Izabella Miko

Izabella Miko, born Izabella Anna Mikołajczak on January 21, 1981, is a Polish actress, dancer, film producer, and environmental activist. She is best known for her role in the feature film Coyote Ugly and her appearances in music videos for The Killers, including "Mr. Brightside" and "Miss Atomic Bomb." Throughout her career, she has appeared in feature films, television series, music videos, and dance productions.

Miko was born in Łódź, Poland, to actors Grażyna Dyląg and Aleksander Mikołajczak. She grew up in Warsaw, where she trained as a ballerina at the Chopin Music School. At age 15, an American choreographer invited her to study in New York City on a scholarship with the School of American Ballet. She also studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. After sustaining knee and ankle injuries, she briefly returned to Poland.

At age 18, Miko returned to the United States and landed her first major film role as Cammie in the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly, which grossed over $113 million worldwide. She then starred in the 2001 vampire horror film The Forsaken. In 2005, she portrayed a circus trapeze artist in Bye Bye Blackbird, combining dance with trapeze and tightrope skills, earning a nomination for Best Young Character Actress at the 2008 Undine Awards.

Miko continued acting in various genres, starring as Sara Johnson in Save the Last Dance 2 in 2006. Her subsequent film credits included Park, Flakes, Dark Streets, Double Identity, Clash of the Titans, Age of Heroes, Two Jacks, Make Your Move, and Step Up: All In.

On television, Miko secured recurring roles on Deadwood, The Cape, and Chicago Fire. She also made guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Supernatural, Blue Bloods, and Scorpion. In addition to music videos for The Killers, she appeared in Billy Idol's video for "Can't Break Me Down."

Miko expanded her work into film production in the 2010s. She worked as an executive producer and scene choreographer on the 2012 film Yellow. In 2014, she co-produced the British biographical drama Desert Dancer, which depicts the life of Iranian choreographer Afshin Ghaffarian.

Outside of acting, Miko is an environmental activist, vegan, and speaker of English, French, and Polish. She runs an eco foundation called EkoMiko, a sustainable candle line named EkoMiko Candles, and an environmental video blog. She supports green politics and Global Green USA, the American branch of Green Cross International.