Christina Milian

Christina Milian (/ˌmɪliˈɑːn/ MIL-ee-AHN, née Flores; born September 26, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Following a number of minor television and film roles in the late nineties, Milian made her recording debut on American rapper Ja Rule's 2000 single "Between Me and You", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Under Island Records, she released her 2001 debut single "AM to PM", which became a US Billboard Hot 100 top 40 single. In 2002, she performed the theme song "Call Me, Beep Me!", for the Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible. Following a series of delays, her first album, Christina Milian, was only released internationally in 2002, where it charted moderately. Her second album, It's About Time (2004), spawned the number 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Dip It Low" (featuring Fabolous). Her third album, So Amazin' (2006) yielded the US top 40 single, "Say I" (featuring Jeezy). Milian experienced particular success in the United Kingdom, where each of her songs released under Island peaked within the top ten on the UK Singles Chart. She parted ways with Island following the release of So Amazin' and independently released her first extended play, 4U, in 2015.

As an actress, her first lead film role was in Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003). She subsequently had lead roles in the films Be Cool (2005), Pulse (2006), and in the direct-to-DVD film Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009). Milian also starred in the ABC Family Original Movie Christmas Cupid (2010). From 2015 to 2016, she starred in the sitcom Grandfathered. She played María LaGuerta in the series Dexter: Original Sin (2024–2025). Milian also co-founded and co-owns Beignet Box, a dessert shop in the Los Angeles area.

Milian was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is of Cuban descent. Her parents are Don Flores and Carmen Milian.

Flores changed her name and adopted her mother's maiden name (Milian) in the hopes of landing a wider range of acting roles. The oldest of three sisters, including Danielle and Elizabeth, she moved with her family to Waldorf, Maryland, soon after her birth. Milian was four years old when she showed an interest in show business, and when her family realized that she was a talented actress, she became determined to pursue an entertainment career. As a child, Milian was "very imaginative and very creative", and watching television and listening to the radio became her life. They inspired her to have fun, and she convinced her parents that she "did not want to be inside the TV", although it took some time to convince them. By the time she was nine years old, Milian had begun auditioning with local talent agencies, shot commercials for Wendy's and Honeycomb, and played the lead role in the musical Annie. Milian's mother noticed her daughter's potential and left her husband and moved to Los Angeles with her three daughters when Milian was 13 years old. Her father had to stay in Maryland and divorced her mother soon after the move.

When Milian moved to Los Angeles, her only desire was to be an actress. She always wanted to be in the record business, but did not know how to obtain a recording contract. During this time, she was a host for Disney Channel's series Movie Surfers, by the name of Tina. After living in Los Angeles for six months, Milian moved into the same apartment complex as songwriter and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who (like Milian) was also born in New Jersey. Jerkins heard about Milian from a boy band he was working with and once he heard her sing, they began working together. For a year and a half, Milian went into a studio every day and worked with Jerkins, which is where she started meeting people in the record business. She began writing songs at the age of 17 because she needed a demo to help her obtain a recording contract. According to Milian, every time she recorded a song, the producer would refuse to give her the demo, or would write lyrics that she did not agree with. She felt that she had to write a song, record a demo, and send it out on her own.

Milian's first major acting role was offered by the Disney Channel to join The Mickey Mouse Club; however, she did not accept and opted to star as a reporter on Movie Surfers. During this time, she had minor roles in film and television, including Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, The Steve Harvey Show, Get Real, The Wood and American Pie. Milian made her first professional musical appearance on rapper Ja Rule's second studio album Rule 3:36 (2000), performing vocals on the song "Between Me and You". The song was released as the album's lead single in 2000, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and on the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom. Milian co-wrote and performed vocals for the track "Play" for Jennifer Lopez's album J. Lo (2001), and co-wrote "Same Ol' Same Ol'", the second single from girl group PYT's debut album PYT (Down with Me) (2001).

Milian's collaboration with Ja Rule led to a record deal with Def Soul Records, prompted by his affiliation with Murder Inc. Records, an imprint that was distributed through Def Jam, the parent label of Def Soul Records. She travelled to Sweden and recorded her self-titled debut album. The album was released outside North America on January 23, 2002, peaking at number 23 on the UK Albums Chart in the United Kingdom. The album's domestic release was canceled, primarily due to the September 11 attacks. Two singles were taken from the album, "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me", both of which charted worldwide. A music video for the track "Get Away" was filmed in Paris, although it was not officially released as a single. Critical response to the album was generally mixed to positive. In the following years, she was featured on the track "It's All Gravy", a duet with British rapper Romeo, which peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Milian's third top ten song in Britain as a credited artist, and fourth overall; provided the theme song for the hit Disney Channel animated series Kim Possible, "Call Me, Beep Me!"; and collaborated with Hilary Duff on the song "I Heard Santa on the Radio" for Duff's debut album Santa Claus Lane (2002).