Luce Caponegro (born 17 December 1966), also known by her stage name Selen, is an Italian actress,

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

, and former

pornographic actress A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...

Early life

Caponegro's father was an Italian industrialist active in the

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

industry. She attended courses in

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or with ...

, classical dance, and

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

as a child. After leaving home and marrying at the age of 18, she lived in a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

without running water or heating until the age of 20. In addition to Italian, she also speaks French and English.

Career as a porn star

In her early twenties, she first ventured into the adult industry with her first amateur hardcore video "Orgia di natale" directed by Cesare Geromini.Selen – Luce Caponegro
/ref> Her breakthrough came in 1993 at the age of 27 when the director Alex Perry offered her a role in the film ''Signore scandalose di provincia''. It is around this time she adopted the stage name Selen. She has been called Italy's favorite porn star. She made appearances at the

Hot D'Or Hot d'Or ( en, Golden Hot) was an adult film industry pornographic award, awarded annually from 1992 to 2001 in Cannes, France Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

and Erotica in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

and won 17 prizes during her career as a famous pornographic actress from 1993 to 1999. Her last

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

scenes were released in 2000 with the film ''Millennium''. Although her last sex scene was filmed in 1999, she continued to appear afterward in films as clips were used in later hardcore films. She has stated that she would not return to pornography in the future.

Directors

Selen starred in films by such well-known Italian porn directors including

Mario Salieri Mario Salieri (born 29 November 1957 in Naples) is an Italian pornographic film director and producer. Career Salieri started his adult film career with semi-amateur films shot in Amsterdam for the Italian market. Since the early 1990s, he ha ...

, known for ''Dracula, Sceneggiata napoletana, Concetta Licata;'' Silvio Bandinelli, known for ''Il rosso e il nero, Cuore di pietra''); and

Joe D'Amato Aristide Massaccesi (15 December 1936 – 23 January 1999), known professionally as Joe D'Amato, was an Italian film director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter who worked in many genres ( westerns, decamerotici, peplum, war films, ...

, known for ''Selvaggia, Sahara, Selen regina degli elefanti''. She played the title role in ''Cindy'', directed by

Luca Damiano Luca Damiano (born Franco Lo Cascio; 29 August 1946) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Lo Cascio started his career as the assistant director of Fernando Di Leo in almost all the films he directed between 1967 and 1974. In 1974, he ...

Mainstream career

Caponegro has given no international interviews and has had a number of small roles in films and mainstream television. Caponegro has presented the music programme "Hot". She has made appearances in radio, hosting the show ''Lezioni di sesso'' (Sex Lessons). Caponegro has also participated in theatre and advertisements. In 2004, she starred in the reality show ''La Fattoria''. She has also appeared in '' Maurizio Costanzo Show, Uno Mattina,

Domenica In ''Domenica in'' is an Italian Sunday long-running television show broadcast by Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the com ...

, I Fatti Vostri,'' and ''Omnibus''. Caponegro has attended the

Palme D'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

film festival in Cannes as a mainstream actress; some of her films have been shown at the festival. Caponegro had a small part in

Asia Argento Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with ...

's film '' Scarlet Diva'', which won a Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival Award for Best New Director.

Personal life

Caponegro has always lived in coastal Romagna. She has two sons, the first of whom, Kangi, was born in 1988 during her marriage with Fabio Albonetti, which has since ended in

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Her second son, Gabriele, was born in 2006 from her ex-partner Nicola Zanone.">Tgcom - Selen: "Sono una mamma canguro"
/ref> She is an animal-lover. In 2006, she graduated her school and expressed a desire to enroll at a university.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1966 births Living people Italian pornographic film actresses Italian film actresses Participants in Italian reality television series