She toldVanity Fair, “If someone stops me and is like, ‘Hey, are you…?’
I’m always like, ‘I don’t know.’
Because a lot of times someone thinks that we know each other, which I also find delightful.”
Milioti grew up in suburban New Jersey, where she always aspired to become a performer.
“I spilled my coffee, and they had to cut and reset everything.
I was so nervous,” she toldBuzzFeed.
Read on to learn more about the actor and her stunning transformation.
“I sang in bands all throughout high school and loved it,” she told BuzzFeed.
“He introduced me to Adele,” Milioti said.
“Like, he knows things before anyone.
He’s really plugged into that world.”
Milioti eventually parlayed her love for singing into a viable career, but first came school plays.
I couldn’t hit the notes, so I just made tones," she said.
She added that she played the role with a Russian accent, even though the character is Puerto Rican.
“I was so unhappy there,” she explained to BuzzFeed.
Like, I didn’t know there was a place like Juilliard.
I think that’s what I thought [NYU was like] you just doactingall day."
Milioti explained that she wasn’t prepared for her non-performance courses and that she found them difficult.
She ended up dropping out of the university within her first year.
In an interview withBackstage, the actor said she admired the confidence she’d had at that time.
“I was following my gut.
But the gig Milioti really loved was working as a dog walker, a job she did for years.
“I was so close with the dogs that I walked,” she told Backstage.
I still have it.”
Even as her career took off, Milioti had fond memories of her dog walking days.
As we rolled up to set, I was like, ‘Oh, I know why.
I came here every day for two years.’
It was really beautiful."
Milioti played Catherine Sacrimoni, daughter of crime boss Johnny Sacks, in three episodes of the beloved series.
“That was the most enormous thing to me.”
While Milioti was thrilled to get the job, she was a bit overwhelmed on set.
The role allowed Milioti to flex her singing and acting chops, but there was a catch.
Milioti’s character played the piano, but Milioti was not exactly a virtuoso.
“… it was a harrowing ten or 12 days!”
Luckily, she nailed it, and her performance garnered her a Tony nomination in 2012.
Milioti toldBroadway Buzzit was something she’d always dreamed of.
It’s on par with love."
Milioti’s character was an over-the-top coquettish female comic who spoke in a cutesy, high-pitched baby voice.
Milioti toldVulturethat the voice was her own idea, and that she found inspiration in certain pop culture figures.
“That voice came from watching Paris Hilton on ‘Letterman.’
She talks in that voice.
“It was a really dark time,” she revealed toThe Daily Beast.
“It was a sh*t year of not being able to afford my rent.
Not affording my cellphone.
Wearing all my same clothes from college.”
Milioti also expressed gratitude for Tina Fey, who ultimately chose Milioti for the role.
The show’s finale was a tearjerker for sure, and Milioti was not immune to the emotion.
“It was super sad.
I just burst into tears as soon as they told me,” she shared with Vulture.
Milioti also revealed that she couldn’t keep it together during the last day of filming, either.
But I couldn’t stop crying,” she said.
She stays off of social media, and her personal life has been somewhat of a mystery.
However, in 2013 she revealed that she was dating actor and furniture maker Jesse Hooker.
Although a breakup was never announced, Milioti referenced some turmoil in her personal life years later.
Whether she was referring to her relationship with Hooker was unclear.
Milioti played Betsy Solverson, a role that creator Noah Hawley knew she would be perfect in.
“‘Strong female role?
The one of four that will come out this year?
Great, I’m in.'”
But it was more than the female-centric aspect that drew Milioti in; it was something like fate.
The movie was shot in just 21 days, and Milioti and Samberg became friends almost immediately.
“…we hit it off like gangbusters.
I think we have very similar taste and senses of humor, and he’s just wonderful.
We never had to work at that,” Milioti toldEW.
Samberg spoke with Milioti in a 2024 edition ofInterview, and reminisced about one of their early meetings.
And you were like, ‘Beetlejuice.’
And I was like, ‘Oh… yeah,'" he said.
Because it’s something we talked about a lot," the “Lonely Island” comic shared.
“I met Cristin Milioti a decade ago.
We played husband and wife in a movie called ‘The Brass Teapot,'” Magnussen toldVanity Fair.
“I fell in love with her, and I gained such a friend.
We had one of the best experiences on this little movie.”
As luck would have it, their theaters were right next to each other.
“We really trust each other,” she said.
The only thing holding her back was one little vocal run.
““Like all I could hear was like [these notes].”
Could it really have been that bad?
Milioti is a Grammy winner, after all.
“It was like when you hear coyotes attack as a group,” she explained.
She was offered the part of Sofia within 24 hours.
“I feel very protective of her,” she told Vanity Fair.
“I am just in love with her.”
Even at a Joni Mitchell concert, Milioti was feeling the love from fans.
And Milioti is all for the idea of playing Sofia Falcone again in the future.
