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Giovanna Mezzogiorno | |
|---|---|
 Mezzogiorno at the2010 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | (1974-11-09)9 November 1974 (age 51) Rome, Italy |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Vittorio Mezzogiorno |
Giovanna Mezzogiorno (Italian pronunciation:[dʒoˈvannaˌmɛddzoˈdʒorno]; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian theatre and film actress.
Mezzogiorno was born in Rome, 9 November 1974, a daughter of actorsVittorio Mezzogiorno and Cecilia Sacchi. She grew up watching her parents on set. At first, she wanted to become a ballerina, and studied dancing for 13 years.[1] After her father's death when she was 19, Mezzogiorno moved to Paris, where she attended the stages byAriane Mnouchkine and worked for two years at the Peter Brook Workshop.[1]
Mezzogiorno made her stage debut with the role of Ofelia inQui est là, based onShakespeare'sHamlet. The play toured various European cities. She received the Premio Coppola-Prati 1996, the jury was presided over by theatre critic Franco Quadri. One year later, she made her film debut inIl viaggio della sposa (The Bride's Journey), written by and starring Sergio Rubini. Mezzogiorno was awarded the Targa d'Argento as the New Talent in Italian Cinema, she was also given theGrolla d'oro, and the Globo d'Oro by the Foreign Press Association and the Premio Flaiano as Best Actress of the 1997 - 1998 season.
In 1998, Mezzogiorno starred in the filmDel perduto amore directed byMichele Placido, withFabrizio Bentivoglio andSergio Rubini (she was awarded theNastro d'Argento, theCiak d'Oro andPremio Pasinetti as best actress in a starring role) and, for the Italian National Television NetworkRaiDue, in a film made-for-TVPiù leggero non basta ("A lighter burden to bear") in the role of a young girl with muscular dystrophy, directed byElisabetta Lodoli withStefano Accorsi.
In 1999, Mezzogiorno played the role of Silvia, daughter of Enzo Tortora by whose mistaken conviction the film was inspired. The filmUn uomo perbene with Michele Placido andMariangela Melato, was directed byMaurizio Zaccaro. In that same year, she worked in Asini, directed byAntonello Grimaldi, with celebrated Italian comedianClaudio Bisio.
In 2000, she travelled betweenPrague and Paris for work in the TV miniseriesLes Miserables, directed byJosée Dayan, withGérard Depardieu andJohn Malkovich. She worked in Denmark inNobel, directed byFabio Carpi, withHéctor Alterio. In Italy, she worked with Puglielli inTutta la conoscenza del mondo ("All There Is to Know"), and then,L'ultimo bacio ("The Last Kiss") directed byGabriele Muccino with Stefano Accorsi andStefania Sandrelli (winning thePremio Flaiano). With the success of this last movie Giovanna become really famous in Italy.
In 2001, Mezzogiorno appeared in the filmMalefemmene withÁngela Molina and directed byFabio Conversi, in the role of Francesca, who was imprisoned following a judicial error and came into contact with the reality of friendship and attachment which she had never imagined possible. She also worked onStai con me, withAdriano Giannini and directed byLivia Giampalmo, in the role of a mother of twins.
In 2002, she worked on the set ofIlaria Alpi - Il più crudele dei giorni, in the role of the protagonist, directed byFerdinando Vicentini Orgnani (the film tells the tragic and dark story of the Italian TV journalist killed inMogadiscio). She also starred in France in the Holocaust-period TV dramaEntrusted, directed byGiacomo Battiato, withKlaus Maria Brandauer,Thomas Brodie-Sangster andSteven Moyer, based onLoup Duran's best-seller. In Italy, she starred in the filmLa finestra di fronte ("Facing windows") directed byFerzan Özpetek, costarringMassimo Girotti andRaoul Bova. This film, critically acclaimed and a box office success, earned her a lot of awards: theDavid di Donatello, theCiak d’Oro, theNastro d'Argento, theGlobo d'oro by the Foreign Press, theFlaiano Award, theKarlovy Vary Award as "Best Actress in a Leading Role".
Mezzogiorno starred in the filmL’amore ritorna, directed by Sergio Rubini, costarring Fabrizio Bentivoglio andMargherita Buy. She also worked in France, on the set of her first comedy:Au secours, j'ai 30 ans, directed byMarie-Anne Chazel, withPierre Palmade.
In 2004, Mezzogiorno worked in the TV movieVirginia (La monaca di Monza), directed byAlberto Sironi. She then returned to the theatre, working with the directorPiero Maccarinelli in4.48 Psicosi, written bySarah Kane.
In 2005,La bestia nel cuore ("Don't Tell"), directed byCristina Comencini, was an Academy Award candidate for Best Foreign Language Film, earning Mezzogiorno one of the most important international prizes for an actress: theCoppa Volpi, previously won byShirley MacLaine,Gong Li,Isabelle Huppert,Catherine Deneuve andSophia Loren.
In 2006, Mezzogiorno acted inAD Project, a sci-fi thriller byEros Puglielli, and acted in "Lezioni di Volo" ("Flying Lessons") byFrancesca Archibugi.
In 2007, she appeared as Leila, a sexy thief, in theblack comedyNotturno Bus ("Night Bus"), directed byDavide Marengo and starringValerio Mastandrea andEnnio Fantastichini.
She travelled toColombia to become Fermina Daza, the principal female character fromLove in the Time of Cholera based on the book written by Nobel Prize winnerGabriel García Márquez and directed byMike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral).
After appearing in two films shot in 2008,Sono Viva andPalermo Shooting byWim Wenders, in 2009 she achieved great international success withVincere byMarco Bellocchio, selected for the official competition in Cannes and a solid candidate for the final award.
Mezzogiorno narrated and produced a documentary to celebrate the career of her father Vittorio, 15 years after his sudden death in 1994.
She was a member of the jury at theCannes Film Festival in May 2010.[2] In January 2011, she was rewarded with theNational Society of Film CriticsAward for Best Actress 2010 for her role inVincere.
In 2017, Mezzogiorno appeared in the role of Adriana in the film calledNapoli velata (Naples in Veils).[3]
On the set of the film Lighter is not Enough (1998) she metStefano Accorsi, who became her long-time partner. On the set ofVincere she met the driver Alessio Fugolo, whom she married in 2009 in Griante in a civil ceremony.[4] She has two sons, Leone and Zeno, born 26 August 2011.[5]
