2007 to 2008. Coincidentally, Milano’s suddenly free schedule allowed her to focus more time on another passion—baseball—and inspired the launch of her MLB blog as well as her team apparel clothing line for women known as Touch, which she later expanded to include NASCAR apparel and accessories.
Author, Activist, and Actor: Bringing It All Together
“Life will always throw you curves; just keep fouling them off. The right pitch will come, but when it does, be prepared to run the bases.” Sharing her love of baseball in her 2009 book, Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic, Milano returned to film in 2010 to star in and produce My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend. The same year, she made her way back to television as Rebecca Thomas in Romantically Challenged, which failed to impress audiences and was canceled after only four episodes. Despite the setback, Milano pushed forward with appearances in films like Hall Pass (2011) and New Year’s Eve (2011) before she landed a recurring role as Savannah “Savi” Davis in Mistresses in 2013. Leaving the show after the second season, she served as a guest judge on Project Runway: All Stars (2013) and as a guest host on The Talk before snagging the part of Renata Murphy Delvecchio in five episodes of Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later on Netflix in 2017.
Since her brief stint on Netflix, fans can find Milano playing Coralee Armstrong in the black comedy web series Insatiable and as Gabby in the 2019 television film, Tempting Fate. Over the last few months, she’s also made headlines over the rumored Charmed reboot. “I wish that they would have come to us and we would have been involved since the beginning,” Milano said of the reboot and her frustration. “But having said that, I do hope that it reaches the newer generation and impacts the generation the way ours was able to do… If the reboot can give the joy that it gave to our generation to a new generation, then I think that’s really beautiful. Time after time, I’ve heard story after story about how that show meant so much to people because it was a show that they found while they were battling cancer, or it was a show that they watched with their father, and that was the only thing they could connect with. It really resonated with people in a profound way, and if a new generation can find that, then I think that’s really beautiful.”
Beyond her recent work in television and the Charmed reboot, Milano also has strong opinions about women’s rights and has positioned herself as a liberal activist. In October 2017, she relaunched the #MeToo movement, which was originally started by Tarana Burke in 2006. Milano turned to Twitter to voice her opinions and encouraged survivors of sexual assault and harassment to post #MeToo as their status, which prompted an outpouring of support and awareness around the world. “The amount of people that have come forward to tell their stories—whether it be a female or a male—has not dwindled at all and I think that’s really powerful because it means we’re going to continue to tell these stories and not be silenced,” Milano said in 2018. “This is really a movement for the people and I think that’s why it has been so successful, is that tweet was only a seed planted and everyone else in the world cultivated that seed to actually be somewhat of a forest.”
With the #MeToo forest growing, Milano saw her activism go even further in late 2018 when the movement made headlines during the Senate Judiciary Committee where Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct three decades prior. While many criticized Ford for waiting so long to come forward, Milano jumped to her defense on Twitter. She also attended the committee meetings where she sat behind Dr. Ford and alongside Tarana Burke, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and Fatima Goss Graves.
Milano was disappointed with the Senate Judiciary Committee’s decision but refused to allow the outcome to stop her from helping others and promoting the #MeToo movement. “I was lucky enough to meet Cory Booker’s chief of staff and give Cory a hug and thank him for his respectful line of questioning of both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh; and that, to me, was a hopeful way to end the day,” Milano said of her experience at the meeting. “I’m very grateful that I was able to do that, because honestly, if I wasn’t able to thank him in that moment of total despair, I don’t know if I would have been able to go home and be okay… I feel overwhelmed now. I feel a certain amount of… I guess it would be rage. I think this is really hard time for survivors, for women, and that’s why I felt it was so important to be in that room…”
Today, the 46-year-old Milano remains an outspoken advocate and liberal activist who openly criticizes President Trump and the Republican Party. Often citing the President for using a “cult-like force” to brainwash Americans, Milano is steadfast in her beliefs and encourages her fans, supporters, and her own two children to take action and become part of the political process to ensure positive change for the future.
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