Pia Miller is a Chilean-born Australian fashion model, actress and television presenter. Miller came to prominence after winning Dolly's annual modelling competition. She later competed in the second series of Search for a Supermodel. Miller has appeared in various advertising campaigns for brands such as Myer and Mossimo. She became the co-host of Qantas' in-flight entertainment programs in 2010 and was named the first Australian celebrity tourism ambassador for Chile in 2014. After taking acting lessons and presentation classes at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2009, Miller became a presenter on the travel show Postcards Victoria and made guest appearances in several television shows, including East West 101 and Neighbours. In August 2014, Miller joined the regular cast of Home and Away as Katarina Chapman. She made her screen debut in February 2015.
Early life
Pia Loyola was born on 2 November 1983 in Viña del Mar, to former fashion designer Angelica Blanco. She left Chile for Australia when she was four years old, along with her mother, brother and sister. Her grandmother later joined the family. When she was seven, Miller's mother enrolled her in a modelling school.
Career
Modelling
In 1998, when she was fourteen, Miller won a modelling competition run by teen magazine Dolly and was given a contract with Chadwick Models. By the time she was sixteen, Miller had travelled around the world for catwalk shows. She finished secondary school by correspondence. Miller appeared on the second series of Search for a Supermodel in 2001. Miller has featured in advertising campaigns for Myer, Mossimo, Midas, Australian Unity, Crown Casino and Jump. She has also been cast in various television commercials and endorsed brands such as Samsung and Cadbury. In 2009, Miller's image was featured on a T-shirt by designer Nick Bowes for the fashion label KRMA. Actors Adrian Grenier and John Stamos were later spotted wearing the T-shirt. Both Miller and Bowes was surprised by the attention it got, saying "When he asked if he could use the headshot, I thought nothing of it. The success of the T-shirt has caught both of us by surprise. I am really flattered and humbled by it." The following year, Miller was named the official ambassador for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix. In July, Miller replaced Deborah Hutton as the co-host of Qantas' in-flight entertainment programs. She became the face of Megan Gale's swimwear line for Summer 2012/2013. In 2014, Miller became the first Australian celebrity tourism ambassador for Chile. She also became a brand ambassador for the Mazda CX-5 in January 2015. Later that year, Miller starred in a video for Maybelline promoting their new mascara and eyeliner products. In 2017, Miller became the first Australian ambassador for the Gillette Venus brand. Pia is also a brand ambassador for Caltrate Australia.
Acting and presenting
In 2009, Miller began taking acting lessons, and attended voice and presentation classes at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. The following year, she became a presenter on Nine Network's travel show Postcards Victoria. She left the show in 2012. Miller made several appearances on the Network Ten talk show The Circle discussing red carpet fashions. In 2011, Miller appeared in the romantic comedy filmBig Mamma's Boy and television crime dramaEast West 101. The following year, she was cast in Conspiracy 365 and guest starred as Monica Wetherby in an episode of Neighbours. Miller made a guest appearance in Wonderland in 2013. In August 2014, Miller joined the cast of Home and Away in the regular role of Katarina "Kat" Chapman. Miller began shooting her first scenes two weeks after her audition. She initially commuted to and from Sydney for filming. Kat was introduced as Summer Bay's new policewoman. Miller said she was proud to play a strong character and added "I saw the character breakdown and what excited me the most about this character was that she isn't, in any way, sexualised." Miller made her first screen appearance as Kat on 5 February 2015. She earned a nomination for Best New Talent at the 2016 Logie Awards. News outlets published photos in August 2017 of the cast filming Kat's funeral. Miller confirmed her departure from the show in October 2017. Her final scenes aired during the 2017 season finale broadcast on 18 December. In 2018, Miller was cast in the eight-part crime thriller Bite Club on Nine Network. She plays Kate Summers, a former nurse and best friend of Detective Senior Constable Zoe Rawlings, a shark-attack survivor hunting a serial killer. The series also stars Todd Lasance and Dominic Monaghan. In 2019, Miller co-starred in the Dora and the Lost City of Gold, the live action film adaptation of Dora the Explorer, as Dora's aunt Mami.
Personal life
Loyola gave birth to her first son, Isaiah, when she was nineteen. In 2005, she began a relationship with AFL footballer Brad Miller. She gave birth to their son, Lennox, in October 2006 and they married in 2007. In 2010, Miller became an Australian citizen. In October 2015, Pia and Brad Miller announced their separation. From November 2017 to April 2019, Miller was engaged to film producer Tyson Mullane.
