Izabella Miko
Izabella Miko in 2013
Born
Izabella Anna Mikołajczak

(1981-01-21) 21 January 1981
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. 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).[2] 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.[3]

Early life

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.[4] After sustaining a back injury, Miko left New York City and returned to Poland.[4]

Career

In the late 1990s, Miko returned to the United States and landed her first major film role in Coyote Ugly in 2000.[2] 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", breaking her foot during filming).[5] In 2006, she had a lead role in Save the Last Dance 2, replacing Julia Stiles from the original film.

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.[6] 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.

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 movie 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 TV show 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.

Personal life

Miko supports green politics and keeps a video blog titled "Eko Miko".[7] She has supported Global Green USA, an environmentalist group and organization that constitutes the American branch of Green Cross International.[8][9] She is vegan.[10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Pan Kleks w Kosmosie The Girl with the Matches
1991 Niech żyje miłość Kuba's Daughter
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 Video
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

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Kuchnia polska Zuzia Szymanko Television Mini-Series
2004 Gramercy Park Sophie Mansour Television film
2005 Deadwood Carrie "Requiem for a Gleet", "Complications", "Something Very Expensive"
2008 Skip Tracer Ludmila Television film
2011 The Cape Raia Recurring role
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"[11]
Scorpion Sonia Balasevic "Cuba Libre"
Chicago Fire Katya Recurring role
2016 Paradise Pictures Norma Jean Television film
2017 The Mick Yulia "The Wolf"
2018 Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo Prince / Geri Halliwell / Hans van Vondelen 3 episodes
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 "Season 1, Episode 22: Ohana"

Music videos

Year Title Artist Notes
2000 ”Can't Fight the Moonlight” Leann Rimes
2005 ”Mr. Brightside” The Killers
2012 ”Miss Atomic Bomb”
2014 ”Can't Break Me Down” Billy Idol

References

  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. 1 2 "Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now?". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Izabella Miko". IMDb. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Izabella Miko Biography". Fandango. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Martins, Chris (11 December 2012). "The Killers' Animated 'Miss Atomic Bomb' Video Serves as 'Mr. Brightside' Sequel". Spin. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Weinberg, Scott (14 March 2007). "SXSW Review: Flakes". Moviefone. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "youtube.com". Eko Miko video blog. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ ""Blue Bloods" Payback (TV Episode 2015)". IMDb.
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