It’s Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th - October 15th, and today I’m highlighting Christina Milian!

Christina Milian Flores was born in Jersey City, NJ today in 1981 (happy birthday!), but was raised in Waldorf, MD. She is of Afro-Cuban descent. Regarding her heritage and the challenges that come in the entertainment industry with being Afro-Latino, she was quoted in a HuffPost Live as saying “Since early, it’d be like, I’m Cuban but [people] didn’t get it because I was also brown-skinned, and you usually see a fair-skinned Latino, so it was just like, ‘Oh, what are you? Are you black? Are you white?’ I didn’t feel like I had to make a choice. I am what I am.”

Regardless of those challenges, Milian was able to carve out a career in entertainment and flourish in the process.

Her voyage into entertainment began at an early age, showing interest since the age of four. By age nine, she was already shooting commercials. By age 13 Christina’s mother decided she, along with Christina and her sisters, would all move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment for Christina.

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Her first real gig came as the host of the Disney Channel series, “Movie Surfers”. While filming that show, she lived in the same apartment complex as famed record producer, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. After hearing her sing, they began working together.

She made her professional music debut in 2000 as a vocalist on Ja Rule’s “Between Me and You”, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also co-wrote and provided vocals on Jennifer Lopez’s “Play” in 2001.

Due to her Ja Rule collab, she earned a record deal with Def Soul, which was an offshoot of Def Jam at the time. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2002. Two singles, “AM to PM” and “When You Look at Me” charted around the world.

Following her album, she played a supporting role in the movie “Torque”, and was also cast as the lead in “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” alongside Nick Cannon, whom she dated for two and half years.

The following year she began dated Andre Lyon, from production duo Cool & Dre. The two dated for about three years. She began dating The American Dream shortly thereafter and became engaged with, eloped, and announced her pregnancy all within seven months. The couple split three months, shortly before the birth of their daughter.

Christina also briefly dated Lil Wayne in 2015. However, in 2017 she began dating French singer Matthieu Tota, known M. Pokora. They welcomed a baby boy in January 2020, and another in 2021. They now live in Paris.

Milian has appeared in 21 films, put out three studio albums, hosted a variety of television programs, and appeared in many television series, including most recently, playing as Maria LaGuerta in “Dexter: Original Sin”, a prequel hit television series “Dexter”, which aired on Showtime. Reviews of her performance have been largely positive.

She’s been nominated for two GRAMMYs stemming from her second studio album “It’s About Time” in 2004, five Teen Choice Awards, and a BET Comedy Award for her role in the film “Be Cool” starring John Travolta for her character portrayal of singer Linda Moon.