Milana Vayntrub

Biography

Milana Vayntrub is an Uzbek American actress & comedian. She is known for the roles- Sloane Sandburg in This Is Us, Natalie in Love(2016), Tara in Silicon Valley, Ellie in Dallas & Robo, Jill in That Moment When, Tina Shukshin in Other Space, Milana in College Humor videos, Anna in The Clandestine.

Image: Milana Vayntrub

Family- Childhood

Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub was born on 8th March 1987 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Soviet Union. Her family moved to West Hollywood (where they had family) as refugees when she was 2 and half years old. Jewish organizations like HIAS helped with the fmaily resettlement.

Her father lives in Moscow now.

[ Milana with her Mom in childhood ]

[Milana Vaynturb Father]

Video: Milana Vayntrub & family coming to United States when she was 2 years old

Education

• Beverly Hills High School: She studied from the public high school- BHHS, located in Beverly Hills, California. She dropped out of it in her sophomore year, but got a GED (tests with certificates)
• University of California, San Diego: she has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California in Communication.
• Upright Citizens Brigade: She got trained with the UCB improv comedy group from Chicago

Marriage- Children

She is married and has a son from the marriage, she has kept her family life very personal.

Milana has been pro choice ever since her college days, she had an abortion when she was in college, she felt it was the right thing to do because of economic reasons. She was doing random jobs like baby sitting, working at smoothie shop, working improv.

When she was pregnant with her child, she published a note in support of her pro-choice stand. [6]

Nothing has made me more pro-choice than pregnancy and motherhood. Read about both my abortion and, a decade later, the birth of my boo bear. [4]

Career

She was doing commercials by the age of five, she was also doing Mattel Barbie commercials.

Milana Vayntrub in AT & T commercials: She has appeared in various AT & T commercials over the years as store manager Lily Adams. Various versions of the commercial she has appeared in are: 

• I Don't Compromise (2014)
• Closer... Yup, Yup, Yup, Yup, Yup (2014)
• Slam Dunk (2014)
• There's No Catch (2014)
• Food Court (2014)
• Sleeping Baby (2014)

Squirrel Girl

She was cast in the lead role of the TV pilot of Marvel Comics superheroine- Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl). Unfortunately the Series was cancelled, it did not go beyond the development stage. She has voiced the Squirrel girl character in the 'Marvel Rising' franchise TV moive 'Marvel Rising: Playing with Fire'.

"Dead Tech": In the season 1 Episode 9 of the comedy horror series, "You're Not a Monster" she plays the ghost girl from 'the Ring' who is struggling to adapt to the new age, now that VHS age is gone

Let's Talk About Something More Interesting: A comedy video directed by Milana with Amir Blumenfeld, Beck Bennett, Burnie Burns in the cast.

Music videos

• "Hungry Child": A Music video with artist "Hot Chip" in 2019
• Teenage Tide: She has appeared in the music video by Christopher Ewing for the musical band 'Letting Up Despite Great Faults'
• "Can't Be Saved": A Music video with Senses Fail

Interesting Facts & Trivia

• She is originally from Uzbekistan, her family moved from Soviet Union to United State when she was just 2 years old.
• Rise to fame: She became popular after playing Lily Adams in an AT & T commercial
• Religion: She is of Jewish background, in the 1990s her family came to the United States following religious persecution in the Soviet Union.
• How to Pronounce Vaynturb?
  • Her last name is pronounced VYNE-troob.
  • Vayntrub is a cognate of the Jewish surname 'Weintraub'. It translates to "wine-grape", it German it means "Grape" [2]
• Political view: She has been critical of Donald Trump (safe to assume she is a Democratic Party Voter)
• Loves Donuts: She likes Donuts, her Dad used to work at a Donut shop, he would bring donuts home for kids
• Funny incident: She competed in a beauty pageant when she was 5 years old, she had won the competition, since they had called her name last on to the stage, she thought she had lost and was crying while carrying the giant award.
• Comedian: She took improv classes in comedy
• Little Chores beofre the big jump: She worked as a waitress making smoothies before her career as comedian took off
• She has a pet dog named Paisley
• She likes Music concerts & Travelling, she spends most of her money on travelling.
• Can't Love cats: She is allergic to cats
• She likes to explore the creative side of the entertainment industry, she wants to write and direct couple of projects in the next 10 years.
• Youtube channel: She started a comedy youtube channel- "Live Prude Girls" with the friend Stevie Nelson, the channel has had good number of visitors. Her channel was ranked 93 among the New Media Rockstars' Top 100 Channels countdown
• Believes in Reincarnation: She likes the idea of reincarnation & likes to explore further
• Gifted with curves: She is a naturally curvy woman.
• Online sexual harassment: In the summer of 2020, internet posts of Milana were flooded a vicious section of the internet, they started referring to her by the name "Mommy Milkers", reference to her breasts. AT&T social media posts were especially attacked with lewd comments and suggestive emojis, AT & T deleted those posts and made a public condemnation of the harassment. The harassment continued on her own social media profile.

Philanthropy- Activism

• Refugees
  • Syrian Refugee Crisis: Milana was on vacation in Greece with her father, she saw the suffering of the immigrants and decided to help them, she made a mini documentary on the refugee crisis.
  • #CantDoNothing: She started the campaign with the hashtag on social media to inspire people to help the incoming refugees. She helped the refugees herself personally, she helped them move to safe locations, she helped change diapers of babies.
  • Lifting Hands International, HIAS: In March 2022, she requested her fans to suppor the refugee resettlement programs through Lifting Hands International, HIAS, she matched every dollar supported by the public from her own pocket.
• Politics:
  • She attended the Women's march of the United States in 2017 & 2018.
• Children:
  • She is involved with organizations working for betterment of children with Autism
• Animal Lover: 
  • She works with animal rescue organizations.

Filmography

Movies List

TV Series List

Web Series List

Short Movies

Stage

Video Game

Quotes

• Refugees are just people, there are lot of things we can do to help them
• Sometimes we feel litle helpless not being able to help people suffering so far away, refugee crisis is something we can help with.
• If we begin to call all sexual assault what it is, we will have to voluntarily admit more pain into our lives
• I have really got the best of both the worlds.
• I think I'm a very dark person (sexually speaking)
• This (Harvey) Weinstein shit(sexual misconduct) should have surfaced sooner but good people stayed quiet. Where in your life are you trying to appease a** holes out of fear?
• My refugee experience was very different than a lot of people coming to this country now
• I think I always thought I was better than most people.
• You can just call me Milana. Or Beyoncee.
• My favorite thing to do when I'm in a bad mood is ask my boyfriend if he's okay and what's wrong with us.
• I think I'm gonna be a really good mother, I love kids, I love animals.
• I think Vegas is gross
• I just never want to be sober.
• I really don't like alcohol, it is not fun for me anymore.
• I'd rather spend my money on experience on things, or in buying gifts
• I like being a little bit of Gypsy
• Being happy is way more important to me than being successful
• I have never been in a parking lot and not looked over my shoulder.
• If my plane crashes I want to be awake to see it.
• Dying is a guaranteed thing every being is going to go throw it.
• I'm a real nerd for science. I love Neil deGrasse Tyson and 'Cosmos' and all that. [2]
• I want to be able to enjoy my life to the fullest so I can add something to the lives of people around me.
• Nobody is powerless.
• We're so lucky to take being alive for granted. [2]
• [On Her Jewish identity] My Judaism is the ancient people I come from and the ones I eat with on Fridays. I come from people who don’t budge. Those tortured, imprisoned, killed, forced to relocate and made to forget their own traditions. But actually coming to America, for my family, made us more Jewish. Here we met other Jewish families and re-adopted traditions the USSR literally outlawed. I freaking love knowing I’m a part of a people who exist because of our will, love, generosity, dry-ass cookies, and a few miracles. [3]
•  It’s scary to be vulnerable on the internet because there’s no room for nuance and the very vocal, very mean minority has really hurt me before. But I loved working on this. And I’m hoping in sharing my humanity, I can see more of yours. [5]
• You can't change people, You know this but you try anyway, and you try and you try, and you try but you can't. Then one day you see that you can change yourself. [5]
• [On marriage and Parenthood] We’re better parents when our couple needs are being met. [7]

Sources

1. Milana Vaynturb Wiki
2. IMDB Bio
3. On her Jewish heritage
4. Milana on pro-choice view
5. Milana on internet harassment
6. Milana on her abortion
7. On parenthood and marriage
8.