Actress who played Cammie in the film 'Coyote Ugly'

Izabella Miko | Biography

Made her American film debut in Coyote Ugly

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : April 07, 2022

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Izabella Miko is a Polish-American actress best recognized for her role as Cammie in Coyote Ugly (2000).

Who is Izabella Miko?

Izabella Miko is an actress, dancer, and environmental activist. She is the daughter of accomplished actor Aleksander Mikolajczak and actress Grazyna Dylag. She was born Izabella Anna Mikolajczak on 21 January 1981 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.

Born and bred in a family of entertainers, Miko showed her interest in performance early in her life. She appeared as a child actress in Polish films Pan Kleks w kosmosie (1988) and Niech zyje milosc (1991). 

She later began her career as a ballerina at the age of ten. She enrolled at the National Ballet School in Warsaw to hone her skills, but her teachers pointed out some flexibility limitations of her body. 

By age 15, she went to New York on a full scholarship to study at the School of American Ballet. However, her body could not endure the rigors of a regular ballet-training schedule. In 1997, she suffered multiple injuries to her vertebrae, knee, and ankle, which ultimately ended her career as a ballet dancer.

While recovering from her injuries, Miko caught the acting bug and immediately took training at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. She then went to Los Angeles at age 18 and quickly made a breakthrough with her role as Cammie in the 2000 musical comedy-drama film Coyote Ugly.

Her Role As Cammie In 'Coyote Ugly' Put Her On The Map In Hollywood

Miko made her American film debut in Coyote Ugly, a musical comedy-drama film directed by David McNally, written by Gina Wendkos, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman. The film follows the story of aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford (played by Piper Perabo), who comes out of her shell after getting a job at a women-run New York City nightclub called Coyote Ugly that teases its male patrons.

In Coyote Ugly, Miko portrayed the role of Cammie, one of three girls who befriends Violet and welcomes her into the fold as a performer/barmaid at the nightclub. The role became her career-defining role as it led her to a slew of magazine covers and billboards, which ultimately put her on the map in Hollywood.

She followed Coyote Ugly with a leading role as Megan in the 2001 horror-thriller film The Forsaken and Renee in the 2002 thriller film Minimal Knowledge. She went on to appear in films, including Bye Bye Blackbird (2005), Save the Last Dance 2 (2006), The Shore (2006), Clash of the Titans (2010), and Make Your Move (2013). She continued to capitalize on her background as a dancer, appearing in Step Up All In (2014) alongside Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan, Stephen Boss, Mari Koda, Christopher Scott, and Parris Goebel.

The film actress also appeared in recurring roles in the television series Deadwood, The Cape, and Chicago Fire. Furthermore, she made guest appearances on numerous television series, including Chaos, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Supernatural, Blue Bloods, Shooter, The Mick, and NCIS: Los Angeles.

She Starred In The Music Video' Mr. Brightside' By The Killers

'Mr. Brightside' is a 2005 music video by the rock band The Killers, formed by singer Brandon Flowers and guitarist Dave Keuning. 'Mr. Brightside' is the first song the musical duo ever wrote. Inspired by Flowers' real-life girlfriend, who cheated on him, the song shows the love triangle of Flowers, a dancer played by Miko, and a silver fox depicted by actor Eric Roberts.

The band released the sequel music video 'Miss Atomic Bomb' (2012) to the promo clip to the 2004 single 'Mr. Brightside.' Miko and Roberts reprised their roles as part of a love triangle with Flowers. 

The sequel music video begins with an older man sitting alone in a desert-docked motorhome. He reflects on his past when he notices a letter on his doormat. The music video then takes to an animated flashback that first prequels 'Mr. Brightside,' showing an animated Brandon Flowers in the studio of his humble garage band. He watches a young girl's (Miko) dance recital from his garage when she notices him observing her. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by her teacher/dance partner (Roberts), who draws the curtains. He later takes the young dancer on the ride, but things go south when she cheats on him with her dance partner.

On 8 April 2019, Miko shared a throwback picture from the music video of 'Mr. Brightside' on Facebook, along with a lengthy emotional caption. 

"Remember Mr. Brightside, the music video that I did for The Killers? In honor of tapping into my bad bitchness all over again, here's a time...when I played one on screen. She scares me a little....she goes for what she wants and needs and has no mercy," Miko reflected on her role in the music video. 

Further relating it to her real self, she wrote, "Me in real life? I guess I do too, but on the way there I pick up a stray dog or ...a stray man, water a plant that's dry, make some homemade bread for an ex who's looking a little thin, hug a stranger that I just had a profound conversation with at farmers market about parallel universes and spend half hour writing glowing reviews for my Uber drivers, so they feel appreciated...yeah, the whole "focusing on me and my needs only cause you actually can't handle much more now" is a bit new to me. All the other qualities of a bad bitch, are much easier...fearlessness, courage, confidence or resilience."

She Is An Outspoken Activist

In addition to her acting career, Miko is an outspoken activist. She is a proud vegan, and she is vocal about animal rights. She talks about her belief in eating clean on her eponymous website, where she also sells environment-friendly and sustainable candles. She also runs an environmental foundation EkoMiko.