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Monica Bellucci
B
I O G R A P H Y
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BIOGRAPHY
Occupation - Actress
Date of Birth - September 30, 1964
Birth Place - Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy
Residence - Paris, France.
Height - 5' 10½" (1.79 m)
Eyes: Brown
Hair:
Black
Education: University of Perugia: studied law
left to become a model during her first year.
Maritial Status: Married Vincent Cassel
(1999 - present)
child (daughter, Deva Cassel, b. 09-12-04 in Rome, Italy) Engaged to actor Nicola Farron from 1989 to 1995.
Born in 1964 Monica grew up in the small Italian village of Citta di Castello in Italy, where her father owned a trucking company. When she was 14, she claims "she was already a woman". "I don't know what it means to be a little girl or a teenager." She'd go out with people older than she was mostly because people her age she says were boring. "My first boyfriend, he was 19, I was 14. He thought I was 17. I lied to him."
Monica originally pursued a career in the legal profession. She attended the University of Perugia for a little over a year. To earn money for tuition she modeled on the side. This eventualy led to the begining of her modeling career. In 1988, she moved to one of Europe's fashion centers, Milan, Italy and joined Elite Model Management. Besides strutting the cat walk in fashion shows, Bellucci appeared in international advertising campaigns for designers such as Dolce & Gabbana. Travelling abroad Monica becomes fluent in French, English and Italian.
Although enjoying great success as a model traveling throughout the world she took acting lessons. At age 24 she made her acting debut on Italian TV in 1990 in "Briganti" aka "Bandits: Love and Liberty" (UK title). In her American film debut she appears as one of Dracula's 3 sexy blood thristy vampiress in the now classic 1992 "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992). By 1995 she suddenly broke off her long term engagment to Italian actor Nicola Farron (1989-1995). This was about the same time her career took off a lot faster than his stalling resume'.
Her breakout movie role was in the 1996 French thriller, Appartement, L' (1996), this shot her to stardom in Europe as she won the French equivalent of an Oscar nomination. She earned a César nomination for her performance in the role, as well as began dating her co-star, French actor Vincent Cassel. The couple (who married a few years later) re-teamed onscreen immediately, portraying comically troubled lovers in the gender-bending romance "Come Mi Vuoi" (As You Want Me) (1996) and murderous bank robbers in Jan Kounen's infamous thriller Dobermann (1997)
In 1997 she is hottly sought by many film makers. That year she works on 4 films including, italian flicks Stressati, "Dobermann" and french erotic thrillers , Mauvais genre , and Come mi vuoi. This changes quickly when Monica decides to pose nude for for Max Magazine (Italian) as a calendar girl in 1998 and again in 2000. By this time she had met and married actor Vincent Cassel in 1999. The couples first child a daughter, Deva Cassel (b. 12 September 2004 in Rome, Italy.
This led to her sexy breakout starring role in the Italian film "Malèna" in (2000), is case anyone forgot how and seduce me me sexy she really is, this film reminds you. The stunning 36 year old beauty gives a wanton more performance. Capturing the lust and sexual desire of a 14 year old boy and men everywhere.
Later many more mainstream roles with bigger names like "Under Suspicion" (2000) and Pacte des loups, Le (2001). "Brotherhood of the Wolf", and shock indie film "Irréversible" (2002), but it wasn't until her role as the sexy smart "Persephone" in the sequel to the "Matrix" blockbuster that she was really noticed by US film makers. Bruce Willis noticed and she soon appeared in Tears of the Sun (2003). Mel Gibson cast her in his controversial pet project.The Passion of the Christ (2004) in the coveted role as Mary Magdalen.
At 40 she is seen in Agents secrets (2004)She Hate Me (2004)The Big Question (2004) and later in the Matt Damon project The Brothers Grimm (2005). Suddenly everyone wanted to "work" with the beautiful Italian super hottie. She and husband Vincent have their first child Monica named her Deva in September 2004. .
Appearing in the smash sequels to the Matrix, Reloaded and Revolutions catapulted Monica to american movie star status. Her career as she cruises past 40 she is hotter than ever. Barely showing her age the firey Italian super hottie is now very popular with american filmakers for 2006 and 2007. As she will likely be seen in no less than 6 films in the next 2 years.
We can hardly wait for them Monica.
AWARDS
She ranked #6 in Maxim's '50 Sexiest Women' (1999).
She ranked #9 in Maxim's '100 Sexiest Women' (2002).
She ranked #1 in Askmen's 'Most Desirable Woman' (2002).
Ranked as #89 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World
2005" special "supple"ment. (2005)
FACTS
She appeared in a black & white TV commercial for Dolce & Gabbana. The director was Giuseppe Tornatore, who also directed her in the movie Malèna (2000).
Made a nude calendar for the Italian magazine Max in 1998 and another one for the Italian magazine GQ in 2000.
Wears a size 10 shoe.
Daughter, Deva Cassel (b. 12 September 2004 in Rome, Italy).
She was elected the most beautiful woman in the world by French viewers on a TV show "La Plus belle femme du monde" on 8th November 2004.
One of the world's top fashion models.
Favourite poem is "A Silvia" by Giacomo Leopardi.
Has her look-alike puppet in the French show
_Guignols de l'info, Les (1988)_ .
Shares birthday with Marion Cotillard, Deborah Kerr and Angie Dickinson.
Favorite movie is Giornata particolare, Una (1977) by Ettore Scola.
Her role as Chantal in "Under suspicion" was held by
Romy Schneider in the original film:"Garde à vue".
Owns an apartment in London.
Doesn't always live with her husband Vincent Cassel, for avoiding routine the two live in separate apartments; she lives most of the time in London and he lives in Paris.
Bellucci is a typical surname from center Italy, it comes from the Latin word "Bellutus", and has the same root as surnames like Belluto, Belluti, Belluzzo, Belluccio, or the aristocratic surname of Belluzzi.
She speaks to her daughter Deva Cassel in Italian.
QUOTES
"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."
(1992). By 1995 she suddenly broke off her long term engagment to Italian actor 
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