Milla Jovovich on her veneer catastrophe & “embarrassing” male models

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I’ve had a serious girl crush on Milla Jovovich since she and I were both 11-years-old. The major difference between us, of course, was that Milla was gracing the covers of Seventeen and Mademoiselle at the time while I was sitting in my bedroom wishing that I looked like her. These days, Milla is still a highly successful model (who has been a L’Oréal spokesperson for over a decade) and has managed to carve herself out a very lucrative acting career as well. She recently sat down with the Telegraph to promote The Three Musketeers, and the journalist takes great pains to mention that Jovovich didn’t bring a publicist and appears to possess no PR filter of which to speak. It shows, mostly in a good way.

On Never Taking Fame Personally: When people held up my picture to sign at a premiere it didn’t feel like it was because I was famous – just a part of the job. I would only ever get horrible things said about my acting and so on. And they were right: I was a horrible actress back then.

On Supermodels: The girls who endure past the age of 25 are fascinating because they brought something more to the table. Take the supermodels: sure they had mystique and the glamour, but those girls are smart businesswomen. Lots of pretty faces came and went over the years, but some stuck around and I happen to be one of them.

Now, every client would rather work with an actress. After the supermodel thing, the clients just said, “We’re done with paying top dollar for girls with attitudes who are constantly late.” These days they’ll pay them nothing so they don’t create stars – and I get that. Why have a model on the front of your magazine when you can have Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett or Hilary Swank? Because those girls are intelligent and talented, people are interested.

On Early Success: My poor mum had a lot of problems with me around that time. I was young but I’d been working for years, so if she asked me to clean my room I’d say, “You can’t tell me what to do after I’ve worked a 12-hour day.” It gave me a power that no one that age should have.

On Male Models: They’re even worse than actors. I mean seriously: you’re going to model for a living? It’s embarrassing for a man to model. Because it’s not like their career can take them anywhere – except in rare exceptions, like my ex-boyfriend [the photographer] Mario Sorrenti. If I ever had a boy, my one terror would be that he wanted to be an actor or a model.

On Mothering In Los Angeles: I worry about Ever. She’s the daughter of two successful people living in Beverly Hills: that’s gross. And that’s why at some point I want to take her to live in a village in Mongolia where we can help milk the yaks. Not that I’m ever going to be just a mum because it’s not in my nature, and what’s the point of being with your kid 24 hours a day if you’re depressed, which I would be?

On Her Recent Cosmetic-Enhancement (Veneers) Mistake: It didn’t even look like me. I couldn’t believe that I’d let them take away my smile. Luckily I found a dentist who recreated my teeth the way they were, but it taught me a lesson. Until you can’t bear to look in the mirror without feeling uncomfortable, don’t touch yourself. What is it you people say? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” Because you will break it.

[From Telegraph]

That last part sounds rather scary, for Milla admits to allowing a cosmetic dentist talk her into the veneers after she chipped a tooth while filming a movie. Fortunately, another dentist was able to “redo” them so that she could regain her old look, which probably cost her a fortune and was a process filled with pain. Yet the experience has given her a fresh outlook on the risks of changing one’s appearance, so I am hopeful that she’ll never go the way of the botox and plastic surgery monsters that we’re so familiar with in contemporary society.

While Milla’s male model statements do sound slightly bitchy at first glance, the girl does have a point because modelling is probably the only industry where women outearn males by a hefty proportion. While neither sex can necessarily count on longevity as a model, I think most people see male models as just pinch hitting until they move on to a more practical career or get booted out after they can no longer pass for college aged. Yes, there are the occasional faces that stick around, like Tyson Beckford, but it’s very rare for a male model to become a household name unless, you know, they happen to get mixed up with crazy Halle Berry or start sleeping with Madonna. Ugh.

Milla, however, shall be around as a model (and actress) for as long as she desires. She’s so damn beautiful, and her little girl is just adorable too.

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Photos courtesy of Fame

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44 Responses to “Milla Jovovich on her veneer catastrophe & “embarrassing” male models”

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  1. Ari says:

    wow if that guy is her husband in those last pics he ADORES HER but who doesnt really 🙂

  2. LeeLoo says:

    LOVE LOVE Milla! She’s a goddess with an adorable baby! I’m soooo glad she fixed the teeth I about cried when I saw the veneer job.

  3. Eve says:

    My poor mum had a lot of problems with me around that time. I was young but I’d been working for years, so if she asked me to clean my room I’d say, “You can’t tell me what to do after I’ve worked a 12-hour day.” It gave me a power that no one that age should have.

    Couldn’t possibly agree more with that statement.

    I used to like her and think she was a “budget Jolie” but after reading this interview I think I love her (movies are still a tad cheesy but that can be improved).

  4. RocketMerry says:

    Love her boots!

  5. amy says:

    oh i dunno-marky mark and a few others had sucessful careers after starting as male models.

    plus i dont like her double standards-why is it ok for women but not men to model? she very much smacks of the patriarchy.

  6. LittleDeadGrrl says:

    I dunno, I took her male model comment to be a little sexist. In the sense that women should be happy to be walking coat hangers but men should be ashamed if they aren’t doing something more serious. I read your take on it and feel less offended but it still bugs me a little.

  7. Katyusha says:

    Bedhead, the other industry where women outearn men involve having sex on film for money. Modeling, of course, is much more admirable.

    I love Milla – she is stunning.

  8. ladybert62 says:

    I have a migraine today so am grumpy and found her interview annoying – she sounds like she is in love with herself.

  9. lulu7 says:

    I love Milla! I remember her in the movie two moon junction. I thought she was the most beautiful girl i had ever seen. And I was probably 18 then and I still think she is 24 years later.

  10. toto says:

    the moment i saw heidi bevns ..i was thinking god who she look like? …after these pictures now i know …she has so much of mila look but milla is prettier lil

  11. mark says:

    @Katyusha

    Nope, gay porn pays A LOT more than straight porn.

  12. gee says:

    Is english her first or second language? I think that would change the way I read this.

  13. Chickie Baby says:

    Oh, I like her. Always have. She’s a class act. (Plus, she really kicked butt in “The Fifth Element”!)

  14. Gwen says:

    I love her and have done so since she was on the cover of Seventeen 😀

  15. Karen says:

    If anyone is qualified to share smack about male models, it’s a successful model such as Milla. I also remember the very first time I saw her on the cover of a mag – Teen Magazine – when she was only 12 years old. I was turning 14 and I was consumed with jealousy. She was gorgeous, long and perfectly wavy hair and those eyes. I wanted to be a model (I still cringe at the thought) and here was a girl 2 years younger who could blow everyone out of the water.

    The mag had an interview with her and she was the most stuck up thing ever. The author made reference to when Milla was getting her hair done, she insisted on getting it waved with a waving/crimping iron (yes, it was in the late 80’s…I’m an old) despite setting the photoshoot behind schedule. Reading her comments about the attitude she developed, she’s absolutely right. But she grew up and carved out a dynamic career for herself where she also released an album (a damn good one) and designed for Jovovich/Hawk. I’m still girl crushing and still a teeny bit jealous too 🙂

  16. JaneWonderfalls says:

    Mila is just fn beautiful, She is one of my girl crushes, no matter what she wears(paperbag)she will look good in it!!! I love this women…

  17. Justaposter says:

    *SCARY MOVIE ALERT!!*

    She was in a movie called “The Fourth Kind”

    If you like scary movies you must see it!

    I have adored her ever since “The Fifth Element”

  18. Irene says:

    She seems so annoying. “not that I’m ever going to be just a mum”. It seems that every woman is saying this these days – can’t be “just” a mom.

  19. islandwalker says:

    She’s from the Ukraine. English is her second language.

  20. Ally says:

    I remember reading ‘Seventeen’ and there was an article that said she made the stylists spend four hours curling her long hair, because she said it ‘looked better curly’. They made her sound like a snooty child.

  21. Katyusha says:

    @ Mark

    Perhaps that’s true – but women aren’t in gay porn; that’s why I didn’t reference it.

  22. Erin says:

    She is awesome in every way. A great singer too!

  23. Kimbob says:

    I just got around to reading this one, & I’ve GOT TO SAY….WOW, WOW, & WOW!!!

    It’s really just so nice & great to read an interview a “celebrity” does that isn’t dripping w/vanity.

    She sounds just SO WELL GROUNDED. Like @Eve, I’ve decided I really like her. Count me in…I’m a FAN!

  24. Denise says:

    Seriously, Milla kicks ass in her films and looks too fabulous doing it. She is this generation’s Sig. Weaver.

  25. Eve says:

    @ RocketMerry:

    I love them too. I mean that in case they’re actual boots. It looks like she’s wearing simple military sneakers and those things around her legs look like shinguards (those proctetive things football/soccer players wear during the matches).

  26. Ari says:

    @Katyusha

    there are plenty of women who are “into” gay porn…including myself lol

  27. Lenore says:

    For the record, on her Twitter, re: the “embarrassing for men to model” comment, she clarified that the journo didn’t record that she was being sarcastic. She said she “said it with a heavy accent, pretending to be one of (her) dad’s macho friends”, not that SHE felt the professional was embarrassing.

    Generally, though, love her.

  28. Eve says:

    @ Ari:

    there are plenty of women who are “into” gay porn…including myself lol

    Me too!!!

  29. tracking says:

    She is incredibly beautiful. Her daughter should be at the top of those cute hollywood kids lists. She’s a beauty like her mom.

  30. Happy21 says:

    Love her. Have also since the days she graced the pages of Seventeen…even prior to Dazed & Confused. To me, she is and always has been the most beautfiul woman in the world.

    I have nothing bad to say! Just wanted to share the love 🙂

  31. lin234 says:

    Her little girl looks just like her! Gorgeous little girl!

    I love her cheesy Resident Evil movies. I think she’s turned out rather level-headed considering she had the world handed on a platter to her since she was 12!

    As for the male modeling comment, I love it! Isn’t it funny how when women state something that is the truth, it comes off as bitchy? The modeling industry is the one industry where women have an advantage over men. She’s been in the business long enough to know what she’s talking about.

  32. Camille says:

    Beautiful woman. Love her in action films. My hubby likes her too (only one of the few in HW that he does like lol).

  33. Auds says:

    You have to admit that she is a strategic woman. All her husbands, with the exception of the first mistake, have been film directors. Not that she needs to marry a film director to have a role, as she is clearly talented, but it sure does help.
    She is the only one that makes the Resident Evil franchise work. Another 10 RE films can be released and I’ll still end up watching them. Right now I’m waiting for the release of the Three Musketeers remake.

  34. Annie_Grey says:

    I love the way her husband looks at her.

  35. crtb says:

    She’s beautiful – I mean really really beautiful!

  36. taxi says:

    Saw her a few years ago in some lame & forgettable movie. Just never “got” her & sure don’t consider her beautiful.

    In the eye of the beholder.

  37. Katyusha says:

    haha I said women aren’t “in” gay porn, meaning they don’t perform…not saying they aren’t in to it!

    I know it’s really easy to gloss over these comments.

  38. Danziger says:

    Oh Leeloo oh I mean Milla. She’s beautiful, she’s a decent actor, an awesome model and have you guys heard her SING? Lovely voice. AND she’s clever.

    What’s not to love?

  39. Quest says:

    Milla is amazing, her daughter is super cute. This woman kicks ass in movies – I adore her, can’t wait to see her in the adaptation of Three Musketeers.

  40. gg says:

    She is really the most gorgeous woman out there.

  41. Isa says:

    She’s pretty in some pictures…but I don’t find her to be extremely attractive. Eh.

  42. jane says:

    i adore this woman

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