Coppola had many varying interests growing up, including fashion, photography, music, and design, and did not initially intend to become a filmmaker. However, after making her first short filmLick the Star in 1998, she realized it "brought together all the things [she] loved", and decided to continue her directing pursuits.[17]
Coppola's acting career, marked by frequent criticisms ofnepotism and negative reviews,[18][19] began while she was an infant, as she made background appearances in eight of her father's films. The best known of these is her appearance inThe Godfather as the infant Michael Francis Rizzi, in the baptism scene.[20][21] Coppola also acted in her father's filmsThe Outsiders (1983), in a scene whereMatt Dillon,Tommy Howell, andRalph Macchio are eating at aDairy Queen;Rumble Fish (1983);The Cotton Club (1984); andPeggy Sue Got Married (1986), in which she portrayedKathleen Turner's sister Nancy.[22]Frankenweenie (1984) was the first film Coppola performed in that was not associated with her father, however, it often goes unnoticed due to her stage name "Domino", which she adopted at the time because she thought it was glamorous.[23] A short film entitledLife Without Zoe (1989), released as part of atripartite anthology filmNew York Stories, was co-written by a teenage Coppola and her father; her father also directed the film.[24] During the time, she partnered withRoman Coppola on a production company with funding fromAmerican Zoetrope in 1988 to produce low-budget movies, Commercial Pictures.[25]
Coppola returned to her father'sGodfather trilogy in both the second and thirdGodfather films, playing an immigrant child inThe Godfather Part II and playing Michael Corleone's daughter,Mary, inThe Godfather Part III after the originally cast actress,Winona Ryder, dropped out of the film at the last minute due tonervous exhaustion.[26][27][28][22] It has been suggested that Coppola's performance inThe Godfather Part III damaged Francis Ford Coppola's career and ruined Sofia's before it had even begun.[29] Coppola has said that she never really wanted to act and only did it to help out when her father asked her to.[30] It has also been suggested that Sofia's role in the film may have affected its box office performance, which started strongly and then went into decline. Coppola herself worried that she had only been given the role because she was the director's daughter, and the role placed a strain on her during the time of shooting that her mother observed in a series of diaries she wrote forVogue during the filming.[29] Coppola later stated that she was not hurt by the criticism from her work in the film because she never especially wanted an acting career.[31]
Coppola in 2003
After she was critically panned for her performance inThe Godfather Part III (for which she was named "Worst Supporting Actress" and "Worst New Star" at the1990 Golden Raspberry Awards), Coppola largely ended her acting career. However, she did appear in the independent filmInside Monkey Zetterland (1992), as well as in the backgrounds of films by her friends and family (for example, she appeared asSaché, one of QueenPadmé Amidala's five handmaidens, inGeorge Lucas' 1999 filmStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace).[28]
Coppola's first short film wasLick the Star (1998). It played many times on theIndependent Film Channel. She made her feature film directing debut withThe Virgin Suicides (1999), the film adaptation of the novelThe Virgin Suicides byJeffrey Eugenides. It received critical acclaim upon its premiere in North America at the 2000Sundance Film Festival and was released later that year. Coppola was first drawn to the story after reading the book byJeffrey Eugenides in 1995, at the recommendation of musicianThurston Moore. Coppola said she felt the novel's author understood the teenage experience. She has also said that if not for the book, she may not have had a career in film. Specifically, Coppola has highlighted the representation of teenagers "lazing around", a situation she connected with but felt was not seen very much in films in any relatable way. The story's theme of loss was a personal connection for Coppola in light of the 1986 death of her oldest brother in a boating accident, though she stated that she did not immediately realize this connection.[17] Coppola secured the rights to the novel and adapted the screenplay herself.[30] The low-budget film drew praise from critics[17] and represented the point at which Coppola became a filmmaker independent of her family connections.[30] She credits the start of her career to theCannes festival after the film premiered there.[17] The film stars actorsDanny DeVito,Kirsten Dunst,Scott Glenn,Josh Hartnett,Michael Paré,Jonathan Tucker,Kathleen Turner, andJames Woods.[33]
Lost in Translation (2003)
Coppola has collaborated with Murray on three projects includingLost in Translation (2003).
Coppola's second featureLost in Translation (2003) won her theAcademy Award for best original screenplay and threeGolden Globe Awards including Best Picture Musical or Comedy. AfterLina Wertmüller andJane Campion, Coppola became the third female director to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing and the second to win the Original Screenplay award, after Campion in 1994 (Wertmüller was also nominated). Her win for the best original screenplay in 2003 made her a third-generation Oscar winner. Coppola was the second woman, afterEdith Head, to be nominated for three Oscars in one night. In 2004, Coppola was invited to join theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[34] Coppola shotLost in Translation in 27 days,[35] with a small crew, working without permits. Scenes were filmed impromptu on the street, while scenes shot at thePark Hyatt Hotel allowed the crew to use its corridors between two and three in the morning without disturbing guests.[36]
The film received positive reception and acclaim, though also generated controversy due the film's usage "of Japan as an exotic and bizarre landscape for its American protagonists". The group Asian Mediawatch lobbied against the film's Academy Award nominations, stating "The film has no meaningful Japanese roles, nor is there any significant dialogue between the main characters and the Japanese. Such portrayals perpetuate negative stereotypes and attitudes that are harmful to Asian Americans in the US, where a significant minority of Americans already have negative attitudes towards Asians."[37] Coppola responded to these allegations in an interview forThe Independent, "I can see why people might think that, but I know I'm not racist. I think if everything's based on truth, you can make fun, have a little laugh, but also be respectful of a culture. I just love Tokyo, and I'm not mean-spirited...Even on our daily call sheets, they would mix up the 'rs' and the 'ls' – all that was from experience, it's not made up. I guess someone has misunderstood my intentions. It bugs me, because I know I'm not racist."[38]
Her third film was thebiopicMarie Antoinette (2006), adapted from the biography by British historianAntonia Fraser.Kirsten Dunst plays the titular character andJason Schwartzman, Coppola's cousin, plays KingLouis XVI. The film debuted at the2006 Cannes Film Festival[39] where, despite boos in the audience, it received a standing ovation.[40] Though critics were divided at the time of its release, it has since received a cult following and more critical acclaim in the years that followed.[41] Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian declared, "Sofia Coppola's presentation of Marie's life has a sisterly, unjudging intimacy, and the director has carried off pert inventions and provocations with some style, combining dazzling visual tableaux and formal set-pieces in strict period, with new wave chart hits from the 1970s and 80s: these musical anachronisms lending ironic torsion to the overall effect."[42]
Marie Antoinette was shot on location at theChâteau de Versailles. Coppola herself has claimed that she was initially drawn towards the character ofMarie Antoinette as an innocent and caring character who found herself in a situation outside of her control, and that rather than creating a historical representation, she wanted to create a more intimate look into the world of the heroine.[43] Coppola was interested in making an emotional connection to the young royalty whose "coming-of-age took place under conditions familiar to a pampered zoo animal".[44] The film's style is not that of a traditionalbiopic, and instead utilizes "hit songs and incongruous dialogue".[45] The film received theAcademy Award for Best Costume Design as well as threeBAFTA Awards nominations.
Somewhere (2010)
Coppola in 2010
Coppola's fourth film wasSomewhere (2010), filmed atChateau Marmont. It depicts a newly famous actor (Stephen Dorff) recuperating from a minor injury whose wealth, fame, and professional experiences cannot alleviate the existential crisis he is experiencing, as he is forced to care for his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) in the absence of his wife.[46] The relationship between Marco and Cleo was loosely based on Coppola's own relationship with her father.[47] The film premiered at the67th Venice International Film Festival, and opened in the rest of Italy, on September 3, 2010. The festival jury unanimously awarded the film theGolden Lion prize for the best overall film.Quentin Tarantino, president of the jury, said the film "grew and grew in our hearts, in our minds, in our affections" after the first screening. The film continued to receive critical acclaim, especially from notable film criticRoger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times who praised the detail in the portrait of Johnny Marco, writing, "Coppola is a fascinating director. She sees, and we see exactly what she sees. There is little attempt here to observe a plot. All the attention is on the handful of characters, on Johnny."[48] In November 2010, Coppola was interviewed byJoel Coen, who professed his admiration of her work, at the DGA screening ofSomewhere in New York City.[49]
The Bling Ring (2013)
Coppola in 2014
Coppola's next film,The Bling Ring (2013), was based on actual events centered around theBling Ring, a group of California teenagers who burgled the homes of several celebrities over 2008 and 2009, stealing around $3 million in cash and belongings.[50]Emma Watson,[51]Taissa Farmiga,[52]Leslie Mann,Israel Broussard,[53]Katie Chang, and Claire Julien starred in the film, which premiered at the2013 Cannes Film Festival, opening theUn Certain Regard section.[54][55] It was inspired by aVanity Fair feature on thereal-life criminals depicted in the film,[56] whom Coppola described as "products of our growing reality TV culture".[57] The film received generally positive reviews, with many praising its style and performances. While some felt that the film glamorized the crimes in the story and failed to make an assertive message about them through the narrative; "Coppola neither makes a case for her characters nor places them inside of some kind of moral or critical framework; they simply pass through the frame, listing off name brands and staring at their phones".[58]
Coppola cited her intrigue with theSouth as part of the story's appeal. Coppola has said that she "wanted the film to represent an exaggerated version of all the ways women were traditionally raised there just to be lovely and cater to men—the manners of that whole world, and how they change when the men go away". Coppola has citedGone with the Wind as her inspiration for creating a film that was relatable despite its position within a different era.[61] The film faced a wave of controversy and division, including accusations of 'whitewashing' the original story after Coppola removed the supporting role of a black female slave from the film, as well as choseKirsten Dunst to portray a character who was biracial in the original novel. Coppola also faced criticism for minimizing the story of the people experiencing actual hardship in favor of depicting, albeit authentically, the lavish lifestyle of her protagonists, thus minimizing the importance of a weighty topic. Coppola responded to these allegations by citing the presence of young girls among her movie-going audience.The Beguiled is not the only of Coppola's films to be accused of exposing the socio-cultural affordances of her own childhood.[61]
Coppola described her version of the film as a reinterpretation, rather than a remake, ofDon Siegel's1971 adaption of the same book.[61] Coppola wanted to tell the story of the male soldier entering into a classically southern and female environment from the point of view of the women and represent what that was like for them.[61][30] Coppola thought that the earlier version made the characters out to be crazy caricatures and did not allow the viewer to know them.[61] While some critics claim that Coppola intendedThe Beguiled as a feminist work, Coppola explained that she is not in favor of that labeling. Though she has said she is happy if others see the film in this way, she sees it as a film, rather, that possesses a female perspective—an important distinction.The Beguiled was also made as a contrast toThe Bling Ring, and Coppola has explained thatshe needed to correct that film's harshLos Angeles aesthetic with something more beautiful and poetic.[61]
The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Coppola's screenplay and direction, and noted it as lighter than her previous films.[68] Some critics stated that the film "isn't destined to achieve the same kind of iconic status as some of Coppola's previous work".[69]
Fairyland (2023)
An announcement in mid-December 2013 stated thatAmerican Zoetrope had successfully attained the screen rights for the memoirFairyland: A Memoir of My Father and that Coppola would adapt the book with Andrew Durham. Coppola would also produce the film with her brother Roman.[70] Coppola would later drop out of directing duties while remaining herself as a producer, as Durham took over as the sole director and writer for the film.[71]
It was based on allegations Priscilla made in her 1985 memoir.[74] Unlike the filmElvis (2022) byBaz Luhrmann, the film does not portray Presley as positively or much of his successful career. Instead, it portrays his "darker, domestic side".[75] Coppola was more interested in showing Priscilla's side of their relationship, highlighting the terror of Elvis' physical and emotional abuse towards Priscilla.[76]
The film received positive reviews, withRolling Stone declaring the film to be her best sinceLost in Translation.[77] David Rooney ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Coppola has always been a filmmaker who coaxes out feelings rather than blasts them with emphatic declarations, and the nuanced restraint of her writing and direction here are very much points in Priscilla's favor."[78]
Coppola stated that she used her teenage years growing up in the Bay Area to inform her position in this role. She stated specifically about her time as a teenager, "I just remember everything being epic and important and with a lot of feeling and driving around and listening to music. Your senses are more heightened or something."[79]
However, the film's portrayal of Elvis was criticized byLisa Marie Presley, who informed Coppola in emails that her parts of her portrayal of Elvis did not even match what Priscilla initially claimed.[80][81]
In December 2008, Coppola's first commercial premiered during an episode ofGossip Girl. The advertisement she directed for theChristian Dior fragranceMiss Dior Chérie, shot in France with modelMaryna Linchuk, was very well received and continues to be popular onYouTube.[84]
In October 2014, Coppola launched a series of Christmas ads for the clothing chainGap.[85]
At the beginning of the 1990s, Coppola was often featured in girl-oriented magazines likeSeventeen andYM. In 1994,[88] she co-founded the clothing lineMilk Fed in Japan, with her friend Stephanie Hayman in cooperation withSonic Youth'sKim Gordon. In 2001,[89] the fashion designerMarc Jacobs chose the actress/director to be the "face" of his house's fragrance, Daisy. The campaign photographs of Coppola were shot by photographerJürgen Teller. The July 2013 issue ofElle featured photographs shot by Coppola ofParis Hilton at Hilton'sBeverly Hills mansion (Both model and house appear inThe Bling Ring).[90][91]
In 2017, before Coppola started pre-production onThe Beguiled, she was asked by Italian state broadcaster Rai Com from All'Opera to direct their latest production ofLa traviata.La traviata is a three act opera byGiuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto byFrancesca Maria Piave. This Coppola-directed production was filmed for broadcast in Germany and France by Arte/ZDF, using multiple state-of-the art 4k cameras and up to 100 microphones.[92] Coppola said in an interview she "could not turn down the project" with designer and fashion iconValentino Garavani designing the costumes for this 15 show run ofLa traviata.[93] Discussing her modern take on this classic story Coppola says "I wanted to bring out the personal side of the French courtesan, the party girl used to the social scene. It's a very feminine world that I love".[94]
This was the first stage production Coppola directed.[93] Coppola discusses how Valentino "really motivated me to take a chance and do something that was scary for me and very unfamiliar," and promised a "traditional" production that could nevertheless be appreciated by those who are not opera connoisseurs. Rome Opera House Director Carlo Fuortes said in an interview ticket sales had exceeded 1.2 million euros (1.35 million dollars), a record for the establishment.[95]
All fifteen shows nearly sold out before opening night.[94] It was the biggest box office success since theTeatro dell'Opera Di Roma opened in 1880.[94]
Released on November 1, 2023,Archive by Sofia Coppola is a personal collection with behind the scene content, scripts, photographs, and development behind each of her films, including content from all of her filmsThe Virgin Suicides (1999),Lost in Translation (2003),Marie Antoinette (2006),Somewhere (2010),The Beguiled (2017), andPriscilla (2023). The book has a total of 488 pages.Archive is personally edited and annotated by Coppola herself.[98][99] In 2025, Coppola released aVirgin Suicides photo book featuring behind-the-scenes images captured on set by Corinne Day and started her own imprint under Mack Books.[100] She also releasedChanel Haute Couture, an intimate look into the Chanel Atelier.[101]
PresidentBill Clinton greets Coppola and then-husband Spike Jonze atThree Kings screening on October 14, 1999.
In 1992, Coppola met directorSpike Jonze; they married in 1999 and divorced in 2003. In an official statement, Coppola's publicist explained that the divorce decision was reached "with sadness". It is widely believed that the main character's husband inLost in Translation is based on Jonze, as Coppola stated after the film's release, "There are elements of Spike there, elements of experiences."[102][103]
From 2003 to 2005 Coppola dated filmmakerQuentin Tarantino. They have remained friends since their separation.[104]
Coppola married musicianThomas Mars on August 27, 2011, atPalazzo Margherita in Bernalda, Italy. They met while producing the soundtrack toThe Virgin Suicides.[105] They have two daughters:Romy (born November 28, 2006), whose name is an homage to Coppola's brotherRoman,[106][107] and Cosima (born May 18, 2010).[108]
Coppola and her family lived inParis for several years before moving toNew York City in 2010.[109]
Coppola has maintained a low public profile for her family, aiming for her daughters' lives to be unaffected by her career and travel. When asked if her choices as a parent to keep her children out of the spotlight is a result of her own upbringing, Coppola has explained that she does not want her children to be jaded.[61]
On September 11, 2010, Coppola's filmSomewhere won theGolden Lion, the top prize at theVenice International Film Festival.[110] Coppola became the first American woman and the fourth American filmmaker to win the award.[4]
On May 28, 2017, Coppola was awarded theBest Director Award at theCannes Film Festival for her filmThe Beguiled, making her the second woman and the first American woman to win the award.[2][3]
Awards and nominations received by Coppola's films
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