Sofia Milos

Biography: Born in Zurich, Switzerland to a Greek Mother and Italian Father, Sofia Milos (pronounced MEE-loz) later moved with her family back to Italy. Her parents still reside in Rome. Blessed with a variety of international influences, she quickly showed a skill and love for languages. She became fluent in Italian, French, German, English, Greek, Suisse and Spanish. Years before becoming one of the new faces in Hollywood, Sofia had to overcome her childhood shyness, as she found herself pushed into her first beauty contest at the age of 14. But not only did she win that local competition, she went on to win the provincial, regional and national contests as well, becoming Junior Lady Italy, including winning a Tango contest! At the age of 15 she began a modeling career with which she paid her way through Business and Economics school in Switzerland. In the Years to come her fashion career took her all through Milan, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Munich, Zurich. She has always loved to create oil paintings and drawings, mostly portraits and nudes. With her abilities as an artist, and her exposure to the fashion industry, it seemed like a natural succession to her that at the age of 19, she also began doing fashion design selling her creations freelance besides working as a model. Still, she wanted more out of life. "I never wanted to just be another pretty face. I needed to be creative, and involved at a much deeper level, a depth I still explore and learn about daily, which I consider the greatest luxury yet. This is an awareness I thrive to pass on to others, through my communication, whether through a film role or in life," she said. In 1990, Sofia decided to follow her dream to the USA ,first in NYC and then in Los Angeles. She enrolled in acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, led by famed acting coach and director, Milton Katselas where she still currently studies. She pursued theater work until in 1992, she booked her first Film role, as Kristen, in the Indie INSIDE OUT starring Lesley Anne Down and Kris Kristofferson. Television producers took notice, and she was cast in her first series regular role, as the fiery, sexy and spoiled Fabiana Borelli, in the NBC sitcom CAFE AMERICAIN, co-starring Valerie Bertinelli and Maurice Godin. From 1993 through 1994 she brought life to the part of an Italian fashion model, living in Paris -- "It was a great accomplishment for me to have understood the American sense of humor, which is different than the Italian one, enough to have won my first series regular role in an American sit-com on prime time TV! For me, it was not only about learning the language, but also about being funny in another language; finding one's own humor as well as culture in another language," smiled Sofia. "I love creating an effect and making people smile." After the show was canceled, she was snapped up by other producers over the next few years, doing guest starring roles on a variety of TV shows. In 1995, she fueled the interest of the International TV Audience with her performance as the charming but elusive Aurora in the much-loved series FRIENDS. In the hilarious episode "The One with the Butt", she played Matthew Perry's love interest and object of his obsession. Sofia created a similar buzz in 1996 when she guest-starred as "Sarah" on MAD ABOUT YOU, in the season finale, "The Award Show". She was the "other woman" who appears in Paul Reiser's life at a vulnerable time, when his wife (Helen Hunt) couldn't be at his side. In 1997 through 1998, she was cast as "Julia Karinsky" in the NBC-TV series CAROLINE IN THE CITY. As the sexy, passionate and wealthy Italian wife of Richard (Malcolm Gets), and the rival of Caroline (Lea Thompson). She showed her ability to be both uproariously funny and infinitely desirable. She worked on the show for over a year, as the series enjoyed some of its highest ratings to date. Now in syndication internationally. "One of Sofia's fortes is that she's funny in Italian and English, and she's able to deliver the American humor by switching back and forth without missing a beat," says Malcolm Gets, "she has a gift of seducing everybody she works with! Sofia shines with brightness. She's a great professional, she knows how to be either the sophisticated woman or the ingénue. She can play Italian, American-Italian, French, Greek, Spanish, Brazilian, Israeli, Portughese etc. ...And that's a virtue that only a few actors have." "She's not only very beautiful, she's authentic and funny! A very rare combination," says James Burrows, multiple-Emmy-winning director and creator of Cheers, who directed her in Caroline in the City, Friends, Café American and The Secret Lives of Men. In 1998, she was introduced to Italian actor-director Ezio Greggio by Kirstie Alley who created a role for Sofia in the indie SCREW LOOSE (Svitati). She played a sexy killer at the airport who is smothered by a love struck Mel Brooks. He says: "When I met Sofia, she reminded me of a young Sofia Loren mixed with the passion of an Anna Magnani and a comedic resemblance to Madeleine Kahn." Still in 1998, Director Jim Abrams (The Naked Gun, Airplane) cast her as the young Olympia Dukakis ("Sofia"), Sicilian mother of the future Godfather in JANE AUSTEN'S MAFIA!, a parody of the gangster/Mafia movie genre. Later that year, she was signed for the new, but short-lived sitcom THE SECRET LIVES OF MEN, starring Peter Gallagher (Sex, Lies & Videotape). In 1999 she filmed THE LADIES' MAN in Canada, opposite Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Life) as sultry and sexy "Sarah". But the recurring role which has blown everyone away, is her star turning performance in the critically-acclaimed HBO series THE SOPRANOS. First aired in February 2000, ("Commendatori") in which Sofia played a Napolitan Mob boss, "Annalisa Zucca", who goes toe-to-toe with Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). With this role she has shown that she possesses the ability to be strong and powerful, still remaining feminine and vulnerable at the same time. Sofia also worked on a few episodes for the HBO series, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. Created by -- and starring -- Larry David (co-creator of Seinfeld) as "Sofia", the girlfriend of Richard Lewis. As all of the dialogue was improvised in this comedy, the role was fun to do, she says. Then she co-starred in a Warner Brothers TV pilot for FOX, entitled MK-3, a modern interpretation of the classic novel The Three Musketeers as "Milady DeWinter", a femme fatale assassin with a mysterious past. Unfortunately, the pilot did not get picked up. In 2001, Sofia had a recurring role in the ABC series THIEVES, with John Stamos as "Paulie", the Hitwoman. (aka Hitman!). Also in 2001, HBO aired her film DOUBLE BANG with William Baldwin, in which she portrays beautifully the dramatic role of a young widow . She then co-starred with Jean Claude Van Damme, Charlton Heston and Ben Cross in the action film THE ORDER, as "Dalia", a tough Israeli cop, filmed in Israel and Bulgaria. This was her first co-starring role in a feature film, released in spring 2002. More recently, Sofia finished her new film PASSIONADA, a romantic comedy in which she stars as "Celia Amonte", a Portuguese Fado singer, along with Jason Isaacs (The Patriot, Harry Potter) and Lupe Ontiveros (Real Women Have Curves). Her most promising role yet of which she is very proud. PASSIONADA was presented at the Seattle International Film Festival for a sneak preview in June 2002 as the closing night feature with great success! Expected release is in August 2003. Sofia recently co-starred in an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, ("Future Trade") directed by: Bob Balaban and immediately after that filmed an episode for the NBC series ER which aired in january . Sofia is currently working on the hit TV series CSI: MIAMI, starring David Caruso in the much anticipated recurring role of detective Yelena Salas. When she is not shooting 16-hour days, Sofia loves hanging out with her close friends, talking, watching movies, and enjoying the simpler pleasures of life. She is also very spiritual, and is always studying something new, discovering herself and strengthening her craft. "Knowledge is power, and to know, you must understand what it is you want to know," she laughs. One of her main purposes in life is empowering those around her to achieve more than they thought possible. "Obstacles stimulate me to do better," smiles Sofia. "You have to decide what you want and love to do and then simply do it. Persevere. Don't give up. And always do more than what you thought is the best you could do. Live in the future with which you create your present. Create and exchange and don't forget to acknowledge yourself and others!"… Expand