Monica Bellucci
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (Italian: [ˈmɔːnika belˈluttʃi]; born 30 September 1964) is an Italian actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model, modelling for Dolce & Gabbana and Dior, before making a transition to Italian films and later American and French films.
Monica Bellucci | |
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Bellucci in 2016 | |
| Born | Monica Anna Maria Bellucci 30 September 1964 Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy |
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| Years active |
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| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
She made her film debut in Francesco Laudadio's Italian comedy La Riffa (1991). The following year she played a Bride of Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's gothic horror romance film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). For her leading role in L'Appartement (1997), she received a César Award for Most Promising Actress. She played Malèna Scordia in the Giuseppe Tornatore's acclaimed Italian romantic drama Malèna (2000). She starred in Gaspar Noé's controversial arthouse psychological thriller film Irréversible (2002), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2004, she portrayed Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's biblical drama The Passion of the Christ (2004). She portrayed Persephone in the 2003 science-fiction films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. At the age of 51, by appearing in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, she became the oldest Bond girl in the history of the franchise.[1] She has since acted in films such as The Whistleblower (2010), The Wonders (2014), On the Milky Road (2016), The Best Years of a Life (2019), The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020), and Memory (2022).
Early life
Bellucci was born 30 September 1964 in Città di Castello, Umbria,[2] the only child of Brunella Briganti and Pasquale Bellucci, and grew up in Lama of San Giustino.[3][4][5]
Career
Modelling
Monica Bellucci began modelling at age 13 by posing for a local photo enthusiast.[6] In 1988, Bellucci left the Faculty of Law at the University of Perugia,[7] and moved to one of Europe's fashion centers, Milan, where she signed with Elite Model Management with the aid of model agent Piero Piazzi.[8] By 1989, she was becoming prominent as a fashion model in Paris and across the Atlantic, in New York City. She posed for Dolce & Gabbana and French Elle, among others. In that year, Bellucci made the transition to acting and began taking acting classes. The February 2001 Esquire's feature on Desire featured Bellucci on the cover and in an article on the five senses.
In 2003, she was featured in Maxim.[9] Men's Health also named her one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time", ranking her at No. 21.[10] AskMen named her the number one most desirable woman in 2002.[11] According to two national newspapers, she is considered an Italian sex symbol.[12][13]
In 2004, while pregnant with her daughter Deva, Bellucci posed nude for the Italian Vanity Fair in protest against an Italian law that restricts the provision of fertility treatment to heterosexual couples and excludes single women or same-sex couples, restricts surrogacy and research using human embryos, forbids sperm and egg donation, and limits the number of embryos created with in-vitro techniques to three.[14] She posed pregnant and semi-nude again for the magazine's April 2010 issue.[15] From 2006 to 2010 Bellucci was the face of a range of Dior products.[16]
In 2012, she became the new face of Dolce & Gabbana.[17] She is managed by Elite+ in New York City. Bellucci is signed to D'management Group in Milan and also to Storm Management in London.[18] Bellucci also posed for GQ Italia in February 2016.[19]
Bellucci walked the runway for the Spring 2019 Milan Fashion Week for Dolce and Gabbana.[20] Joining her included Isabella Rossellini, Eva Herzigová and Helena Christensen, continuing the influx of 90s supermodels returning to the spotlight of fashion.
Acting
Bellucci's film career began in the early 1990s. She played some minor roles in La Riffa (1991) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). In 1996, she was nominated for a César Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Lisa in The Apartment and strengthened her position as an actress.[21] She became known and popular with worldwide audiences, following her roles in Malèna (2000), Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and Irréversible (2002).
She has since played in many films from Europe and Hollywood like Tears of the Sun (2003), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Passion of the Christ (2004), The Brothers Grimm (2005), Le Deuxième souffle (2007), Shoot 'Em Up (2007), Don't Look Back (2009) and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010).[22][23]
She also voiced Kaileena in the video game Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and the French voice of Cappy for the French version of the 2005 animated film Robots. She was supposed to be seen portraying Indian politician Sonia Gandhi in the biopic Sonia, originally planned for release in 2007, but it has been shelved.[24] Bellucci dubbed her own voice for the French and Italian releases of the film Shoot 'Em Up (2007).[25]
In 2011, Bellucci was ranked fourth in Los Angeles Times Magazine's list of the 50 most beautiful women in film.[26]
At 50, she became the oldest Bond girl ever in the James Bond film franchise, playing Lucia Sciarra in Spectre (2015). Three years later, she appeared in the Australian film Nekrotronic.[27][28]
In 2021 she was honoured with Stella Della Mole Award for Artistic Innovation at 39th Torino Film Festival considering her lifetime achievements.[29]
Personal life
At the age of 20, Bellucci married Italian photographer Claudio Carlos Basso; they divorced after six months.[30][31]
From 1989 to 1995, she had a relationship with Italian actor Nicola Farron.[32][33]
She met French actor Vincent Cassel on the set of their 1996 film The Apartment.[34] They married on 2 August 1999 in Monaco.[35] Bellucci and Cassel have two daughters, Deva (born 12 September 2004) and Léonie (born 21 May 2010). Their daughters were born in Rome.[36][37] Bellucci and Cassel acted together in nine films from 1996 to 2006.[38] The couple announced their separation on 26 August 2013[34] and later divorced.[39] At the end of 2014, Bellucci said she was still enamoured of Cassel; both have remained close ever since.[40]
After her divorce, Bellucci was in a relationship with French sculptor and former model Nicolas Lefebvre, who was then 37 years old. They made it official in early March 2019 during a Chanel show at the Grand Palais in Paris.[41] She announced the end of their relationship in early July 2019.[42]
Bellucci lived with Cassel and their daughters in Italy, France, Brazil, and England.[35] Then, in 2015, she decided to settle in Paris. Bellucci says, "Paris is part of my history", but she nevertheless considers herself "completely Italian. Everything in me is Italian."[43] She has houses in Lisbon and Rome.[44] During the coronavirus lockdowns, Bellucci and Cassel lived in two nearby houses on the Basque coast (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) so that the latter could see his daughters and thus continue to share parental duties.[45]
Bellucci is fluent in Italian, French, and English.[46][47] Deva became Dolce & Gabbana's muse at the age of 15 and, later, their runway model.[48][49] Her daughters' native language is Italian;[50] Deva spoke five languages at the age of 16.[51]
In the documentary movie The Big Question, about the film The Passion of the Christ, Bellucci stated: "I am an agnostic, even though I respect and am interested in all religions. If there's something I believe in, it's a mysterious energy; the one that fills the oceans during tides, the one that unites nature and beings."[52][53][better source needed]
In 2009, Bellucci signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."[54][55]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | La Riffa | Francesca | |
| 1992 | Bram Stoker's Dracula | one of Dracula's brides | |
| Ostinato Destino | Marina/Angela | ||
| 1994 | Briganti – Amore e libertà | Costanza | |
| I mitici – Colpo gobbo a Milano | Deborah | ||
| 1995 | Palla di neve | Melina | |
| Il cielo è sempre più blu | |||
| Bible: Joseph (miniseries) | Pharaoh's wife | ||
| 1996 | L'Appartement | Lisa | |
| Sorellina e il principe del sogno | Princess | ||
| 1997 | Stressati | ||
| Dobermann | Nat the Gypsy | ||
| Mauvais genre | Camille | ||
| Come mi vuoi | Nellina | ||
| 1998 | Le Plaisir | Girl | |
| Compromise | Monique | ||
| Kaputt Mundi | Giulia Giovannini | ||
| A los que aman | Valeria | ||
| 1999 | Comme un poisson hors de l'eau | Myrtille | |
| Méditerranées | Marguerite | ||
| 2000 | Under Suspicion | Chantal Hearst | |
| Franck Spadone | Laura | ||
| Malèna | Malèna Scordia | ||
| 2001 | Brotherhood of the Wolf | Sylvia | |
| 2002 | Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre | Cleopatra | |
| Irréversible | Alex | ||
| 2003 | Remember Me, My Love | Alessia | |
| Tears of the Sun | Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks | ||
| The Matrix Reloaded | Persephone | ||
| The Matrix Revolutions | Persephone | ||
| 2004 | The Passion of the Christ | Mary Magdalene | |
| Secret Agents | Barbara/Lisa | ||
| She Hate Me | Simona Bonasera | ||
| 2005 | The Brothers Grimm | The Mirror Queen | |
| How Much Do You Love Me? | Daniela | ||
| 2006 | Sheitan | La belle vampiresse | |
| 2006 | Napoleon and Me | Baroness Emilia Speziali | |
| The Stone Council | Laura Siprien | ||
| 2007 | Heartango | L'inafferrabile | |
| Manual of Love 2 | Lucia | ||
| Shoot 'Em Up | Donna Quintano | ||
| Le deuxième souffle | Manouche | ||
| 2008 | Sanguepazzo | Luisa Ferida | |
| L'uomo che ama | Alba | ||
| 2009 | Ne te retourne pas | Jeanne | |
| The Private Lives of Pippa Lee | Gigi Lee | ||
| Baarìa – La porta del vento | Bricklayer's girlfriend | ||
| Omaggio a Roma | Tosca | ||
| 2010 | The Whistleblower | Laura Leviani | |
| The Sorcerer's Apprentice | Veronica Gorloisen | ||
| Rose, c'est Paris | L'esprit de gala | ||
| 2011 | Manuale d'amore 3 | Viola | |
| Un été brûlant | Angèle | ||
| 2012 | Rhino Season | Mina | |
| 2013 | Des gens qui s'embrassent | Giovanna | |
| 2014 | The Wonders | Milly Catena | |
| Na Quebrada | Paola | ||
| 2015 | Ville-Marie | Sophie | |
| Spectre | Lucia Sciarra | ||
| 2016 | On the Milky Road | Nevesta | |
| 2018 | Nekrotronic | Finnegan | |
| 2019 | The Best Years of a Life | Elena | |
| Spider in the Web | Angela | ||
| 2020 | The Man Who Sold His Skin | Soraya Waldy | |
| 2021 | Fantasies (Les Fantasmes)[56] | Sabrina | |
| The Befana Comes At Night 2: The Origins (La Befana vien di notte II - Le origini) | Dolores | ||
| The Girl in the Fountain[29] | Anita Ekberg | ||
| 2022 | Memory | Davana Sealman | |
| Dry | Valentina | ||
| Diabolik - Ginko on the attack! (Diabolik - Ginko all'attacco!) | Altea di Vallenberg[57] | ||
| 2023 | Mafia Mamma | Biyanka |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Vita coi figli | Elda | TV movie |
| 1995 | Joseph | Pharaoh's Wife | TV movie |
| 2011 | R.I.S. Roma - Delitti Imperfetti | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Platane | Herself | 1x4, "La fois où Monica Bellucci a failli signer" ("The one where Monica Bellucci almost got signed") |
| 2016 | Mozart in the Jungle | Alessandra | Guest role; 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks: The Return | Herself (Monica Bellucci's dream) | Episode: "Part 14" |
| 2018 | Il Miracolo | the Virgin Mary (dream sequence) | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Call My Agent! | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | L'Amour Fluo | Valéria | 9 episodes |
| TBA | Ark: The Animated Series | Post-production, upcoming series |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | Persephone |
| 2004 | Prince of Persia: Warrior Within | Kaileena |
| 2005 | The Matrix Online | Persephone |
Dubbing roles
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Marina | French dub |
| 2005 | Robots | Cappy | French dub |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | César Awards | Most Promising Actress | L'Appartement | Nominated |
| 2001 | European Film Awards | Audience Award for Best Actress | Malèna | Nominated |
| 2003 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress | Le pacte des loups | Nominated |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Silver Ribbon for Best Supporting Actress | Ricordati di me | Won | |
| Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award | Best Female | The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions | Nominated | |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Ricordati di me | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Female Breakout Star | The Matrix Reloaded and Tears of the Sun | Nominated | |
| 2004 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Kiss | The Matrix Reloaded (with Keanu Reeves) | Nominated |
| 2005 | Globo d'oro | European Golden Globe | Won | |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Silver Ribbon for Best Supporting Actress | The Passion of the Christ | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | N | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | European Nastro D'Argento | On the Milky Road | Won |
| San Sebastian Film Festival | Honorary Donostia Award | Won | ||
| 2020 | Magritte Award | Honorary Magritte Award | Won | |
| 2021 | David di Donatello Awards | David Speciale | Won | |
| Torino Film Festival | Stella Della Mole Award for Artistic Innovation | Lifetime achievement | Honoured[29] |
References
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- ^ Martínez, Claudio (30 October 2003). . El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
- ^ "Monica Bellucci in vacanza a casa dei genitori". corrieredellumbria.corr.it.
- ^ Rogers, Chris (4 December 2016). "Monica Bellucci: 5 Things To Know About The New 'Bond' Girl" 13 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Hollywood Life.
- ^ "42 facts about model and actress Monica Bellucci". BoomsBeat. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Yucel (4 August 2011). ""Monica Bellucci" by Monica Bellucci with Introduction by Giuseppe Tornatore – Book Review".
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- ^ Pollo, Paola (21 August 2015). "L'uomo che inventa le top: "Oggi vogliono solo modelle usa e getta"". Corriere della Serra (in Italian). Retrieved 3 July 2021.
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- ^ Salisbury, Mark (23 October 2005). "Danger woman". The Observer. UK. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
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- ^ Owen, Richard (4 June 2005). . The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2007. Alt URL
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- ^ "What's Up Down Under? Bellucci Fronts Nekrotronic at TIFF — Alexandra Heller-Nicholas – Alliance of Women Film Journalists".
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- ^ Cazzullo, Aldo (17 January 2014). "Monica Bellucci, ritratto di signora 'Ho avuto una fortuna sfacciata'" [Monica Bellucci, portrait of a woman 'I had an insolent luck']. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
Mi sono sposata a vent'anni con Claudio Carlos Basso, il fotografo, e ci siamo lasciati dopo sei mesi. Una delusione.
[I got married at the age of twenty to Claudio Carlos Basso, the photographer, and we broke up after six months. A disappointment.] - ^ Cazzullo, Aldo (2021). Le italiane. Il Paese salvato dalle donne (in Italian). Milan: Solferino. p. 69. ISBN 978-8-8282-0647-7. [With a photographer, Claudio Carlos Basso, she married at the age of twenty, and broke up after six months.]
- ^ "Monica ..." [Monica Bellucci, before Vincent Cassel the story with Nicola Farron: 'I don't believe in carnal fidelity']. Corriere dell'Umbria (in Italian). Umbria. 19 December 2021. from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
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- ^ Alexander, Ella (5 December 2014). "Monica Bellucci: Inside the world of the new Bond woman, not the new Bond girl". The Independent. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ Sajip, Arjun (22 June 2018). "Monica Bellucci tells Glass how she leads her life through her work". Glass magazine. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ Dilou, Marie (2019). "Deva ..." [Deva Cassel: Monica Bellucci's daughter, muse of the new Dolce & Gabbana perfume]. Marie Claire (in French). from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ Trissot, Capucine (11 July 2022). "Deva ..." [Deva Cassel walks the runway for Dolce & Gabbana under the tender eyes of Monica Bellucci]. Elle (in French). from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ Dotto, Giancarlo. "Il tempo di Monica (Bellucci)" [Monica's time (Bellucci)]. Vogue (in Italian). from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "Monica ..." [Monica Bellucci poses with her daughter Deva for 'Vogue Italia']. Paris Match (in French). 6 July 2021. from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
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- ^ "Monica Bellucci Quotes". MotivationQuotes. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ . archive.ph. 4 June 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Shoard, Catherine; Agencies (29 September 2009). "Release Polanski, demands petition by film industry luminaries". The Guardian. from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Fantasies (2021)". imdb.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "DIABOLIK 2: MONICA BELLUCCI INTERPRETERÀ ALTEA NEI SEQUEL DELLA SAGA DEI MANETTI BROS". Movieplayer.it (in Italian). 3 July 2022.
External links
- http://www.monicabellucci.net 2020-10-03 at the Wayback Machine at Official Web Site
- Monica Bellucci at IMDb
- at the TCM Movie Database
- Monica Bellucci at the British Film Institute
- Monica Bellucci at Fashion Model Directory
- Monica Bellucci at AllMovie
- Monica Bellucci at Rotten Tomatoes