Claim: Milla Jovovich played a martyr.

Milica Bogdanovna `` Milla '' JovovichSerbian Cyrillic : Милица Јововић ; Милица Йовович Милиця Йовович -LRB- -LSB- ˈjoʊvəvɪtʃ -RSB- ; born December 17 , 1975 -RRB- is an American actress , model , musician , and fashion designer . She has appeared in numerous science fiction and action films , leading the music channel VH1 to deem her the `` reigning queen of kick-butt '' in 2006 . In 2004 , she was the highest-paid model in the world according to Forbes .   Born in Kiev , Jovovich emigrated with her parents to the United States when she was five . In 1987 , she began modeling at the age of 12 when Herb Ritts photographed her for the cover of the Italian magazine Lei . Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon 's `` Most Unforgettable Women in the World '' advertisements . In 1988 , Jovovich had her first acting role in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu , and that year also appeared in her first feature film , Two Moon Junction .   Jovovich gained attention for her role in the explicit 1991 romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon , as she was then only 15 . She was considered to have a breakthrough with her role in the 1997 French science-fiction film The Fifth Element written and directed by Luc Besson . She and Besson married that year , but soon divorced . She starred as the heroine and martyr in Besson 's The Messenger : The Story of Joan of Arc -LRB- 1999 -RRB- .   In 2002 , Jovovich starred in the science fiction horror film Resident Evil , adapted from the video game series of the same name . It received negative reviews from critics , but was commercially successful . She reprised her role in five sequels , all in the apocalyptic fiction action horror genre , made between 2004 and 2016 .   Jovovich released an album , The Divine Comedy , in 1994 . She continues to release demos for other songs on her official website and contributes to film soundtracks . In 2003 , she and model Carmen Hawk created the clothing line Jovovich-Hawk . Jovovich has her own production company , Creature Entertainment .