Laura Morante (born 21 August 1956) is an Italian film actress.

Life and career

Morante was born in

Santa Fiora Santa Fiora is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about east of Grosseto. Santa Fiora borders the following municipalities: Abbadia San Salvatore, Arc ...

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto ( it, links=no, provincia di Grosseto) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Gros ...

(

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

), the daughter of lawyer and playwright Marcello Morante, who was the son of Irma (née Poggibonsi) (a schoolteacher of Jewish descent) and Francesco Lo Monaco, from Sicily, and brother of the novelist

Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 191225 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel '' La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. Life a ...

. Laura's mother is Maria Bona Palazzeschi. Originally a dancer, Morante started her acting career on stage at 18 years old, in the theatrical company of

Carmelo Bene Carmelo Pompilio Realino Antonio Bene, known as Carmelo Bene (1 September 1937 – 16 March 2002), was an Italian actor, poet, film director and screenwriter. He was an important exponent of the Italian experimental theatre, avant-garde thea ...

. She made her film debut in '' Oggetti Smarriti'' (''Lost Belongings'')., directed by

Giuseppe Bertolucci Giuseppe Bertolucci (27 February 1947 – 16 June 2012) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 26 films between 1972 and 2012. He was the younger brother of Bernardo Bertolucci. Selected filmography * ''Berlinguer, I Lov ...

, whose brother would direct the second film in which Morante would appear, '' La Tragedia di un uomo ridicolo'' (''The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man''). She eventually had her breakout thanks to

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades including a Palme d'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear at the ...

, who gave her the title role in ''

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. Variants * Blanche: French * Bianca: Italian * Bianka (Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, German, English, French, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Co ...

''. After her marriage to French actor Georges Claisse, Morante moved to Paris, where, thanks to her participation in numerous productions, she acquired a certain notoriety in European art cinema. Returned to Italy, in 2001 she eventually won the

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

for best actress her performance in Moretti's ''

The Son's Room ''The Son's Room'' ( it, La stanza del figlio) is a 2001 Italian film directed, written and produced by Nanni Moretti. It depicts the psychological effects on a family and their life after the death of their son. It was filmed in and around the ci ...

''. Later she was nominated for the David di Donatello in the same category in 2003, for

Gabriele Muccino Gabriele Muccino (; born 20 May 1967) is an Italian film director. He has worked his way from making short films only aired on Italian television to become a well-known and successful American filmmaker. He is the elder brother of actor Silvio Mu ...

's ''

Remember Me, My Love ''Remember Me, My Love'' (''Ricordati di me'') is a 2003 Italian movie directed by Gabriele Muccino. Tagline: ''Some loves are never forgotten''. Plot At first glance the Ristuccia family is apparently normal and close-knit, but all of its membe ...

'', and won the

Silver Ribbon The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

for best actress for '' Love Is Eternal While It Lasts'' (2003) by

Carlo Verdone Carlo Gregorio Verdone (born 17 November 1950) is an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. Verdone is best known for his comedic roles in Italian classics, which he also wrote and directed. His career was jumpstarted by his first thre ...

. Morante attracted considerable attention with her performance as the neglected Madame Jourdain, with whom the young

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

, played by

Romain Duris Romain Duris (; born 28 May 1974) is a French actor. He is known for his role in Cédric Klapisch's ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which consists of ''L'Auberge Espagnole'' (2002), '' Russian Dolls'' (2005), and ''Chinese Puzzle'' (2013). He also ...

, falls in love, in the 2007 release ''

''. She also provided the voice of Helen Parr/Elastigirl in the Italian-dubbed version of the

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

animated film, ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah V ...

''. Very active in France, in 2012 Morante made her directorial debut with the French-Italian co-production ''

Cherry on the Cake ''Cherry on the Cake'' (french: La cerise sur le gâteau, it, Ciliegine) is a 2012 French-Italian romantic comedy film. It marked the directorial debut of actress Laura Morante, who also co-wrote the screenplay and starred in the film. It was nomi ...

'', for which she was nominated for the

David di Donatello for Best New Director The David di Donatello Award for Best New Director (Italian: ''David di Donatello per il miglior regista esordiente'') is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize the ou ...

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morante, Laura 1956 births 20th-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian actresses David di Donatello winners Italian film actresses Living people Nastro d'Argento winners Ciak d'oro winners People from Santa Fiora