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Izabella Miko

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Izabella Miko
Izabella Miko in 2013
Born
Izabella Anna Mikołajczak

(1981-01-21) 21 January 1981 (age 43)
Łódź, Poland
Occupation(s)Actress, dancer, producer
Years active1988–present

Izabella Miko (born Izabella Anna Mikołajczak; 21 January 1981)[1] is a Polish actress, dancer, film producer, and environmental activist.[2] She is best known for starring in the film Coyote Ugly and the music videos "Mr. Brightside" and "Miss Atomic Bomb" by The Killers. While a dance student in Poland, Miko was recruited to study at the New York City Ballet at age 15 and later studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. She made her American film debut in Coyote Ugly (2000), followed by a starring part in the vampire thriller The Forsaken (2001).

Miko has also had recurring roles on the television series Deadwood, The Cape, and Chicago Fire, in addition to roles in dance films such as Save the Last Dance 2 (2006), Make Your Move (2013), and Step Up: All In (2014).[3] She made her debut as a film producer on the British biographical drama Desert Dancer in 2014. She is also known as an environmental activist. She has a sustainable candle line named EkoMiko Candles as well as an eco foundation named EkoMiko.[4]

Early life

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Miko was born Izabella Anna Mikołajczak in Łódź, Poland, the daughter of actors Grażyna Dyląg and Aleksander Mikołajczak. She grew up in Warsaw, where she studied to be a ballerina at the Chopin Music School. An American choreographer invited her to study in New York City on a scholarship with the School of American Ballet, and she later enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Institute to study acting.[5] She later recalled this experience by saying: "I came from Poland to America to study ballet in New York. I got a scholarship when I was 15 and ended up in New York by myself. No money, no English, no parents. So it was very tough. Those three years were really, really hard, but they were worth it."[6] After sustaining knee and ankle injuries, Miko briefly left New York City and returned to Poland.[5][6]

Career

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At the age of 18, Miko returned to the United States and landed her first major film role as Cammie in Coyote Ugly (2000).[3] Coyote Ugly was a box office success, grossing over $113 million worldwide,[7] and became a cult classic over the years.[8][9] Her character Cammie works as a bartender at Coyote Ugly and becomes friends with a new employee Violet, played by Piper Perabo.[10] In 2024, Miko told LATV: "Coyote Ugly changed my life completely. I was so hungry, I used to go to meetings just to get food and I had crazy little jobs."[6]

This was followed with a lead role in the 2001 vampire horror film The Forsaken, playing a young woman infected by a vampiric virus. In 2005, Miko appeared in a multi-episode story arc on the HBO series Deadwood; the same year, she appeared in the music video for "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers (she again collaborated with the band for the video of their 2012 single "Miss Atomic Bomb").[11] Miko portrayed a circus trapeze artist, Alice in the drama film Bye Bye Blackbird (2005), where she combined her background as a dancer with new skills in trapeze and tightrope walking.[6] She was nominated for Best Young Character Actress at the 2008 Undine Awards for her role in Bye Bye Blackbird.[12] She had a lead role as Sara Johnson in the dance film Save the Last Dance 2 (2006), replacing Julia Stiles from the original film.[6][13]

Miko appeared in several independent films in the late 2000s, including Park (2007) and the comedy Flakes (2007), the latter of which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival.[14] The following year, she appeared as a seductive nightclub singer in Dark Streets (2008), an adaptation of the play of the same name by Glenn M. Stewart. She also appeared in the crime thriller Double Identity (2009) in a lead role and in the big-budget remake Clash of the Titans (2010) as Athena. She was also in a supporting role as an acrobat named Raia in the television series The Cape, followed by a supporting role as a spy in the British war thriller Age of Heroes, based on the formation of Ian Fleming's No. 30 Commando during World War II. She was an executive producer of the film Yellow (2012) starring Sienna Miller and Riley Keough.[15] She also choreographed a scene for the film.[15]

In 2012, Miko appeared opposite Danny Huston and Sienna Miller in the period drama Two Jacks, directed by Bernard Rose, and in the South Korean dance film Make Your Move in 2013. Miko appeared in Billy Idol's music video for "Can't Break Me Down", and also had a supporting role in Step Up: All In, both in 2014. Also in 2014, she had a small role in the fantasy television series Supernatural, episode "Ask Jeeves" of season 10, where she portrays a shape shifter working for a rich heiress who has died. In 2015, Miko co-produced the biographical film Desert Dancer, which tells the story of Iranian choreographer Afshin Ghaffarian. The same year, she had guest appearances on the television series Blue Bloods and Scorpion as well as a recurring role on the action-drama series Chicago Fire.[16]

Personal life

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Miko supports green politics and keeps a video blog titled "Eko Miko".[17] She has supported Global Green USA, an environmentalist group and organization that constitutes the American branch of Green Cross International.[18][19]

She is vegan.[20] Miko is multilingual and speaks English, French and Polish.[21]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 Pan Kleks w Kosmosie The Girl with the Matches
1991 Niech żyje miłość Kuba's Daughter Uncredited
2000 Coyote Ugly Cammie
2001 The Forsaken Megan
2002 Minimal Knowledge Renee
2005 Bye Bye Blackbird Alice
The Shore Kaliope
2006 Park Krysta
The House of Usher Jill Michaelson
Save the Last Dance 2 Sara Johnson
2007 Crashing Kristen
Flakes Strawberry
Waiting Young Woman Short film
2008 Dark Streets Madelaine
2009 Love and Dance Hania
Double Identity Katrine
2010 Clash of the Titans Athena
Repo Timmy
2011 Mother Nature: First MILF Mother Nature Video short
Age of Heroes Jensen
2012 Two Jacks Dana
2013 Make Your Move Tatianna
2014 The Mundane Goddess Aphrodite Short film
Step Up: All In Alexxa Brava
Desert Dancer Producer
Starving in Suburbia ButterflyAna
2015 The Frontier Gloria
2018 The Rake Cassie

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Kuchnia polska Zuzia Szymanko Television Mini-Series
2004 Gramercy Park Sophie Mansour Television film
2005 Deadwood Carrie 3 episodes
2008 Skip Tracer Ludmila Television film
2011 The Cape Raia Recurring role; 6 episodes
Chaos Greta "Deep Cover Band"
Love Bites Audrey "Boys to Men"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lena "Russian Brides"
2014 Supernatural Olivia "Ask Jeeves"
Anger Management Mary Kathleen "Charlie Gets Tied Up with a Catholic Girl"
Sensitive Men Jenn Television film
2015 Blue Bloods Milena "Payback"[22]
Scorpion Sonia Balasevic "Cuba Libre"
Chicago Fire Katya Recurring role; 5 episodes
2016 Paradise Pictures Norma Jean Television film
Azja Express Herself Contestant; 11 episodes
2017 The Mick Yulia "The Wolf"
2017–2018 Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo Prince / Geri Halliwell / Various 11 episodes
2018 SNL Polska Herself / Special Guest / Host "Episode #1.15", "Episode #1.14"
Criminal Minds Galina Kadlec "Season 14, Episode 3: Rule 34"
People Just Do Nothing Aldona Television film
2020 Hunters Helen Hirsh Episode 1
NCIS: Los Angeles Michelle Boucher "Season 12, Episode 5: Raising the Dead"
2022 The Flight Attendant Cherri 1 episode ("Drowning Women")
NCIS: Hawaiʻi Alina Nikitin Episode: "Ohana"

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role Notes
2000 ”Can't Fight the Moonlight” Leann Rimes Cammie / Dancer
2005 ”Mr. Brightside” The Killers Woman Uncredited
2012 ”Miss Atomic Bomb” Young Girl
2014 ”Can't Break Me Down” Billy Idol Herself

Other credits

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List of films directed, produced and written by
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Got a Teeny Weeny? Producer, director and writer Short film
2012 Yellow Executive producer[15]
2014 Desert Dancer Producer
2018 Sensitive Men Executive producer Short film
2018 Straight Talk Express Producer

References

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  1. ^ Rose, Mike (21 January 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 21, 2023 includes celebrities Luke Grimes, Geena Davis". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now?". Peoplemag. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now?". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Izabella Miko". IMDb. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Izabella Miko Biography". Fandango. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e "From Warsaw to Hollywood: Meet Izabella Miko | The Big Deal". LATV. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Coyote Ugly". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  8. ^ "'Coyote Ugly': Where Are They Now?". EW.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  9. ^ Nichols, Mackenzie (4 August 2020). "'Coyote Ugly' at 20: Piper Perabo and Tyra Banks on the Cult Hit and a Potential Sequel". Variety. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  10. ^ Grechko, Irina. "An Ode To Coyote Ugly, The Ultimate '00s Fashion Movie". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  11. ^ Martins, Chris (11 December 2012). "The Killers' Animated 'Miss Atomic Bomb' Video Serves as 'Mr. Brightside' Sequel". Spin. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Izabella Miko - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Save the Last Dance 2 (2006) | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  14. ^ Weinberg, Scott (14 March 2007). "SXSW Review: Flakes". Moviefone. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  15. ^ a b c "Yellow - Filmography - Izabella Miko". izabellamiko.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  16. ^ mamamia-team (2 June 2020). "Where are they now? The cast of cult noughties film Coyote Ugly, 23 years later". Mamamia. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  17. ^ "youtube.com". Eko Miko video blog. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  18. ^ Spector, Ken (28 February 2011). "Izabella Miko Interviewed By Ken Spector at 8th Annual Global Green Pre-Oscar Party". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2016 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "greener-cities-for-a-cooler-planet"/ "Celebrities Join Global Green to Support 'Greener Cities for a Cooler Planet'". Green Cross International. Retrieved 30 April 2016.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ Izabella Miko [@IzabellaMiko] (3 October 2018). "People ask me why I became vegan. I went #plantbased overnight after finding out it's the single most influential thing you can do for the planet. Having that knowledge I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if I'd continued to eat meat. I didn't want to be a part of" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 September 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Moore, Camille (3 January 2021). "10 Things You Didn't Know about Izabella Miko". TVovermind. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  22. ^ ""Blue Bloods" Payback (TV Episode 2015)". IMDb.
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