Milla Jovovich’s Orange Leeloo Hair Fell out Before ‘The Fifth Element’ Finished Filming
The 1997 sci-fi movie The Fifth Element was Milla Jovovich’s breakout role. Her on-screen performance led her to join other major projects. However, some notable things happened behind the scenes, like Jovovich falling in love with the director.
Another fun fact about the production of the flick is that Jovovich suffered from a mishap. Her hair began to fall out before the movie finished shooting. The actor would explain what had happened while getting ready to film.
Milla Jovovich was Leeloo in ‘The Fifth Element’
The Fifth Element takes place in the future, and the Great Evil re-emerges to wreak havoc. The only thing capable of stopping the Great Evil is a weapon that contains four elements. Meanwhile, a sarcophagus has a fifth element that later takes the form of a woman.
The woman’s name is Leeloo, and Milla Jovovich is the actor who portrayed her. The character is a recreation of the original occupant of the sarcophagus and can remember her past life. Therefore, she uses the other elements to help take out the antagonist.
While Jovovich worked to make Leeloo memorable, the character quickly became recognizable for her appearance. For instance, she first wears white bandages before changing into a white crop top with orange suspenders. Nevertheless, her most notable feature is her hair.
Leeloo’s hair is somewhat short and consists of bangs. In addition, her locks have a bright orange color. However, viewers note that her roots are blonde. The different colors helped Leeloo stand out years after the film came out.
Milla Jovovich’s hair fell out in clumps after she bleached it
Many actors have had to spend hours changing their hair for a role, and Milla Jovovich is one of them. Dying one’s locks may seem convenient, but consequences can happen. Jovovich faced the side effects of changing hair colors while filming The Fifth Element.
According to BuzzFeed, Jovovich lost plenty of her hair a few weeks into production. The cause of the sudden loss was the constant use of bleach on her strands.
Despite her hair coming out quickly, Jovovich had other scenes she needed to shoot. As a result, the crew had to find a solution to avoid setbacks. The filmmakers allowed the actor to continue her role in a wig. Nevertheless, Jovovich felt miserable and likely was relieved to grow it all back.
“We had to make the Leeloo wig because I literally had only, like, half…like, clumps of hair. It was really awful,” Jovovich explained in an interview.
Jovovich’s successful career after ‘The Fifth Element’
Beyond her hair color, Milla Jovovich needed to alter other aspects of herself to play Leeloo. She had to avoid some of her habits while the camera was rolling. For instance, the director told her not to breathe before she laughed.
Jovovich once explained how she had to change much about herself since her character was very different. She managed to pull it off and become known for her role in The Fifth Element. However, she has been in many other popular movies since then.
People who have watched any of the Resident Evil films may remember seeing Jovovich in them. She portrayed the main character Alice, who is from the Umbrella Corporation. Jovovich has been a part of the franchise for many years but was not in the 2021 reboot.
Nonetheless, Jovovich’s career has also led her to appear in a Hong Kong action film. She starred as Bruce in The Rookies, and her character recruits the protagonist as an agent.
