Jovovich has been described by Paul W.S. Anderson, director of her film Resident Evil, as a "rare combination of a good actress who could kick ass and look beautiful doing it."[1] Music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt"

Jovovich (pronounced "Yo-vo-vitch (/ˈjovoviʧ/ in IPA") was born in Kyiv, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) to Bogdan Jovović, a Serbian doctor, and Galina Loginova, a Russian actress. Her paternal family is Montenegrin Serb in origin, their estate being at Metohija in Zlopek near Peć. Many Croatians claim Jovovich is a Croat, but this assertion is in fact erroneous. Her paternal great-grandfather, Bogić Camić Jovović, was flag-bearer of the Vasojevići tribe and officer of the guard of the King Nicholas I of Montenegro; his wife's name was also Militza. Her paternal grandfather, Bogdan Jovović, was a commander in the Pristina military area, and later investigated finances in military areas of Skopje and Sarajevo, where he uncovered massive gold embezzlement. He was punished for refusing to convict his friend for the crime. Later, the communist government imprisoned him on Goli Otok. When he feared that he could be arrested again, he escaped to Albania and later moved to Kyiv. Another version of the story claims that he was the one to have taken the gold. Milla's father, Bogić Jovović, later joined her grandfather in Kyiv, where he and his sister graduated in medicine.

In 1981, The family moved to London, and subsequently lived in Sacramento, California. Seven months later, they settled in Los Angeles, California.

At the age of eleven, Jovovich was spotted by the photographer Richard Avedon, who featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. In October 1987, she was featured on the cover of the Italian fashion magazine Lei, which was the first of her many cover shoots. She continued to model and in 1988, appeared in her first film role, the romance thriller Two Moon Junction.

In 1991, Jovovich had a starring role in the romance adventure sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon, opposite Brian Krause, which led to comparisons between her and child model-turned-actress, Brooke Shields (who had starred in the original Blue Lagoon). Most of Jovovich's film appearances during the early 1990s were in supporting or cameo roles.

In 1994, Jovovich, billed under her first name, released her critically acclaimed first musical album, The Divine Comedy. Featuring many original songs, the album led to comparisons with musicians Tori Amos and Kate Bush. After leading a band called Plastic Has Memory, Jovovich returned to her acting career, receiving top billing and entering the world of action heroes, with her performances in The Fifth Element (1997) and in two popular films based upon the survival horror series, Resident Evil.

Jovovich's vocals appeared on the 2004 album Legion of Boom by The Crystal Method. She also recorded the single Rocket Collecting, which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Underworld.

Jovovich and fellow model Carmen Hawk have launched a line of clothing called Jovovich-Hawk; the two opened a showroom in New York City's Greenwich Village on September 13, 2005. Jovovich is also an "international spokesmodel" for L'Oreal cosmetics and was the highest paid Supermodel in 2004. In 2006 Jovovich was picked up by Mango, a Spanish clothing line, as their new spokes model. Mango tells Vouge.com, that Jovovich is "the image of the woman that [we] wish to dress: a very modern woman, with personality and self-confidence".[1]. She has said that she enjoys having both a modelling and an acting career, and that she is "very grateful for [her] looks", which allow her to "make really great film choices"

Jovovich's latest film, the science fiction/action thriller Ultraviolet, was released on March 3, 2006. It was not screened for critics, but when reviewed, it was critically panned;[4] It has grossed $17 million at the domestic box office.[5] She will appear in the third film in the Resident Evil series.

Jovovich is also planning to publish her private diaries as an autobiography. The autobiography could possibly recall her experiences in Hollywood and in the modeling world. Jovovich says, "I've been keeping a diary ever since I was a little girl. I've written about all the places I've been to and all the mad things that I've done, so it would be good to get it all into a book - like an autobiography, but with more of a diary feel to it. I'm not sure how interested anyone would be in publishing it, or reading it, for that matter."

Jovovich married actor Shawn Andrews in October of 1992, while filming Dazed and Confused together; the marriage was annulled a month later. She married The Fifth Element director Luc Besson in 1997, but the two divorced in 1999. Jovovich also dated Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante for several years and was linked to actor Stephen Dorff. She also had a relationship with Jamiroquai ex-bassist Stuart Zender, during which time they both lived in London. In 2003, she was briefly engaged to writer/director Paul W. S. Anderson. She has been appearing in public lately with Japanese soccer-star Nakata Hidetoshi.

Jovovich is multilingual and speaks Serbian, Russian, French and English fluently.