Mary Corleone
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Mary Corleone is a fictional character in '' The Godfather Part III'', portrayed by
Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...
. She is the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams and sister of Anthony Vito Corleone.


''The Godfather Part II''

Mary first appears in '' The Godfather Part II'' as the younger child of Michael and Kay. She is a young child (aged about 4 or 5) in the late 1950s. Like her brother Anthony, Mary does not have a significant role or story arc in the film.


''The Godfather Part III''

Mary is sheltered from the violent world of the Corleone crime family. She falls in love with her cousin, Vincent Mancini, Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son. While the family is traveling in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, Michael tells Mary he disapproves of the romance, believing that Vincent's growing involvement in the "family business" puts her life in danger. He fears that Mary could suffer the same fate as his first wife, Apollonia, who was killed by a car bomb intended for him 30 years earlier. Toward the end of the film, Michael names Vincent as his successor, on condition that he break off his relationship with Mary. After her brother's debut concert, the assassin Mosca tries to kill Michael. One bullet grazes Michael's shoulder, but the other accidentally hits Mary in the chest, fatally wounding her. Michael is devastated by Mary's death, and screams in torment while cradling her dead body.


Casting

Sofia Coppola, the daughter of director
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
, was cast in the role of Mary Corleone after several choices dropped out: Winona Ryder discontinued her involvement with the film due to nervous exhaustion, Julia Roberts due to scheduling conflicts, and
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
was deemed too old for the part by some.
Rebecca Schaeffer Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989) was an American actress and model. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia "Patti" Russell in the CBS comedy '' My Si ...
had earlier pursued the role but had been murdered by a deranged fan. It has been suggested that the situation further damaged Francis Ford Coppola's career and ruined Sofia's before it had even begun. Coppola has said that she never really wanted to act, and only appeared in the film as a favor to her father. After filming, Sofia Coppola confirmed that she did not want to enter acting. It has also been suggested that Sofia's role in the film may have contributed to its box office performance, which started strongly and then went into decline. Coppola has said that her father based a lot of her character on her while writing the script, before she was even cast into the role. Sofia had 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 for ''Vogue'' during the filming. After she was critically panned for her performance in ''The Godfather Part III'', for which she won Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star at the 1990 Golden Raspberry Awards, Coppola ended her acting career, although she appeared in the independent film '' Inside Monkey Zetterland'' (1992), as well as in the backgrounds of films by her friends and family: for example, she appeared as Saché, one of Queen Padmé Amidala's five handmaidens in George Lucas' '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (1999). Coppola has since been quoted as saying that she was not hurt by the criticism from her role in ''The Godfather Part III'', because she never especially wanted an acting career.


Sequel novels

Mary appears as a minor character in Mark Winegardner's sequel novels '' The Godfather Returns'' and '' The Godfather's Revenge'', although in the original novel, Michael's second child is a boy.


Family

* Michael Corleone—Father; played by Al Pacino * Kay Adams—Mother; played by
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
* Anthony Vito Corleone—Brother; played by Anthony Gounaris in ''Godfather I'', played by James Gounaris in ''Godfather II'', played by Franc D'Ambrosio in ''Godfather III'' * Vito Corleone—Grandfather; played by Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro * Carmela Corleone—Grandmother; played by Morgana King and Francesca De Sapio * Santino 'Sonny' Corleone—Uncle; played by James Caan * Fredo Corleone—Uncle; played by John Cazale * Constanzia "Connie" Corleone-Rizzi—Aunt; played by Talia Shire * Vincent Mancini-Corleone—First cousin; son of Sonny Corleone played by Andy García *Frank Corleone—Cousin; son of Sonny Corleone *Kathryn & Francesca Corleone—Cousins; Sonny's twin daughters *Santino Corleone, Jr.—Cousin; son of Sonny Corleone


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corleone, Mary Corleone, Mary Fictional murdered people Corleone, Mary Film characters introduced in 1974 Characters in American novels of the 21st century Fictional characters involved in incest Female characters in literature Female characters in film Cultural depictions of the Mafia Fictional Sicilian people Fictional Catholics