Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia was born on July 8, 1977 in Orange Count,California, the son of Carol (née Wilson) and Peter (Piero) Ventimiglia. His father is of Sicilian descent and his mother has Irish, English, Scottish, French, Cherokee and Blackfoot Indian ancestry. His last name, Ventimiglia, is the name of a town of Ventimiglia in Liguria, Italy, which later gave its name to another city of Ventimiglia di Sicilia. Ventimiglia also means ‘Twenty Miles’ in Italian/Sicilian. The youngest of three children, he has two older sisters. He has explained in an interview with USA Today that his “crooked mouth” is a result of dead nerves on the left side, which cause that side to remain immobile, much like, incidentally, Sylvester Stallone, with whom he worked in Rocky Balboa. 
Ventimiglia attended El Modena High School in Orange, California, where he wrestled and held the office of president in student government. He graduated in 1995. At eighteen years of age, Ventimiglia received a scholarship to study at the American Conservatory Theater for their summer program. He attended UCLA as an English Major for four years, but did not graduate.
Ventimiglia and fellow former Gilmore Girls co-star Alexis Bledel dated for three and a half years (approximately from December 2002); the relationship ended sometime before July 2006.
In December 2007, rumors surfaced that Ventimiglia was dating his Heroes co-star Hayden Panettiere, though Panettiere denied these reports in an interview with GQ. These reports continued through the early part of 2008, with several sources even stating that Panettiere asked Ventimiglia to move in with her. In April 2008, during an interview on the BBC’s The Chris Moyles Show, Ventimiglia confirmed that he was dating Panettiere; however the pair separated in February 2009.
Ventimiglia is a lacto-vegetarian, and does not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohl. He is a fan of British band The Clash, and is an avid skateboard fan. Before being cast on Heroes, Ventimiglia had been living with close friends Steve Berra and Patrick Fugit.
Ventimiglia took a United Service Organization tour from July 6 to 12, 2008 in support of American troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He is also active on behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) helping in April 2009 to launch a groundbreaking national public service advertisement campaign, www.SupportYourVet.org, which gives friends and family of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans critical tools to support their transition home from war.
