Christina Flores was born on September 26, 1981, in Jersey City, New Jersey, and shortly thereafter moved to Waldorf, Maryland, where she spent her early childhood. Always fascinated by the performing arts, she made her first appearances in commercials for Wendy's and Honeycombs at the tender age of four, and subsequently played the role of Annie in a stage version of the musical of the same name. When she was thirteen, her mother who went on to become her manager, took her to Los Angeles to further her career. Her father, who disagreed with this decision, remained behind, and the couple divorced soon afterwards.
In Los Angeles, Milian found television success easy to come by. She appeared in shows including Sister, Sister, with Tia Mowry, Tamara Mowry, and Tim Rei, and Clips' Place, with Sherman Hemsley and Shane West, before moving to the Disney Channel as a junior journalist on Movie Surfers. Guest appearances on Charmed, with Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano; Clueless, with Rachel Blanchard and Stacey Dash; and Get Real, with Jon Tenney and Anne Hathaway, followed, plus her first movie role, in American Pie, where she acted alongside Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, and Tara Reid. She went on to appear in several films, including Torque, with Max Beesley and Ice Cube; Be Cool, based on the Elmore Leonard novel and starring Uma Thurman and John Travolta; and Pulse, with Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder.
Milian's career as a singer began in 2000, when she sang with Ja Rule on his hit single "Between Me and You." She released her first solo single, "AM to PM," the following year. Although it didn't do as well in America, the single was a great success elsewhere in the world, leading to the release of her self-titled first album. Two further albums followed, including It's About Time and So Amazin', also on the Island Def Jam record label, though Milian has since left and is reported to be considering signing with Kanye West's GOOD Music. As well as producing her own music, Milian has written songs for other people, including Jennifer López and girl group PYT (who took their name from a Michael Jackson song). She sang with So Solid Crew's Romeo on chart hit "It's All Gravy" and wrote and sang the hit theme tune, "Call Me Beep Me," from the TV show Kim Possible. Milian has received two Grammy Award nominations.
In 2003, Milian met actor Nick Cannon on the set of Love Don't Cost a Thing, and they formed a relationship which lasted for over two years. They split up after she accused him of cheating on her whilst she was away on tour, and she wrote the song "Who's Gonna Ride" to express her feelings about him afterwards. She then dated singer, actor, and former model Eric West, who starred in Bobby with Demi Moore and Lindsay Lohan, and she has since been romantically connected with hip-hop producer Dre, who worked on her third album along with Rich Harrison.
Milian has had an ongoing interest in charitable causes, specifically HIV prevention education programs. In 2005 she hosted inner city music awards event The Reign, alongside Eric West and Mariah Carey, helping to raise money for the Fresh Air Fund and for the AIDS Foundation chaired by Elton John. She has received an Outstanding Achievement Award for her humanitarian work.
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