At age eleven, Alyssa Milano won her first major role in the television show, Who's the Boss?, alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro, and Katherine Helmond. Alyssa Milano starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character. After Alyssa Milano won the role, Alyssa Milano and her father relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. The rest of the family followed a year later, because her mother was initially unwilling to give up her home life "for a show that wasn't a guarantee." Although born and raised in Brooklyn, Alyssa Milano had trouble getting this accent, because she worked to lose it to land more roles in the theater, including in a stage adaption of Jane Eyre.
Alyssa Milano is the daughter of Italian-American parents: Lin, a fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and boating enthusiast. Milano was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Staten Island, and was raised Roman Catholic. Alyssa Milano has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor. In a 2003 interview, Milano recalled having had a good childhood, having grown up in a "loving, true family."
