Happy birthday Monica Bellucci. The actress turns 60 today, September 30, even if looking at her it seems like time has never passed. Symbol of Italianness and femininity, she is a timeless diva who has embodied a dream by conquering the national and international scene. But also the heart of director Tim Burton, who wanted her in his latest film ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, presented at the latest Venice Film Festival.
Born in Città di Castello (in Umbria) in 1964, Bellucci left her studies to pursue her dream. After graduating from high school, she began working as a model to pay for her studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Perugia. But Monica’s destiny was not to move from court to court or be the lawyer of one of the two spouses undergoing a divorce.
Fashion and fashion shows
In 1988 she moved to Milan to start her career in the fashion world, which did not take long to notice her. The opposite is impossible. And so came the ‘catwalks’ on the high fashion catwalks for Fendi and Dolce&Gabbana, a family brand for Bellucci. Not only because she was chosen as the testimonial of the first commercial – directed by Giuseppe Tornatore with music by Ennio Morricone – of the first women’s perfume of the fashion house, but also because they chose her daughter Deva Cassel – the perfect synthesis of mother Monica and father Vincent – as the face of some advertising campaigns and as a model for a fashion show at Milan Fashion Week. Two generations compared that embody charm and mystery that still continue to inspire stylists and entrepreneurs Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce today.
Career in Cinema
The charm of fashion is irresistible. But the lure of cinema has always been stronger than anything else. Bellucci made her debut in 1990 with the miniseries ‘Life with children’ by Dino Risi in which she played Elda, a woman who steals the heart of the character, played by Giancarlo Giannini. Her first role in cinema arrived in 1991: she was the protagonist of ‘La riffa’, a film by Francesco Laudadio with Massimo Ghini and Giulio Scarpati. Also starring role in ‘Ostinato destiny’, in which her voice is dubbed by Irene Di Valmo, directed by Gianfranco Albano with Alessandro Gassmann and Angela Finocchiaro. In 1992 Hollywood put the spotlight on Monica: she made her entry into international cinema with a cameo in ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which Monica played one of the vampire’s three concubines who seduce Jonathan Archer , starring Keanu Reeves.
In 1996 he made his debut in French cinema with a leading role in Gilles Mimouni’s film ‘The Apartment’. In the film – which earned him a César Award nomination – he shared the scene with Vincent Cassel. Together with her now ex-husband, she also starred in ‘Dobermann’, for which she learned sign language, ‘Irréversible’ by Gaspar Noé – which caused a scandal for the rape scene, which lasted more than 9 minutes – and ‘Agents Secrets’. His consecration as an international star came with the thriller ‘Under Suspicion’, directed by Stephen Hopkins in which he starred alongside Oscar winners Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman.
But above all thanks to ‘Malèna’ by Giuseppe Tornatore, nominated for two Oscars. A story of pain and redemption but also of violence, set in Sicily during the Second World War, in which Bellucci plays Maddalena Scordia, nicknamed ‘Malèna’. It is everyone’s erotic and unattainable dream, in particular that of the teenager Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro), triggering the envy of women. Among the most iconic scenes we cannot fail to remember the one in which Malèna, after having dyed her hair red, is sitting at the bar dressed in black surrounded by the men of the town. A still unlit cigarette between her red lips. The camera closes in on the protagonist’s face with her eyes full of tears, while the men compete to access her cigarette.
In 2001 and 2002 she returned to acting in French in ‘The Pact of the Wolves’ directed by Christophe Gans and in ‘Asterix & Obelix – Mission Cleopatra’, directed by Alain Chabat, in which she played the famous sovereign of Egypt . The actress then returned to work in the United States, taking part in important productions: ‘The Last Dawn’ alongside Bruce Willis, she played Persephone in ‘Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘Matrix Revolutions’, Mary Magdalene in ‘The Passion of the Christ’, directed by Mel Gibson and the witch from ‘The Brothers Grimm’ by Terry Gilliam. He received a nomination for the David di Donatello and won a Nastro d’argento for his performance in ‘Ricordati di me’ by Gabriele Muccino.
In 2007 he took part in the first episode of the film ‘Manuale d’amore 2 – Capiti successive’ by Giovanni Veronesi. He also worked with Marco Tullio Giordana in ‘Sanguepazzo’ and with Maria Sole Tognazzi in ‘L’uomo che ama’. But also with Paolo Virzì in ‘N (Io e Napoleone)’ and in the recent ‘Drought’, with Tornatore in ‘Baarìa’ and with the Manetti bros., who wanted her in the role of Altea in two films dedicated to Diabolik. From thieves to secret agents. In 2015 she played the bond girl in ‘Spectre’, directed by Sam Mendes, alongside Daniel Craig.
Love and private life
Not just cinema, in Monica Bellucci’s life there is also room for love. In 1984 she married the Italian photographer of Argentine origin Claudio Carlos, but after a few months the separation came. In 1990 she partnered for a few years with the Italian actor Nicola Farron. A relationship interrupted by the meeting with Cassel on the set of ‘The Apartment’. Monica and Vincent got married in 1999 in Monte Carlo. From the marriage Deva (2004) and Léonie (2010) were born. The two actors divorced in 2013, after 14 years of relationship. After two years of engagement with the artist Nicholas Lefebvree, Monica found great love again in 2022 with the director Tim Burton: as the actress declared, theirs is “a meeting of souls”. The two are more in love than ever. On every public occasion, but also in private, their eyes never leave each other… and so, their hands too. Yes, it’s truly a fairytale love.
The cameo for David Lynch and the world of video games
Much more could be written about Monica Bellucci. Starting from the 2003 Cannes Film Festival: she is the first Italian artist to hold the role of godmother. And again, the great David Lynch wanted her for a cameo, in the role of herself, in the third season of ‘Twin Peaks’. “We are like the dreamer who dreams and lives inside the dream: but who is the dreamer?”, says Bellucci in the dream – in black and white – of agent Gordon Cole (played by Lynch). Throughout her career, Monica has also made a leap into the world of video games. The actress lent her voice, in the French and English editions, to the character of Kaileena in ‘Prince of Persia’. Years, fashions and cinema pass. Everything changes, but not Monica Bellucci.
