Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and former singer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss?, Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series Charmed or via her new female apparel clothing line Touch. Recently, she has appeared in a recurring role on My Name is Earl as Billie Cunningham. She got her start in acting by starring in the Broadway show Annie.
Milano was born in New York City, the daughter of Italian-American parents Lin, a former fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and a well-known boating enthusiast.[1] She has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor, but has more recently started a band, called Chloroform Days, in which he is the lead singer. Milano was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Staten Island, New York and was raised Catholic.[2] She began her career at the age of eight when she won a part in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions. At the age of eleven, she earned her first major role in the TV show Who's the Boss?, alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond. She starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character, Tony Micelli. When Milano won the role, her family relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam. In 1985, Milano was in the film Commando as Jenny Matrix who was John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger)'s daughter. A few years later this film was shown in Japan prompting a producer to offer Alyssa a five album record deal.