Early life
Miller was born in New York City on December 28, 1981 and moved with her family to London, England when she was a year old. She went to Francis Holland Junior School, from when she was 4 to 11. She attended Heathfield St Mary's School, a boarding school in Ascot, Berkshire and later studied for a year at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City.
Her father Edward Miller is an American banker turned Chinese art dealer. Her South African mother, Josefina "Jo" Miller, ran Lee Strasberg's acting academy in London[1] and was once David Bowie's secretary.
Miller has a sister, Savannah, a fashion designer; two half-brothers, Charles and Stephen, and a former stepsister, Natasha Corrett (the daughter of her father's second wife Kelly Hoppen).[citation needed]
Career
Modeling
Miller at the 2007 BAFTAs
Prior to her professional acting career, Miller worked as a photographic model. She signed with Tandy Anderson, and modeled for Coca-Cola, Italian Vogue, and posed topless in the 2003 Pirelli Calendar.[2] Miller has also been closely associated with the style of fashion that became known as boho chic, much of which fashion followers noted was strikingly similar to the style of model Kate Moss.[3]
Miller signed a two-year contract with Pepe Jeans London; the jeans ad campaign first appeared in magazines March 2006.[4]
Acting
In her early career, Miller performed in several amateur New York City plays including The Striker, Independence, and Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella's Cigarettes & Chocolate.
In 2001, she made her film début with South Kensington, with Rupert Everett and Elle Macpherson. Her next projects were High Speed and The Ride (aka Joy-Rider) in 2002. In 2003, Miller had a recurring role in Simon West's television action drama series Keen Eddie. Miller had supporting roles in the remake of the 1966 film Alfie starring Jude Law in 2004. In the same year, she made Layer Cake with Daniel Craig. In 2005, she made her professional stage début as Celia in a West End production of Shakespeare's As You Like It alongside Helen McCrory and Dominic West. She understudied the lead role of Rosalind, which she played for one performance, when McCrory fell ill.
Later that year, Miller played the female lead opposite Heath Ledger in the period drama, Casanova, followed by what is known as her breakthrough role portraying 1960s socialite and Andy Warhol's muse Edie Sedgwick in the film Factory Girl, which opened December 29, 2006.
In 2007, Miller played a small role opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro in Matthew Vaughn's fantasy epic Stardust, based on the book by Neil Gaiman of the same name. That same year, she played an American starlet to Steve Buscemi's reporter in the film Interview, a remake of the Dutch movie with the same name. Later in 2007, she portrayed an undead bride opposite James Franco in the horror comedy Camille which did not receive a wide release and went to DVD shortly thereafter.
In 2008, Miller appeared in the film version of writer Michael Chabon's novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, also starring Peter Sarsgaard and filmed The Edge of Love, with friend Keira Knightley, a biopic of Dylan Thomas in which she plays his wife Caitlin.
She appears in two upcoming films: Hippie Hippie Shake a new Working Title production directed by Beeban Kidron also stars Cillian Murphy set in the 1960s, and a live-action film adaptation of the comic book and cartoon G.I. Joe. In September 2009 she will play the title role in Patrick Marber's After Miss Julie on Broadway.
Miller was set to play Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's upcoming film Nottingham, featuring Russell Crowe as the Sheriff of Nottingham, but she dropped out before filming began.[5]
In 2009, Miller starred in the Comic Relief spoof of the film Mamma Mia! alongside English comediennes Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, in which she played Sophie.
Fashion design
Miller at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2007
In 2006, it was announced that Miller would design a fashion capsule for Pepe Jeans; the project was later expanded to become a complete fashion label. Called Twenty8Twelve, it gets its name from Miller's date of birth and is financially backed by Pepe Jeans.[6] The collection, which Miller designed with her sister Savannah, a professional fashion designer, launched in September 2007.[7]
Personal life
Miller's relationship with the Alfie co-star Jude Law, was constantly featured in the entertainment press. On Christmas Day of 2004, they became engaged.[8] On July 8, 2005, Law issued a public apology to Miller for having an affair with the nanny of his children.[9] Despite attempting to salvage their constant on/off relationship, Miller and Law finally separated the following November.[10]
Miller dated Welsh actor Rhys Ifans from August 2007 - June 2008. Miller said of the split, "I really thought I was very ready to settle down, but then I realized I wanted to be selfish for just a little bit longer."[11]
After her relationship with Ifans abruptly ended, Miller began an affair with actor and father of four, Balthazar Getty, who was still married to designer Rosetta Getty (née Millington) at the time they got together.
