Bios
Izabella Miko plays Raia, a member of the circus gang of bank robbers in NBC's new drama series "The Cape."
Born in what was still Communist Poland to thespian parents, Miko could dance before she could walk. At the age of 15 she was recruited by the School of American Ballet New York to study on a full scholarship. In 1997 Miko's body could no longer withstand the rigors of a seven-day-a-week ballet-training schedule and gave in to vertebrae, knee and ankle injuries that scarred her career as a ballet dancer.
Miko returned to Warsaw and during her recovery, a casting director who was working with her parents asked if she would play a part in the made for television movie, "Lithuania You're My Motherland." Shortly before her 18th birthday, Miko headed back to the United States and immediately began training at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Soon after, Miko made her American movie debut playing the heartbreaker, Cammie, in Jerry Bruckheimer's "Coyote Ugly," and followed up with a leading role in J.S. Cardone's "The Forsaken." In addition, Miko has held lead roles in independent features, "The Shore" and the haunting "Bye Bye Blackbird."
More recently, Miko has completed several feature films including "Flakes" opposite Zooey Deschanel and Christopher Lloyd, "Crashing" opposite Campbell Scott, Showtime's "The House of Usher," "Park," an ensemble comedy in which she stars with Stephen Baldwin and Ricki Lake, and the Paramount/MTV film "Save the Last Dance 2." She also had a recurring role in HBO's Emmy-nominated series "Deadwood."
When not working, Miko resides in Los Angeles where she studies languages, loves to cook and continues to study dance.
