Tinka Milinović

Early life

Milinović was born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia to Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Serb parents, at the time when the country was still Yugoslavia. She was raised by her mother Janja, father Drago Ivan, and an older brother, Dren. At age 16, she was chosen for the American foreign exchange student program, and in 1991 she moved to the United States and attended Rapides High School in rural Louisiana. Soon after landing in the US, war broke out in her homeland, and when it reached Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, she was cut off from her family. With only a student visa in hand, she was ineligible to work or to obtain student loans. For a number of years, she had no money and counted on the charity of friends to survive.

Education and classical music

In 1992, after a series of college music auditions that granted her acceptance and partial music and academic scholarships, Milinović entered Louisiana College to study Vocal Performance/Opera with Dr. Loryn E. Frey. She graduated with Cum Laude honors with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1996.

In 1998, Milinović received a Master of Music degree in Opera/Vocal Performance from University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she held a graduate teaching assistant position in the School of Music. Milinović graduated at the top of her class.

Starting at age 18, Milinović represented herself before the U.S. immigration system and became a U.S. citizen, a process that took Milinović several years.

Milinović performed roles in different operas both in the United States and Sarajevo, as well as musicals, recitals, and opera scenes. Additionally while a scholar in Louisiana, she further trained her voice with the Metropolitan Opera primadonna Martina Arroyo from New York. Apart from these stage roles, Milinović also held solo concerts and has collaborated with Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Sarajevo Philharmonics.

Music career

Milinović's music career was chronicled in a stream of magazine covers and TV appearances in Europe, after she competed at the Bosnia-Herzegovina Eurovision Song Contest national final with song "Sve sto imas ti" (2002). Although not winning in 2002, Milinović's profile increased and resulted in her receiving offers to host her own TV and radio shows, as well as a lead role in Sarajevo Opera. Milinović further went on to Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia, as a back-vocalist and dancer to a Bosnia-Herzegovina representative that year where she expanded her fan base to international circles.

After competing in several Eurovision Song contests with songs "I’m Never Gonna Fall" (2003), and "Sometimes I Wish I Were a Child Again" (2005), which was written by ESC most-rewarded composer Ralph Siegel from Germany and brought her 1st place tie, Milinović added pop star to her resume, further cementing her place in pop culture. In 2006, Milinović went on to represent Switzerland at Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece with the song "If We All Give A Little" as a member of the group Six4One gathered by Schweitzer Fernsehen. Their album "If We All Give A Little" was released on five continents.

Her solo pop album T.I.N.K.A was released soon afterwards and was nominated in all 6 categories for Bosnian Music Awards 2007: Pop Album, Pop Song, Pop Video, Pop Artist of the Year, The Best New Artist, and the Best Female Performance.

Her foray into Jazz music took her on tour throughout Europe and abroad. Milinović traveled to the Middle East where she hosted a number of television shows.

Television

Milinović's television career started overnight after TV producers saw her Eurovision 2002 performance and offered her to host TV Bingo Show on Federal Television (FTV) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bingo Show opened to rave reviews and became the highest rated television show, airing live in prime time every Friday evening, which prompted Tinka to become a household name. Milinović hosted it for 6 years, which resulted in hosting over 550 live primetime TV shows. During this time, Milinović also hosted TV show Summer with FTV also airing live on FTV, and she was a television host for Knotika TV, Dubai, UAE.

Radio

For two years, Milinović hosted her own radio show Tinka Show-No Offense on the national radio station of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH Radio 1). The station's director offered Milinović the deal she could not resist: Make a radio show that will embody everything Tinka is. The show successfully ran on Tuesdays evenings and was heard all over Europe and the internet. It was particularly popular among women due to Milinović's broadening women's perspectives, surpassing the limits, and breaking the molds of society.

Writing

She has released the book The Success Secret in collaboration with Jack Canfield. The book hit seven separate best-seller lists on the day of its release cementing her place among the best-selling authors. Tinka is also contributing author for #1 Middle Eastern female fashion magazine U Magazine in Jordan and Beirut, and British HEIR Magazine. Her writings cover topics related to women empowerment, relationships, love, lifestyle and travel.

Personal life

Being voted one of the most sought-after bachelorettes in European high society circles, Milinović was rumoured to be the reason why French President Sarkozy is separating from his wife sparking a European tabloid frenzy.

Presently residing in West Hollywood, California, Milinović is working on her The Tinka Show targeting the US audience and international television markets. Milinović's forthcoming book aims to give a glimpse into the international celebrity lifestyle. She is developing a docu-reality show based on her life story.

Discography