When someone has that "It" quality, it's almost impossible to quantify or qualify-an indefinable style, grace, and attitude that twig-thin Twiggy had in the '60s and Kate Moss ruled with in the '90s. And our fresh face of '07, blonde Brit Sienna Miller, has that same certain something, making her the next big thing!
The bohemian beauty has a joie de vivre that draws in every shutterbug in town. Gossip hounds follow her around, filling the tabloids with juicy fodder, commenting on everything from her mod, trend-setting styles to rumored romances. Now, it is Sienna's standout performance as Andy Warhol's muse, Edie Sedgwick, in the fictionalized flick Factory Girl, that has everyone talking-and they're all in agreement that there is just "something" about Sienna.
The actress was born in New York City, and her family moved to England when she was little. Though her father Edward is American, and her mother, Jo Miller, is from South Africa, Sienna identifies herself as "English, definitely. I don't feel like I'm American in any way."
Her parents parted ways when she was six years old, and her father went on to marry (and later separated from) top English interior designer Kelly Hoppen, while Sienna's mother ran Lee Strasberg's acting academy in London. Sienna attended the prestigious Heathfield School in Ascot, Berkshire, as money wasn't an issue. While away at boarding school, Miller admits enjoying the rebellious side of it all: sneaking off to buy alcohol, pulling pranks, and even snogging the gardener (as the British say). She tells Life magazine, "I was inherently rebellious, but because my parents were so open and loving, there wasn't a lot to rebel against. I was sort of a ringleader for naughtiness. Not bad, not hurtful, just naughty."
During her days at Heathfield, Sienna discovered her passion for the arts (no doubt inherited from her mother). She enjoyed singing and modeling, but theater was really where this actress began to shine. With her high school days behind her, Sienna headed back to NYC and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. While studying the craft full-time, Sienna made sure she could still be seen on stages around town, appearing in The Striker, Independence, and Cigarettes & Chocolate (directed by Anthony Minghella, famed for 1996's The English Patient). And it wasn't long before her unique looks got her spotted by the Select Model Management agency.
She was a natural in front of the camera, so when Sienna returned to the UK, she began working as a model. Before long, she was shooting European commercials, working for Italian Vogue and Prada, and even got her hot-shot spread in the 2003 Pirelli Calendar. But that wasn't enough for this spitfire-Sienna wanted to have duel careers in both countries.
After signing with the PFD talent agency (based in London's theater district), her acting career began to take shape. She played a girlfriend torn between two best friends in the indie bike-racing melodrama High Speed (2002), and followed it up with a guest-starring role on Fox's short-lived American Embassy. She scored a spot in the 2002 season of the offbeat BBC miniseries Bedtime, just before getting a big break, signing a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures.
Not only was this deal a clincher for her budding film career, but it also landed her the role of the feisty Fiona Bickerton on Fox's Keen Eddie. The show was a hit with the critics, who loved Miller's performance as a lively bombshell in a love/hate relationship with a NYC cop on assignment in London. Despite the show's apparent success, only 13 episodes were aired before it was cancelled. The show's cancellation, actually a blessing in disguise, gave way to another role for Sienna starring opposite Jude Law in the remake of Michael Caine's 1966 classic, Alfie.
"I sort of feel like, what if I never love that vulnerable and that openly again?"
Their on-screen chemistry left tongues wagging, and the pair quickly became a real-life couple. Jude was only days off his divorce from Sadie Frost, but in the fall of 2003, he and Sienna settled down in a small NYC apartment. The paparazzi fell in love with the stunning twosome-the couple shined bright in the spotlight, and on Jude's arm (he was already an established actor in the U.S.), Sienna was gaining her own notoriety. Of course it wasn't all for her acting abilities. In fact, many Americans didn't even know she was an actress when the couple first emerged.
Miller was quickly gaining a reputation as an up-and-comer, but it was her kitschy style and rocky romance that were grabbing the headlines. She explains, "I work very, very hard. But [for the press] it was about the fashion, it was about the romance, it was about the drama of life." Following her appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004, many credited Sienna as having popularized the style "boho-chic," and for spawning a series of trends that followed (oversize tops, skinny jeans, cowboy boots, etc.). Later that year, Jude popped the question, and the couple became engaged on Christmas Day.
She followed up Alfie's success with another British hunk as her leading man, Daniel Craig (the sexy new 007, our blond Bond), with whom she scored a hit with the cocaine drama Layer Cake. The dynamic chemistry between the co-stars sparked rumors of infidelity, but Sienna confronted them head-on, denying any foul play.
Unfortunately, Jude wasn't able to refute rumors of his own cheating, and issued a public apology to Sienna when pictures surfaced of him with nanny Daisy Wright in July of '05. Wright embarked on a publicity-fueled tell-all, divulging many intimate details of her and Jude's encounters. Despite his apology, the pair split and Sienna was left with the heartache of a lost love, explaining: "There was a loss of innocence on my part. I was blinded by being a romantic person." For young Sienna, losing love left open wounds: "I sort of feel like, what if I never love that vulnerable and that openly again?"
But Miller did her best to move on, throwing herself into her work. She starred in the period drama Casanova (2005), co-starring Heath Ledger as the legendary lover/womanizer. That same year, she made her West End debut as Celia in Shakespeare's As You Like It (and even played Rosalind for one performance, when the lead actress fell ill). And by 2006, Sienna's career was getting even hotter. She appeared in the coveted Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue, topless and smoking a cigarette. "Men's traditional view of sexiness isn't sexy," said the siren. "It shouldn't be so obvious: push-up bras and miniskirts? Sexiness to me is when people are comfortable with themselves."
"I’m never good enough for myself, so I don’t have any belief in my own importance."
This carefree attitude about her sex appeal and fame made her the perfect parallel for her latest role, a vulnerable and powerful portrayal of the hard-partying Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl (which co-stars Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol and Jimmy Fallon as Edie's friend and confidant). It chronicles Edie's rise and fall in the Warhol universe and her free-fall to obscurity. Edie was the classic model/actress/ideal heiress, flying high (in more ways than one) in the '60s downtown NYC glam scene, before she died from a drug overdose at the tender age of 28. For Sienna, playing the role required a character immersion that again landed her in the headlines. She tells Life's Kate Meyers, "We partied a lot while making Factory Girl. Jimmy Fallon, Guy Pearce, and I ran around like a bunch of madmen." In February's Esquire she admits, "For maybe two months after we wrapped, I was still running around and acting a little bit crazy, like I was still in character … it's really quite fun being Edie Sedgwick."
But unlike Edie, Sienna is well grounded-she's not a sex or drug addict. She's the real deal. Even at 25, she understands what it takes to stay on top and in control in a business filled with temptations. "Everything is stacked against you in this job because you're encouraged to have everything revolve around you…. [But] I'm not deluded about myself. I don't think I'm the be-all. I'm never good enough for myself, so I don't have any belief in my own importance."
The film sparked controversy and rumors left and right, including Bob Dylan's refuting how he was portrayed as Edie's love interest (played superbly by Hayden Christensen). There were rumors that the sex scene between Christensen and Miller was real on-screen sex (the two shared a house during the filming and grew close, but Miller's publicist insists that the scenes were simulated). But no one can deny that, above all else, what sticks out is Sienna's star quality.
"I've never understood the definition of 'It girl,' " she says. "But Edie was at the epicenter of what was going on during a revolutionary time in the world. She managed to epitomize the mood of the nation and reflected what the nation was feeling."
As our modern It girl, Miller's rising fame reflects a bright future for the next crop of stars. We need more actors like Sienna, who are grounded, forward-thinking, unique, and classy, not to mention sassy-whatever it is, Sienna Miller's got "It"!
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