Her decision to appear in such films had unintended consequences, namely the appearance of stills on the Internet, leading to an effort by Milano and her mother to crusade against websites for celebrity copyright infringement. Meanwhile, she returned to series television in the sexy supernatural drama, "Charmed" (The WB, 1998-2006), which had its own behind-the-scenes challenges with original star Shannen Doherty. Involved in numerous philanthropic ventures over the years, including serving as a UNICEF ambassador, Milano used her celebrity to help raise awareness for a wide variety of causes - from raising money for AIDS-afflicted mothers in South Africa to helping the victims of natural disasters.
Through it all, Milano remained the rare child actor-turned-adult celebrity who maintained a successful career while elevating herself to a valued international humanitarian.Born on Dec. 19, 1972 in Brooklyn, NY, Milano was raised in Staten Island by her father, Thomas, a music editor, and her mother, Lin, a former fashion designer and talent manager.
When she was seven years old, Milano was brought to an open casting call by her babysitter for a touring company production of "Annie" without telling her parents. Milano was one of four plucked out of 1,500 aspirants and spent the next 18 months on the road with her mother as chaperone. Upon her return, she appeared in several off-Broadway productions, including a musical adaptation of "Jane Eyre," while maintaining the semblance of a somewhat normal childhood.
While not the most inspired sitcom ever made, "Who's the Boss?" was nonetheless an audience-pleasing show that maintained solid ratings, lasted eight seasons, spawned a spin-off - the short-lived "Living Dolls" (ABC, 1989) - and enjoyed a long life in syndication. But most importantly, the show turned Milano into a star, leading to several television movies and even a few feature film roles. Just a year after she started her television role, Milano was cast opposite action star Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Commando" (1985), playing the daughter of a retired special forces soldier who is kidnapped by thugs loyal to an exiled Latin America dictator (Dan Hedaya) looking for his revenge. During hiatus from the show, she made several small screen movies, including "The Canterville Ghost" (syndicated, 1986), which was adapted from Oscar Wilde's short story; "Crash Course" (NBC, 1988), a comedy about a group of mischievous high school seniors taking a summer driver's education class; and "Dance 'Til Dawn" (NBC, 1988), another high school comedy that starred the likes of Christina Applegate, Tracey Gold, Matthew Perry and Tempestt Bledsoe.
At this same time, Milano was hitting the town with her famous peers, including dating one of the biggest movie stars of the late 1980s, Corey Haim, with whom she shared a love of Dodger baseball, but with whom she did not share an addiction to drugs. Despite efforts by both herself and her family to help the still teenage actor deal with an addiction already taking hold, the relationship ended. A few years later, Milano would date another famous actor, "Party of Five" (Fox, 1994-2000) star Scott Wolf, whom she met in 1992 when they co-starred in the film "Double Dragon" (1994). The photogenic couple became engaged in October 1993 but broke off the engagement in 1994.