Milla Jovovich in ‘The Fifth Element’ in 1997.Photo:Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Milla Jovovich’s look inThe Fifth Elementis nothing short of iconic. But according to the actress, her character’s distinctive — andmuch replicated— hair style came at a price.
In French directorLuc Besson’s 1997 sci-fi cult classic, Jovovich played Leeloo, a cosmic being who represents the universe’s only defense against a giant evil fireball. As Jovovich explained in an interview withGQ, Besson wanted her character’s hair to be a color “that had never been seen before.”
Milla Jovovich and Bruce Willis in ‘The Fifth Element’ in 1997.Columbia Pictures
Jovovich, now 49, initially had her own naturally dark hair bleached and dyed for the role. But, she said, “In practice, it was difficult to keep up.”
“What we didn’t realize at the time was that my hair grows very fast,” she explained.
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Jovovich said her roots began to grow out every week during filming.“Literally every week you would start seeing, like, that little bit of dark hair,” she recalled. “They kept trying to touch it up, but you have to be very delicate.”
Milla Jovovich in 2024.Rick Kern/WireImage
Rick Kern/WireImage
The actress revealed that the damage to her hair from repeated bleaching and dying made it start to fall out in clumps.
“So, we had to wig me,” she admitted.
The change from Jovovich’s real hair to a wig was noticeable onscreen. But, she said, her first appearance wearing the wig in the film was timed so that it came after her character had showered.
“So, it kind of made sense that it was a little, like, poofier and more clean-looking,” she said.
source: people.com
