Monica Bellucci has always defied expectations, and she continues to do so in continuously surprising ways.
Born and raised in the region of Umbria in Italy, she began an incredibly successful modeling career in her early teens and later studied law at the University of Perugia. Then, at 25, she was bitten by the acting bug and embarked on an incredible film career making movies in numerous countries worldwide, beginning in the early ‘90s with Francesco Laudadio’s La Riffa in Italy and Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula in the U.S.
Bellucci’s performance in French director Gilles Mimouni’s L’Appartement earned her a César nomination (1996). She also met her husband and frequent co-star Vincent Cassel on that shoot. In the late ‘90s, her international career blossomed with major roles in Stephen Hopkins’ Under Suspicion opposite Gene Hackman and Giuseppe Tornatore’s heartbreaking Malena, which received 2 Oscar nominations. (Malena was butchered by Harvey Weinstein for its American release, but the original cut, available on DVD, is a truly remarkable work.)
The gifted actor frequently made bold choices in controversial films like Gaspar Noé’s Irréversible and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004), playing Mary Magdalene, as well as Larysa Kondracki’s underrated 2010 film The Whistleblower. Her other film credits include The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions, The Brothers Grimm, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Wonders, and Sam Mendes’ second Bond film Spectre.
In 2020, Bellucci appeared in Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar nominated International Feature from Tunisia The Man Who Sold His Skin.
She is currently co-starring in Catherine Hardwicke’s sly and often outrageous comedy Mafia Mamma, a film that subverts mob film stereotypes and has quite the feminist twist.
Oscar-nominee Toni Collette plays Kristin Balbano Jordan, a high-strung American wife and mother who basically inherits a mafia organization. She flies to Rome and meets Bianca (Bellucci), the wise and determined consiglieri who guides Kristin as the comedic and bloody antics mount. Bellucci is truly wonderful in a role that is both hilarious and empowering but grounded in its own reality.
Awards Daily had the pleasure of speaking with Bellucci about Mafia Mamma.
Bleecker Street will release Mafia Mamma in theaters nationwide on April 14, 2023.