Izabella Miko

Izabella Miko (born Izabella Anna Mikołajczak; 21 January 1981) is a Polish actress, dancer, film producer, and environmental activist. She is best known for starring in the film Coyote Ugly and the music videos "Mr. Brightside" and "Miss Atomic Bomb" by The Killers. While a dance student in Poland, Miko was recruited to study at the New York City Ballet at age 15 and later studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. She made her American film debut in Coyote Ugly (2000), followed by a starring part in the vampire thriller The Forsaken (2001).Miko has also had recurring roles on the television series Deadwood, The Cape, and Chicago Fire, in addition to roles in dance films such as Save the Last Dance 2 (2006), Make Your Move (2013), and Step Up: All In (2014). She made her debut as a film producer on the British biographical drama Desert Dancer in 2014. She is also known as an environmental activist. She has a sustainable candle line named EkoMiko Candles as well as an eco foundation named EkoMiko.

Miko supports green politics and keeps a video blog titled "Eko Miko". She has supported Global Green USA, an environmentalist group and organization that constitutes the American branch of Green Cross International. She is vegan.

Miko was born Izabella Anna Mikołajczak in Łódź, Poland, the daughter of actors Grażyna Dyląg and Aleksander Mikołajczak. She grew up in Warsaw, where she studied to be a ballerina at the Chopin Music School. An American choreographer invited her to study in New York City on a scholarship with the School of American Ballet, and she later enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Institute to study acting. After sustaining a back injury, Miko left New York City and returned to Poland.