Italian film actress and fashion model Monica Bellucci was born in the family of an agricultural worker and artist. From childhood, Monica Bellucci aspired to become a lawyer, and in order to enter the University of Perugia at the Faculty of Law, she worked as a model for Liceo Classico from the age of 16. However, she soon decided to give up her childhood dream.

In addition to her native Italian, Monica is fluent in English and French, as well as some Spanish.

In 1988 Monica Bellucci moved to Milan where she signed with Elite Model Management. In 1989, she was already a famous model in Paris and New York. In 2004, Monica Bellucci topped the list of the 100 most beautiful women in the world in a list compiled by Ask Men's. Monica made a successful modeling career and decided to star in the film. Her first works were Life with Sons, Bandits, Abuse. The episodic roles in these films did not bring the actress much success, but in 1992 everything changed dramatically - director Francis Ford Coppola invited her to star in his film. The role of the bride of Dracula in the film "Dracula" was the first serious role of the actress. Soon filming offers began to come from Europe and America. "Stubborn Fate", "Heroes", "Snowball", "Joseph" - Monica starred in these films in Italy from 1992 to 1995.

In 1996, success comes to Monica Bellucci. For the role of Lisa in the film "The Apartment" Monica receives the "Cesar" award in the nomination "Promising Actress". During the filming of this film, she meets the famous actor Vincent Cassel, who later becomes her husband. Her next film was the French action movie Dobermann.

In 1997, Monica Bellucci starred in three films: "Stress", "Bad Taste", "How Do You Want Me", and in 1998 in four: "Desire", "There will be no holiday", "About those who love" , "Compromise". Filming offers are flying from all over the world, but Monica is very demanding of them, trying to choose only those roles where her talent can reveal itself and appear before the audience in all its glory.

In 2001, Monica Bellucci, along with her husband Vincent Cassel, starred in the film The Brotherhood of the Wolf, and was also nominated for the European Film Academy Award for the lead role in Giuseppe Tornatore's drama Malena. In 2002, Bellucci and Cassel starred in Gaspard Noé's scandalous film Irreversible.

Among other tapes with the participation of the actress are "The Matrix Reloaded", "The Matrix: Revolution", "The Passion of the Christ", "The Brothers Grimm", "How Much Do You Cost?", "Through the Milky Way" and others.

In 2013, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel announced their divorce. In 2016, the actress became a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Monica Bellucci is a world-famous Italian actress who starred in Hollywood a lot, a fashion model. For many, Monica is the epitome of true beauty and femininity.

Childhood

The parents of Monica Bellucci had a difficult fate. Her father is an immigrant from Beluchistan (a region in Western Afghanistan), an Iranian by nationality and a Muslim who is barely making ends meet. Monica's future mother, Brunella Briganti, was raised in the Catholic faith all her life, but she, contrary to her family and friends, married a poor foreigner.


They settled in the small Italian town of Citta di Castello. The man was engaged in agricultural work, his wife became an artist. They lived poorly, but soul to soul. And only one thing overshadowed their union - for a long time they had no children. Doctors diagnosed the woman with infertility and advised her to hope for a miracle. So when their daughter Monica was born on September 30, 1964, the parents took it only as God's providence.


The future celebrity grew up in a poor family and understood that only education could compensate for the lack of money, so Monica Bellucci was a diligent student at school. In her youth, in addition to her native language, Monica Bellucci mastered perfectly French and English, as well as the basics of Spanish.


Since childhood, Monica has been determined to pursue a career as a lawyer. At the same time, from an early age, those around her noted her spectacular appearance, the result of a mixture of Eastern and Mediterranean blood. So as a teenager, at the age of 13, she began to earn extra money as a model. A local amateur photographer helped her build a portfolio.

Model career

At the age of 16, the girl already walked the catwalk at the Liceo Classico. To transform into glamorous images and catch the admiring glances of photographers, Monica had to taste, and she abandoned her childhood dream of a career in law.


In 1983, the girl wanted to enter the faculty of law at the University of Perugia, but she had to give up her studies due to her busy schedule.

In 1988, 24-year-old Monica moved to Milan, where she signed a contract with Elite Model Management. A year later, Monica Bellucci was already well known to representatives of the fashion industry in New York and Paris.


The young celebrity posed for the French Elle and starred in an advertisement for Dolce & Gabbana perfume. The video for the brand was directed by Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore, who later directed Bellucci in his film.

Actor career

Monica Bellucci has achieved considerable success in the modeling business, but did not want to stop there. Her acting debut took place in 1990 in Italian cinema. Her first works were episodic roles in the films "Life with Sons", "Abuse" and "Bandits".


In 1992, acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola turned things around and cast Bellucci as Dracula's bride in a film starring Gary Oldman as the bloodthirsty Count and young Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves. This was Monica's first serious role, albeit a very small one. After that, she began to receive offers from directors from America and Europe.


A resounding success on the European continent came to Monica in 1996, after playing the role of Lisa in the melodrama "Apartment". The young beauty Bellucci won the hearts of viewers and critics and received the Cesar Award. During the filming, the girl met the already popular French actor Vincent Cassel. The very next year, she played with him in the French action movie Dobermann, where she got the role of the deaf girlfriend of the protagonist bandit.

"Apartment": dance of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel

In 1997, Monica Bellucci took part in the filming of three films at once - "Stress", "How Do You Want Me" and "Bad Taste", and a year later in four more - "Compromise", "Desire", "There will be no holiday", "About those who love." Job offers rained down on the beautiful Italian, but Monica treated everyone very critically and demandingly. The girl tried to choose only those roles where her talent could be fully revealed, and not just show her already obvious beauty.


A ticket to a big movie for Bellucci was the role in Giuseppe Tornatore's drama "Malena" (2000), where she seemed to play herself - an insanely beautiful woman, for whom her unearthly appearance becomes both a gift and a curse. Beauty is dangerous - it burns some with envy and others with lust, but at the same time it is a gift that must be carried with dignity. For this filigree role in 2001, the actress received the Audience Award from the European Film Academy.

“People can forgive a person’s mind, even talent, but never beauty” (Monica Bellucci).

In 2001, Monica, along with her husband Vincent Cassel, starred in the film The Brotherhood of the Wolf, for which she received another award - the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She then played Cleopatra in the adventure comedy Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra with Gerard Depardieu. The tape was doomed to success, largely due to the participation of Bellucci in it, because Monica is the very embodiment of regal beauty, and the role of the last Egyptian queen seemed to be created especially for her.


This was followed by the provocative film Irreversible (2002) by Gaspard Noe, which caused a storm of conflicting emotions among the public. The nine-minute scene of the rape of the heroine Monica was shown so realistically that when it was shown at Cannes, many viewers became ill. Bellucci herself later admitted that she herself was afraid to watch this film, but it is obvious that this is one of the best and most daring works in her career. By the way, in this experimental drama, in which all events are shown in reverse order, Monica's boyfriend was played by her husband, Vincent Cassel.


Then Bellucci's filmography was followed by the Italian film "Remember Me" (2003) and the drama "Tears of the Sun" (2003) with Bruce Willis, after which in the same year the actress appeared in the popular films of the then Wachowski brothers "The Matrix: Revolution" and " The Matrix Reloaded. Monica played the role of the mysterious Persephone, the wife of the Merovingian, who offers to help Neo (Keanu Reeves) in exchange for a passionate kiss. Of course, the directors of the legendary trilogy could not help but appreciate the attractiveness of the Italian actress, so they chose a rather simple character for her, simply using her sexuality.


Participation in the filming of The Matrix marked a new and very important stage in her career for the 39-year-old Italian actress - the conquest of Hollywood. And the industry, greedy for beauty, sexuality and charisma, could not resist Monica Bellucci. The actress could easily exploit the image of an inaccessible beauty, but she preferred serious acting work and non-trivial scripts to this. At this time, Monica often changed the genres of paintings in her filmography, proving that she was able to appear in any role.

Monica Bellucci in the movie Tango of the Heart (2007)

After The Matrix, she played Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's Biblical drama The Passion of the Christ. A heavy film with many violent scenes, telling about the last days of Christ before the crucifixion, received mixed reviews from critics, including for the controversial interpretation of the Bible. Despite the fact that Monica is not a Catholic, she really wanted to get the role of a follower of Jesus.


Then the actress again played with Vincent Cassel - this time in the action-packed thriller "Secret Agents" (2004). But her next successful Hollywood project was the fantasy The Brothers Grimm (2005) by Terry Gilliam, which tells an alternative biography of the most famous German storytellers. Of course, there was some mysticism there - Monica played the evil queen, who died hundreds of centuries ago, but with the help of charms she continues to tempt casual visitors with her former beauty. The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, played by Heath Ledger and (ab:462) Matt t Damon (/ab), fall into her net.


In the same year, Bellucci again tried on the image of a fatal courtesan in the film "How much are you worth?" by the famous French director Bertrand Blier, where Gerard Depardieu became her partner. The next major role for Monica was the work in the film "The Brotherhood of Stone" (2006), where she played with Catherine Deneuve and Moritz Bleibtroy. The mass audience remembered the role of Bellucci in the Hollywood thriller Shoot 'Em Up (2007) with Clive Owen. It is also worth noting the game of the famous actress in the Italian melodrama "The Man Who Loves" (2008), where Ksenia Rappoport also played.


During this period, Bellucci also managed to collaborate with French actors such as Sophie Marceau and Daniel Auteuil. Also worth noting are the films with her participation The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) with Nicolas Cage and Love: Instructions for Use with Robert De Niro. In 2014, the actress played an opera diva in the popular Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle with Gael Garcia Bernal. In 2015, Bellucci became the first mature Bond woman (Daniel Craig) in the new part of the Bond film - "007: SPECTRUM".


In 2016, the actress was lucky enough to work with the cult Serbian director Emira Kusturica on his military melodrama Through the Milky Way. Bellucci played the beloved of the protagonist, in which Kusturica himself reincarnated.

"Evening Urgant": Monica Bellucci and Emir Kusturica about the "Milky Way"

Personal life of Monica Bellucci

The famous Italian actress had affairs only with her colleagues - at first she was married to the Argentine photographer Claudio Brasso for a very short time, then she was engaged to the Italian actor Nicola Farron.

When we first met Vincent, a spark flashed between us. Initially, we thought that it was rather antipathy and dislike for each other, but later, getting to know each other better, we realized that this was the magic of attraction. I don’t know how we ended up together, rather we didn’t choose who we were with, it just happened.

However, the couple did not live together - Monica needed personal space and independence. Even a few years after the wedding, they continued to live in two houses - he is in France, and she is in Italy. The actress explained this by the fact that the last thing she wants to do is plunge into the family routine.


In 2004, the 40-year-old actress had her first child - the girl was named Deva. The birth of a child brought Vincent and Monica very close and strengthened their relationship. Bellucci did not stay on maternity leave and after 9 months of breastfeeding her baby, she returned to the set again. In May 2010, Monica Bellucci gave birth to her second daughter, Leoni.


In 2013, the Cassel-Bellucci star couple, to the dismay of numerous fans, broke up. Perhaps the frequent forced and voluntary separation of the former spouses played a role, later the actress admitted that the independence of each subsequently put their relationship in jeopardy, and then they simply decided to disperse.

Now Monica devotes a lot of time to the family and raising her daughters. She admits that she wants her daughters to listen to their inner voice and understand that for personal success they do not need the support of a man.

Consider the horoscope of a very feminine, gorgeous Monica Bellucci. Monica Bellucci was born on September 30, 1964 in Citta di Castello, Italy. The girl was born in spite of the doctors, who diagnosed Monica's mother with infertility.

In the natal chart of the actress, all four elements are harmoniously represented. Ascendant in Capricorn - everything that is done makes sense and is aimed at achieving a practical goal. She is a bright representative of the Libra sign, one of the most calm signs of the Zodiac. In fact, Monica is not a typical Libra because the Sun is the only planet in this sign. She is more influenced by Leo and Capricorn.

She has a harmonious and whole character. At the same time, the star is a proud, proud and bright woman, as evidenced by the location of three planets in Leo - Venus, Mars and the Moon. Impulsiveness and generosity are also inherent in her. Venus in Leo square Jupiter and opposition Saturn. Venus is strong because it rules the Sun in Libra. This is a feature, namely the ability to assert one's rights in the world of fashion and art, and also portends glory.

“Luxurious forms are not in fashion? So I'm against fashion! M. Bellucci

In Monica's horoscope, Mercury, Uranus and Pluto are in Virgo, which means that nature has rewarded her with a lively mind and a good memory, she is erudite, pragmatic and sometimes even prudent. In her youth, in addition to her native language, Monica mastered French and English to perfection, and also learned the basics of Spanish. Beauty did not prevent Monica from making a brilliant career and being known as an intelligent woman in society.

In the natal chart of Bellucci, a large cluster of planets in the sign of Leo, as well as a favorable aspect of the Sun in Libra. Such interaction indicates that she is sociable, charming, sweet, knows how to properly present herself in society, and has creative abilities.

Ever since her school years, Monica has been a noticeable, bright and beautiful girl. Her classmates did not like her, which, in fact, is not surprising, because all the attention of the boys was riveted to her. She studied well, dreamed of becoming a lawyer (Neptune in the 9th house) and even entered the University of Perugia at the desired faculty. And in order not to ask her parents for her life, she moonlighted as a model.

Neptune in conjunction with the 10th house is a person of art, acting talent. It is also evidence of fame, popularity. With this arrangement of Neptune, good opportunities are created for successful creative work, and prospects for successful work in the professional field open up. Neptune gives great worldly wisdom, contributes to the increase of spiritual and material values. Neptune is a higher octave of Venus, in this position it makes the image of Bellucci's beauty perfect. In addition, she is one of the few models who successfully changed her career from a fashion model to a career in films. Monica is talented and very capable. He grasps any innovations on the fly, is not afraid to experiment.

“It is very important for me to look for and find unusual roles and see if I can fulfill them. Someone told me that inside all artists there are sleeping beauties, and every time you play a role, one of these beauties wakes up. We have everything inside of us. We just need to see it." M. Bellucci


The tense aspect from Saturn in Aquarius to Jupiter in Taurus indicates that Bellucci achieved her place under the sun solely thanks to herself, without any connections and help. The actress was born in a poor family and from childhood she understood that she would have to achieve everything in her life herself, so she never sat idly by, did not allow herself long time-outs in her career. She is always in demand.

Jupiter is at 25 degrees Taurus (degrees Jupiter) in an earth sign visiting Venus, a bright position in the chart. It gives self-confidence, on the one hand, and the benevolence of the surrounding world, on the other, contributes to the achievement of a high social level and material wealth. On the one hand, a calm disposition, peacefulness, accommodating, on the other - firmness, determination, steadfastness. Love for family and home comfort.

North Node in 5th house - South Node in 11th house. The task is to learn to live in the present and comprehend the world of creativity. The axis of the lunar nodes emphasizes the confrontation between personal (5th house) and public (11th house) life, makes you choose between love and friendship. The ascending node indicates that creativity, love and children should be the main content of life. The circumstances of fate will help in every possible way in realizing these potentials. This position of the Nodes indicates that the greatest gift that a person can receive is now given - the power to create one's own destiny.

“Beauty inspires poets, but offends mediocre people. Someone perceives beauty as an insult. Beauty provokes curiosity and rage, makes people aggressive. When a beautiful woman enters a room, most men feel desire and most women feel anger.” M. Bellucci

A very active 8th house in the chart, Monica Bellucci was never afraid to take risks and act in provocative films ("Irreversible", "Malena"), she did not hesitate to act naked in erotic scenes. Pluto in the 8th house gives a certain charisma to a person, great sex appeal and magical attraction.

“I don’t understand women who say that male desire humiliates them. I think they're just out of tune with themselves."

The combination of the Moon, Venus and Mars in Leo indicates the deep and passionate nature of the actress. She is able to build a stable relationship with a man whom she respects and sincerely loves. But, she has an ascendant in Capricorn - as a partner, Monica is quite complicated. The Capricorn Ascendant is faithful to the partner, attached to him and treats the family with great responsibility, but the partner may lack warmth and tenderness. Not surprisingly, Capricorns quite often suffer from unrequited love. But no matter what happens in the family, they rarely get divorced. If a break still occurs, then only at the initiative of the partner.

Venus opposing Saturn in Aquarius shows some tension between the need to be independent and to be loved dearly. Venus is the planet of love and tenderness, Saturn is the planet of restrictions and contraction. This aspect brings coldness and detachment into relationships, problems in love.

In the map, Venus square Neptune brings idealism into the sphere of love, the search for ideal love, usually such a woman attracts unsuitable partners who are not inclined to constancy.

As Bellucci commented, the reason for her divorce from Vincent is that coldness appeared in their relationship, they both have different hobbies, different friends and different plans for life.

“An ideal marriage, no one knows how many years it can last ... Today it is perfect, but in a year, I don’t know,” Monica Bellucci said in an interview in April of this year. Also in an interview, she spoke about the main need in life - the need to love and be loved.

Interesting Facts

  • In herself, the actress, according to her confession, most of all "loves her hands" and "her own manner of going towards others."
  • In 1999, she took 6th place in the Maxim magazine's "50 Sexiest Women" rating.
  • In 2000, she took 9th place in Maxim magazine's "100 Sexiest Women" ranking.
  • In 2002 and 2004, she topped the list of the most beautiful women on the AskMen's website.
  • At the very beginning of her career, she became the face of the D & G brand, posed for the famous Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani and Richard Avedon, who once photographed Marilyn Monroe.