Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model, modelling for Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier, and Dior, before transitioning to Italian films and later American and French films.
Bellucci made her film debut in Francesco Laudadio's Italian comedy La Riffa (1991). The following year she played a bride of Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's gothic horror romance film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). For her leading role in The Apartment (1996), Bellucci received a nomination at the 1997 César Award for Most Promising Actress. She played Malèna Scordia in the Giuseppe Tornatore's acclaimed Italian romantic drama Malèna (2000). Bellucci starred in one of the highest-grossing French language films in the United States, Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001). She starred in Gaspar Noé's controversial arthouse thriller film Irréversible (2002), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Bellucci portrayed Persephone in the 2003 science-fiction films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. She portrayed Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's biblical drama The Passion of the Christ (2004). At the age of 50, by appearing in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, Bellucci became the oldest Bond girl in the history of the franchise. She has since acted in films such as The Whistleblower (2010), The Wonders (2014), Ville-Marie (2015), On the Milky Road (2016), The Best Years of a Life (2019), The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020), and Memory (2022).
Among her accolades are two Globo d'oro Awards, two Nastro d'Argento Awards, a Donostia Award, and a David Special Award. Bellucci received the Knight insignia of the Legion of Honour in 2016. She is a permanent member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
