Monica Bellucci
90-60-90. Just a sequence of centimeters to define the measures of Mediterranean beauty, which Monica Bellucci perfectly respects. The heir of Sofia Loren as standard-bearer of Italian beauty, worldwide known and recognized sex-symbol, successful Italian fashion model and actress, her brilliant career has gone side by side with a wonderful private life to fulfill all of her dreams.
It began just like a dream, a fairy tale, for the young Monica Anna Maria Bellucci. Born in 1964 in a little village near Perugia, in the middle-Italy, she started to work as a model to pay her law studies at the university. But as many girls do, she had always dreamt of becoming a fashion model, ascinated by the glossy world of runways, the beautiful pictures of the magazines and the princess-like dresses models wore. So she dropped university to follow her desire, and moved to the Italian fashion capital, Milan, and by the end of the 80’s she was already on the top list of Italian supermodels.
The magic femme-fatale charm of Monica Bellucci conquered the most important fashion houses of the world, from Fendi to Joe Galliano, Dior or Dolce&Gabbana, bringing the Italian supermodel to thread the international catwalks of New York, Paris and many other cities all over the globe. Her curved body and her Mediterranean colors were the winning cards she could play to win every challenge, in fashion as in cinema.
Monica Bellucci’s aspirations didn’t stopped to the runways, indeed, but included also the red carpet. Although she was a bit skeptical about models acting, her determination brought her to attend drama schools while still modeling for the best high-fashion firms. Her debut as an actress came in 1990, with the TV film “Vita coi figli”, directed by Dino Risi, in which she appeared next to the famous Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini. Year after year, the Italian fashion model appeared in many movies, from “La riffa”, her first female protagonist role, to the worldwide famous “Dracula” by Francis Ford Coppola or “Matrix” in which she acted with Keanu Reeves.
But Monica Bellucci broke the big screen in 2000, when she interpreted the role of a Sicilian Second World War widow in “Malena”. The blockbuster movie directed by Giuseppe Tornatore introduced the Italian fashion model to the worldwide panorama, making her a true international star. Actually, she was the same inspiration, the muse, for the Italian director, as he had built Malena’s role and character just for Monica. They had met, indeed, just three before, in occasion of a TV spot for which Dolce&Gabbana had chosen both, the already famous Italian supermodel and Tornatore, to launch their new perfume “Sicily”.
Monica Bellucci has been the face of many other spots, testimonial of many make-up collections or of course fashion houses. Her face has appeared on the most important magazines of the world, from Elle to Vogue, which have dedicated her many articles and cover stories. Her nude and pregnant body appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2004 (and in 2010 also) caused scandal, but she was ready to defend the roundness of her shapes as well as the reasons for her choice.
In the long list of works of the Italian supermodel we can’t forget to include calendars: men’s magazines like Max and GQ immortalized Monica’s beautiful body but the most important shoots were made by Richard Avedon in 1997 for the Pirelli calendar. Monica Bellucci has been elected as one of the most beautiful and sexiest women of the world by many surveys, from Maxim’s “Sexiest women” to “Askmen’s Most desirable women” or Empire magazine’s sexiest stars in film history. She also won the “Nastro d’argento” award in 2003 for her performance as Best supporting actress in the film “Remember me, my love”. A demonstration that she is not only beauty but talent too. Although Monica Bellucci has never abandoned the fashion world and the catwalks, participating to some fashion events and promoting her favorite fashion houses, the big screen has taken the first place in her career. Just as cinema wasn’t sufficiently important in her life, in 1999 she married the French film director and actor Vincent Cassel, met on the set of the 1996 movie, “L’ appartement”. The couple has been collaborating in their career as well as in their private life ever since that day.
No doubt that her Mediterranean look has plaid a great role on Monica Bellucci’s career, leading her to represent the Italian beauty worldwide. She has never forgotten about Italy, the Italian supermodel declares, although she lives her life traveling from Us to London, from her native town to France, where she actually lives with her husband and her two daughters, Deva (7 years old) and Léonie (1 year old). Italian fashion model, successful actress, and busy wife and mother. This is what Monica Bellucci is.