1980s and 1990s Milano began her career at age seven, when her babysitter, without notifying her parents, took her to an audition for the national touring company of
Annie. She was one of four selected from more than 1,500 girls. During the course of her work in the play, Milano and her mother were on the road for 18 months. After returning to New York, Milano appeared in television commercials, and performed several roles in
off-Broadway productions, including the first American musical adaptation of
Jane Eyre. While accompanying a friend from
Annie to the office of a New York agent, the agent signed Milano. She does not feel that growing up in front of the camera harmed her childhood In August 1984, Milano made her film debut in the coming-of-age drama
Old Enough, which she recalled as a "great way of starting out". where it won First Prize. Milano auditioned as the daughter of
Tony Danza's character on the sitcom ''
Who's the Boss?'' After winning the part, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, where the show was produced. It premiered on
ABC on September 20, 1984. and provided her opportunities for other roles. in 1987|right At age 12, Milano co-starred in
Commando (1985) as Jenny Matrix, the daughter of John Matrix (
Arnold Schwarzenegger). A few years later this film was shown in Japan, prompting a producer to offer Milano a five-album record deal. Milano's albums, which she described as "
bubblegum pop", scored platinum in the country, though she later criticised their musical quality. and the first American musical adaptation of
Jane Eyre. She returned to the theater in 1991, producing and starring in a Los Angeles production of
Butterflies Are Free from December 26, 1991, to January 19, 1992. Milano played a teenage prostitute in the 1992 independent film
Where the Day Takes You. The film, which focuses on a group of young runaway and homeless teenagers, was shot on and around
Hollywood Boulevard and was met with positive critical reception. It was nominated for the Critics Award at the
Deauville Film Festival, and won the Golden Space Needle Award at the
Seattle International Film Festival. Although Milano feared that viewers would only recognize her as "the girl from ''Who's the Boss?''", Milano said that her portrayal of Fisher in the film, which was based on the Buttafuoco's point of view, She welcomed the cancellation of ''Who's the Boss?'', as she was ready to move on to other roles and enthusiastic to "showcase" what she was able to do. Looking back on eight years of playing the same role, Milano commented, "Creatively, it's been very frustrating. I gave her more of a personality. I changed her wardrobe, cut her hair, anything to give her new life". In a 1995 interview, she explained her motivation for some explicit scenes in
Embrace of the Vampire: "I'm not going to say that I was manipulated into doing things that I didn't want to do. 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". Milano starred in the lead role in
Hugo Pool (1997). In late 1996, Milano was offered a role of
Jennifer Mancini on the drama
Melrose Place by producer
Aaron Spelling: "We were looking for someone with sparkle. Alyssa was the perfect choice". She left early in season seven. In 1998, she was cast as
Phoebe Halliwell, one of the three lead characters on Spelling's show
Charmed. She and
Holly Marie Combs became producers for the show during season four. The series ran for eight seasons, concluding in 2006. Also in 1998, she played
Mark Hoppus's love interest in the music video for
Blink-182's "
Josie".
2000s In the early 2000s, Milano played Eva Savelot in
MCI Inc. commercials for that company's
1-800-COLLECT campaign. In 2007, Milano's commercial work included two 2007 television ads for
Veet and Sheer Cover. That year, she filmed a pilot for ABC called
Reinventing the Wheelers, which was not picked up for the
2007–08 season. That season she appeared in ten
episodes of
My Name Is Earl. Milano was part of
TBS's special
coverage installment
Hot Corner for the
2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. A fan of the
Los Angeles Dodgers, in April 2007, Milano began writing a baseball blog on the
Major League Baseball's website. That year she reported at
Fenway Park during the
ALDS between the
Boston Red Sox and the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The same year, she launched her signature "Touch" line of team apparel for female baseball fans, selling it through her blog on Major League Baseball's website. It also became available in 2009 through a boutique store located in
Citi Field, the home of the
New York Mets. She has an interest in the
Los Angeles Kings, a
National Hockey League team, and is involved with a related clothing line. In 2008, she expanded that to NFL football, as a
New York Giants fan. Since Milano is from the same hometown as NFL Network's
Rich Eisen, she revealed some of her family's connections with the Giants. In 2013, Milano expanded "Touch" into
NASCAR. On March 20, 2009, it was announced that Milano voiced Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn in
Ghostbusters: The Video Game. In a 2010 interview she told the press that she had 'a blast' working on the game, although she recalled it being 'odd' having to grunt in a room alone. On March 24, 2009, her book on her baseball fandom,
Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic, was released. Milano has signed on to star in and produce ''
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, a romantic comedy in which she plays a woman with a relationship dilemma. Milano starred in the sitcom Romantically Challenged'' as Rebecca Thomas, a recently divorced single mother attorney in Pittsburgh who has not dated "since Bill Clinton was president". The series premiered on
ABC on April 19, 2010. The series was cancelled after airing four episodes. Milano produced and led the cast of Lifetime's TV film ''
Sundays at Tiffany's. which was her second collaboration with Lifetime, after Wisegal (2008). In 2013, Milano created the comic book series Hacktivist'', which was written by
Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, drawn by
Marcus To, and published by
Archaia Entertainment. The book, which explores the modern world of hacking and global activism, is described as "a fast-paced
cyber-thriller about friendship and freedom in a time of war". The publication was released digitally in late 2013, while the first print edition issue of the four-issue miniseries was published in January 2014. A hardcover edition collecting all four issues was released in July 2014. The series received positive reviews, as it holds a score of 8.1 out of 10 at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup. In June 2013, she played Savannah Davis in ABC drama series
Mistresses, which is about the scandalous lives of four girlfriends, but she left the show after season two, due to conflict between filming location and family issues. She signed on as host and judge
Project Runway: All Stars beginning with season three. On March 2, 2015, Milano was a guest host on
The Talk. In September 2015, Milano began to make appearances as a
brand ambassador for the preschool television channel
Sprout, being billed as the network's "mom-bassador". In 2017 and 2018, Milano joined the cast of two Netflix comedy series:
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later and
Insatiable. In 2018 she was cast in the lead role in
Tempting Fate, based on the best-selling book by
Jane Green. In 2019, she released a children's book
Hope: Project Middle School Book which is part of her 'Hope' book series which she co-authors with Debbie Rigaud. Also in 2019, Milano began hosting the podcast
Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry. The podcast deals with social and political commentary and frequently features actors, activists, and political luminaries. In 2020, Milano was a recurring star on the
Quibi comedy
The Now. In 2021, Milano was cast to star in the Netflix film adaptation of
Nora Roberts' novel
Brazen Virtue. In October 2021, Milano's book
Sorry Not Sorry was released. It contains 32 essays describing her activism and thoughts on current political and social issues. On October 29, 2021, she signed a first-look production deal with
A&E Studios. She also signed a deal with the
United Talent Agency (UTA) more recently, on December 13, 2021. Milano will perform the role of Roxie Hart in
Chicago on Broadway in the fall of 2024.
Other ventures She has appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including
Cosmopolitan,
Stuff,
Seventeen,
Cleo, ''
Woman's World, Veronica, Maxim and FHM''. She has appeared in television commercials for Wen, Candies,
Veet,
Hi-C and
Atkins diet. She was a spokesmodel for Sheer Cover cosmetics. == Activism ==