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Monica Bellucci - Biography |
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Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (born 30
September 1964) is an Italian actress and fashion model.
Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy, the daughter of
Maria Gustinelli, a painter, and Luigi Bellucci, who owned a trucking
company. Bellucci started modelling at 16, when she was attending the
Liceo classico. Initially pursuing a career as a lawyer, Bellucci modeled
to pay her tuition at the University of Perugia, but the lifestyle tempted
her away from her law studies. She speaks Italian, French, and English
fluently, Spanish semi-fluently, and she has had speaking roles in each of
these languages as well as in Aramaic for her part as Mary Magdalene in
The Passion of the Christ.
Bellucci was married to fashion photographer Claudio Carlos Basso in 1990.
She is currently married to fellow actor Vincent Cassel, with whom she has
appeared in several films, and has a daughter named Deva (born 12
September 2004). The couple is expecting their second child in the spring
of 2010. In 2004, while pregnant with her daughter, Bellucci posed nude
for the Italian Vanity Fair Magazine in protest against Italian laws that
prevent the use of donor sperm.
In a documentary movie The Big Question about the film The Passion of the
Christ, she 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."
In 1988, Bellucci moved to one of Europe's fashion centers, Milan, where
she signed with Elite Model Management. 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 Ms.
Bellucci on the cover and in an article on the five senses. In 2003, she
was featured in Maxim. In 2004, she topped AskMen's 100 Most Beautiful
Women in the World annual list. Bellucci's modelling career is managed by
Elite+ in New York City. She is considered an Italian sex symbol. She is
currently a face of a range of Dior Cosmetics. Bellucci is also signed to
Storm Model Management in London.
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 L'Appartement and strengthened her position as an actress. She
became known and popular with worldwide audiences, following her roles in
Malèna (2000), Irréversible (2002) and has 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), Don't Look Back (2009), etc.
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.
Bellucci dubbed her own voice for the French and Italian releases of the
film Shoot 'Em Up (2007). And 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.
In 2003, Bellucci won the Nastro d'Argento Best Supporting Actress award
for her portrayal of Alessia in Remember Me, My Love. In 2006, she served
as a judge at 59th Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, she won the World
Actress Award in Womens’ World Award. |
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Monica Bellucci - Personal Quotes |
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"My body is so important to
me... my face, my arms, my legs, my hands, my eyes, everything. I
use everything I have."
"When I eat with my friends, it is a moment of real pleasure, when I
really enjoy my life."
"I come from a Catholic religion, but I'm not Catholic."
"I didn't have familiarity with children. I'm learning day after
day, with her. And what impress me the most is that she, Deva, is an
individual person. But in miniature, she seems to be a special
effect." - talking about her daughter Deva.
"After love, the man sleeps, while the woman reflects."
"Beauty becomes alive and interesting when it's habited."
"Being an actress is the sublimation of feminity."
"The human intelligence has progressed at the technological level;
not a the level of feelings."
"It is a handicap if you're stupid, but not if you are intelligent
and know how to use your beauty."
"I feel fine and comfortable with myself, but not because I'm
beautiful. I know many beautiful people and their lives are just so
terrible. They feel so uncomfortable with themselves. Being
comfortable is not about what you look like, but how you feel. I'm a
lucky person because I've been loved a lot. I have a great family."
"Acting is not words. Holly Hunter didn't speak in The Piano (1993)
and she won an Oscar".
"I live in Paris but I feel I am a daughter of Europe."
"When I'll be old, I'd rather watch my children than my films."
"My career, at the moment, is very exciting, but love comes first
because it balances me."
"I listen to "young" music, the one from my age. I adore soul, rap
and funky."
"Vincent was so incredible, so sweet. When we went to Cannes for the
film, you know the moment when I come out from the tunnel and we see
me for the first time completely with blood all over, he was crying.
I said, 'Vincent, come on. It's just a movie. We know it's not
real." (on her husband's support when Irréversible (2002) was
released).
"As a European, I need to stay in Europe and I make Italian movies,
French movies. Then to come to America is something interesting for
me."
"I think this is something that touches every country - America,
Italy, France, England, all over. You will see all these people,
they don't know how to sing, they don't know how to dance, and still
they become famous. You know, just celebrities. And I think this is
a very dangerous process." (about real TV).
"This is what I like about America, because you have very big budget
movie, and also independent movies, so you have many different
choices. But I know that I'm European... Being European, it is not
easy to find the right project, because you may look different, you
sound different, and you have to find the right character."
"As a woman I am so curious about prostitutes because of the idea
that they know men better than you. Also, it's such a strange way to
live. But at the same time there are prostitutes who just want to be
prostitutes, and this is this woman, nobody pushed her to do it.
She's a prostitute because she wants to be a prostitute. It's her
philosophy of life."
"I'm not scared by nudity, because for me, nothing is more beautiful
than a body. You can have such an amazing emotion from a body. In
Irréversible (2002), I treated my body like it was an object and
it's great when you can have this kind of relation with your body,
it's a part of your job, an object you can work with. When you can
have this kind of freedom it's the moment where you can give your
best as an actress".
"In 10 years I've done so many things. In the beginning I didn't
know if I was still a model, if I was an actress. I knew I wanted to
be an actress, but it was so difficult to be believed. Now things
are going better and better and the proposals I have are much more
interesting than five years ago. It's like getting older is getting
better."
"Maybe the reason I work a lot is because each director thinks that
I'll be better with him. Maybe the moment where I'll be completely
accepted I won't work any more."
[Talking about why she will not move to Hollywood to further her
film career]: "I could never live there. They are obsessed with
youth and beauty even more than us. There is this thing in America
where actresses reach 40 and go mad. The film industry wants all
these young people. They also like a different sort of woman (to
me). I will never be skinny. I also had a child a year ago, and I
have been lazy. I love to eat. Who cares? I am natural." |
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Monica Bellucci - Filmography |
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1:30 Train (2010)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) .... Veronica
The Whistleblower (2010)
Omaggio a Roma (2009) .... Tosca
... aka Rome Franco Zeffirelli (International: English title:
literal title)
Baarìa (2009) .... Bricklayer's girlfriend
Ne te retourne pas (2009) .... Jeanne
... aka Don't Look Back (International: English title)
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) .... Gigi Lee
L'uomo che ama (2008) .... Alba
... aka The Man Who Loves (International: English title)
Sanguepazzo (2008) .... Luisa Ferida
... aka Une histoire italienne (France)
... aka Wild Blood (International: English title: festival title)
Le deuxième souffle (2007) .... Simona - dite 'Manouche'
... aka The Second Wind (International: English title)
Shoot 'Em Up (2007) .... Donna Quintano
Manuale d'amore 2 (Capitoli successivi) (2007) .... Lucia
... aka Manual of Love 2 (Australia: TV title)
Heartango (2007) .... L'inafferrabile/La passionale/L'indecisa/La
curiosa/L'aggressiva/La mamma/La premurosa
Le concile de pierre (2006) .... Laura Siprien
... aka Der steinerne Kreis (Germany: TV title)
... aka Il concilio di pietra (Italy: literal title)
... aka L'eletto (Italy)
... aka Liu San - Wächter des Lebens (Germany: DVD title)
... aka The Stone Council (International: English title)
N (Io e Napoleone) (2006) .... Baronessa Emilia Speziali
... aka N (Io e Napoleone) (International: English title)
... aka N - Napoléon (France)
... aka N. Napeleón y yo (Spain)
... aka N.: Napoleon & Me (International: English title)
... aka Napoleon & moi (France)
... aka Napoleon (et moi) (France)
... aka Napoleon and Me (USA: festival title)
Sheitan (2006) .... La belle vampiresse
... aka Satan (International: English title: literal title) (UK: DVD
title)
Combien tu m'aimes? (2005) .... Daniela
... aka How Much Do You Love Me? (Australia) (International: English
title)
... aka Per sesso o per amore? (Italy)
The Brothers Grimm (2005) .... Mirror Queen
The Matrix Online (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Persephone
... aka MxO (USA: promotional abbreviation)
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004) (VG) (voice) .... Kaileena
She Hate Me (2004) .... Simona Bonasera
Agents secrets (2004) .... Barbara/Lisa
... aka Spy Bound (Hong Kong: English title) (Singapore: English
title)
... aka Agentes secretos (Spain)
... aka Secret Agents (International: English title)
The Passion of the Christ (2004) .... Magdalen
... aka The Passion Recut (International: English title: cut
version) (USA: recut version)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) .... Persephone
... aka The Matrix Revolutions: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX
version (promotional title))
Enter the Matrix (2003) (VG) (voice) .... Persephone
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) .... Persephone
... aka The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version
(promotional title))
Tears of the Sun (2003) .... Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks
Ricordati di me (2003) .... Alessia
... aka Remember Me (International: English title)
... aka Remember Me, My Love (USA)
... aka Souviens-toi de moi (France)
Irréversible (2002) .... Alex
... aka Irreversible (International: English title) (USA)
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002) .... Cléopâtre
... aka Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (Australia) (UK) (USA)
... aka Asterix & Obelix: Mission Kleopatra (Germany)
... aka Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra (USA: new title)
Le pacte des loups (2001) .... Sylvia
... aka Brotherhood of the Wolf (Canada: English title) (USA)
Malèna (2000) .... Malèna Scordia
Franck Spadone (2000) .... Laura
Under Suspicion (2000) .... Chantal Hearst
... aka Suspicion (France)
Méditerranées (1999) .... Marguerite
Comme un poisson hors de l'eau (1999) .... Myrtille
... aka Like a Fish Out of Water (USA: video title)
A los que aman (1998) .... Valeria
... aka L'heure des nuages (France: TV title)
... aka Those Who Love
L'ultimo capodanno (1998) .... Giulia
... aka Humanity's Last New Year's Eve
... aka Kaputt mundi (Italy: alternative title)
... aka L'ultimo capodanno dell'umanità (Italy: alternative title)
Compromis (1998) .... Monique, la jeune première
Le plaisir (et ses petits tracas) (1998) .... La jeune fille éplorée
... aka Pleasure (And Its Little Inconveniences) (USA)
Come mi vuoi (1997) .... Nellina
... aka As You Want Me (USA)
... aka Embrasse-moi Pasqualino! (France)
Mauvais genre (1997) .... Camille
Dobermann (1997) .... Nathalie/Nat the gipsy
Stressati (1997)
L'appartement (1996) .... Lisa
... aka Flash-back (El apartamento) (Spain)
... aka L'appartamento (Italy)
... aka The Apartment
Sorellina e il principe del sogno (1996) (TV) (uncredited) ....
Princess
... aka Im Brunnen der Träume (Germany)
... aka Prinzessin Alisea
Joseph (1995) (TV) .... Pharaoh's Wife
... aka Die Bibel: Josef (Germany)
... aka Joseph in Egypt (UK)
... aka The Bible: Joseph
Il cielo è sempre più blu (1995)
... aka Bits and Pieces
Palla di neve (1995) .... Melina
... aka Snowball (USA: cable TV title)
I mitici (1994) .... Deborah
... aka Colpo gobbo a Milano (Italy: subtitle)
... aka I mitici - Colpo gobbo a Milano (Italy: alternative title)
... aka The Heroes
Dracula (1992) .... Dracula's Bride
... aka Bram Stoker's Dracula (USA: complete title)
Ostinato destino (1992) .... Marina/Angela
La riffa (1991) .... Francesca
Briganti (1990)
... aka Amore e libertà (Italy: alternative title)
... aka Bandits: Love and Liberty (UK)
Vita coi figli (1990) (TV) .... Elda |
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Monica Bellucci - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Monica Bellucci
YouTube: Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci
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