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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 before transitioning to Italian and later American and French films. She has played starring roles, supporting roles and guest appearances within an eclectic filmography spanning a range of genres and languages. Her accolades include the David di Donatello, Globo d'oro and Nastro d'Argento awards. In 2018, Forbes Italy named her one of the 100 most successful Italian women. Bellucci was an Elite model and the protagonist of Dolce & Gabbana campaigns. She made her acting debut in the Italian television miniseries Vita coi figli (1991). Bellucci went on to play one of Dracula's brides in the horror film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and then enrolled in acting classes. After appearing in Italian productions, she had her breakthrough role in the arthouse film The Apartment (1996), for which she received a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress. Bellucci came to the attention of American audiences in Under Suspicion (2000) and gained greater international recognition as Malèna Scordia in Malèna (2000). Bellucci starred in the period drama Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and the comedy Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002). She portrayed a rape victim in the controversial arthouse thriller Irréversible (2002) and Persephone in the 2003 science-fiction sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Bellucci was praised for portraying Mary Magdalene in the drama The Passion of the Christ (2004). She played a prostitute in How Much Do You Love Me? (2005) and Shoot 'Em Up (2007) and acted in a diverse array of roles in other films, including in The Whistleblower (2010), The Ages of Love (2011), and The Wonders (2014). Her role in Ville-Marie (2015) earned her the Dublin Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Actress. At the age of 50 she appeared in the James Bond film Spectre (2015), becoming the oldest Bond girl in the history of the franchise. She later played in films such as On the Milky Road (2016) and The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020). Her television appearances include the series Mozart in the Jungle (2016) and Call My Agent!'s original French version (2018). Bellucci made her stage debut in 2019 as Maria Callas in Letters and Memoirs. Bellucci starred alongside her second husband, Vincent Cassel, in on-screen partnerships that spanned ten years. She has remained involved in modelling and as an ambassador for luxury brands such as Cartier and Dior. She has been labelled a sex symbol by various media outlets. Bellucci received the knight insignias of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2006 and of the Legion of Honour in 2016. She represents Italy as a permanent member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Early life Monica Anna Maria Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, on 30 September 1964. Her father, Pasquale Bellucci, owned a trucking company. Her mother, Brunella Briganti, was a housewife and amateur painter. She is their only child, as her parents did not want another. Bellucci grew up in Selci-Lama, in the comune (municipality) of San Giustino, on the banks of the Tiber. Bellucci received a Catholic education. She was known to be an "intelligent child". Discreet and increasingly interested in fashion, she grew up "surrounded by love", her father said. Bellucci was introduced to modelling at age 13 by posing for a photographer friend of the family in Città di Castello. She was distant from other children her age, regularly making detours to get home after school and not spending time with them in the comune's public space. Her father recalled that she complained that everyone stared at her. Her father helped her to gain self-confidence. Bellucci developed a taste for cinema, watching films by Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, and also by Marcel Carné and Jean-Luc Godard. Bellucci has said that her personality largely reflects her upbringing: "Certainly a lot of positivity also depends on the climate in which my parents raised me." Modelling career 1980s and 1990s Bellucci, then 16, was asked to do photographic sessions by her father's friend, the director of a fashion agency. Having made her modelling debut at 16, she would travel periodically to Milan and Paris while continuing her studies at Città di Castello. "I approached the adult universe very early", said Bellucci, because she worked with models ten years older than her. "Modelling came to me naturally, and I loved pictures. I loved the world of image", she said. While hitchhiking, she met a hairdresser from Città di Castello named Piero Montanucci, who persuaded her to become his model. Bellucci, a student at the liceo classico, attracted attention wherever they went due to her striking appearance. She was considered a local model when she was a teenager. Bellucci studied philosophy, literature, Latin and Greek. Dressed by Città di Castello-based fashion entrepreneur Pina Alberti, Bellucci enthralled the crowd at a fashion show in 1983 at the Teatro degli Illuminati (the city's municipal theatre) as part of the Momento Donna event hosted by Maria Giovanna Elmi. She was accompanied by Montanucci, her mentor at the time. While in high school, her father's friend allowed her to debut on the runway during a fashion show in Florence and a second in Milan. Bellucci studied law at the University of Perugia to become a lawyer. She financed her studies by working as a model through her father's friend. After a friend encouraged her to apply to modelling agencies during her studies, Bellucci moved to Milan, one of Europe's fashion centres. Modelling agent Piero Piazzi witnessed Bellucci's arrival at the Elite Model Management agency and considered that she could have been an actress. Piazzi had been critical in his assessment when he first saw Bellucci in 1987, telling her she was "not ready". Elite signed her to a contract between 1988 and 1989. In 1988, she featured on the cover of Elle France, photographed by Oliviero Toscani, and Vogue Spain. Her work as a model for Elite required her to travel, and she decided to leave university. Bellucci would say later that being a lawyer would not have suited her. She appeared in numerous international advertising campaigns, and Dolce & Gabbana recruited her to become their muse. Her physical attributes aligned with the image that the founders of Dolce & Gabbana desired to portray. In 1989, Bellucci lived in New York, where she was already a dollar millionaire. She was the Italian model that the "fashion world" vied to have. As a model represented by Elite, she worked in Milan, Paris, and New York. In 1990, Bellucci lent her image and name to the Haute Couture line of the French luxury house Dior. Photographed by Richard Avedon, she became the "protagonist" of Dolce & Gabbana campaigns, "which elevated .... Discover the Paolo Carnovalini popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Paolo Carnovalini books.