Milena Govich ( ; Serbian: Милена Говић) (born ) is an American actress, director, singer, dancer, and musician, who may be best known for portraying Detective Nina Cassady for one season on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' (2006–2007).

Early life and education

Milena Govich was born in Norman, Cleveland County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Both of her parents, Dr. Bruce Michael Govich and Dr. Marilyn Green Govich, were professors of music: her father at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

and her mother at the University of Central Oklahoma. Her father was Serbian and her mother is of Scottish and English ancestry. Her aunt, Milica Govich, is also an actress who has appeared on Broadway, television, and film. Milena graduated from Norman High School in 1995 as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of her class. She followed her academic parents by graduating from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1999 once again graduating

with a double-degree in performance and pre-medical studies, and a minor in

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

. After graduation, Govich moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to pursue an acting career.

Career

Govich has appeared on Broadway in the musical revival of ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'', joining the 1998–2004 production in December 2000. She began in the role of Lulu, featuring her singing, dancing, and playing violin, and was the understudy and eventual replacement for the lead role,

Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Pre ...

. Govich also performed on Broadway in the 2002 musical revival of ''

The Boys from Syracuse ''The Boys from Syracuse'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play '' The Comedy of Errors'', as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemp ...

'' and in the musical ''

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...

''. She starred as Millie Dillmount in the first regional production of '' Thoroughly Modern Millie''. In July 2012, Govich starred in the title role of Charity Hope Valentine in ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film '' Nights of Cabiria''. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse sta ...

'' in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. On television, Govich first gained national attention in the United States as Gabby in the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

of CBS' '' Love Monkey'', then as the prostitute/con-artist Candy on '' Rescue Me''. She was in the lead cast of the Dick Wolf-produced series ''

Conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is Guilty (law), guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a ...

'', a short-lived mid-season replacement in early 2006. Wolf immediately brought her back, in the 2006–2007 season, as Detective Nina Cassady in the main cast of his flagship series, ''

''. She and her on screen partner, Jesse L. Martin as Det. Ed Green, were both replaced for the following season as part of the regular changes on the long-running series. She has been featured or recurred on numerous other television shows: as

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Lyndsey Swann in the

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

show '' K-Ville''; as

Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...

Tracy Hunt on the CBS series '' The Defenders''; and as Regina Turner on '' Make It or Break It''. She played a leading role on the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

drama, '' Finding Carter''. Govich has also appeared in several films, including 2004's ''Bad Behavior'', 2006's ''In Love'', 2009's ''Sordid Things'', 2011's ''A Novel Romance'', starring opposite

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for playing Carey Mahoney in the '' Police Academy'' films from 1984 to 1987. He also acted in '' Three Men and a Baby ...

, and ''Lucky Number'', starring opposite

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

Directing

Govich was one of eight filmmakers selected for the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

's Directing Workshop for Women, mentored by Paul Feig. Her directorial debut short film, ''Temporary'' (which gained her acceptance into AFI) has won multiple awards on the film festival circuit. Her short film, ''Unspeakable'', written by David Cornue, served as an episodic proof of concept for a one-hour TV drama, also written by Cornue. As of May 2020, it remains unreleased. Twelve years after leaving ''Law & Order'', Govich reunited with Wolf as a director and co-executive producer for his CBS series ''

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

''.

Personal life

Govich is married to David Cornue, a writer, composer and film producer. On October 10, 2008, Govich sang the U.S. national anthem at the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

home opener at the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. She has also appeared twice on tour as a guest performer with Taiwanese pop star Fei Xiang.

Filmography

Film

Television

Director

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Govich, Milena 1970s births Living people Actresses from Oklahoma American musical theatre actresses American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American people of Serbian descent American television actresses Musicians from Norman, Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma alumni Singers from Oklahoma 20th-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American actresses Norman High School alumni