Monica Guerritore (born 5 January 1958) is an Italian film, theatre, and television actress.

Biography

Guerritore was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to a

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and High ...

father and a

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

n mother. She had her first small part in

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...

's ''

Una breve vacanza ''A Brief Vacation'' () is a 1973 melodrama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. The screenplay was written by Cesare Zavattini, was inspired by an Apollinaire adage ("Sickness is the vacation of the poor"). Synopsis The film concerns a female fact ...

'', at the early age of 13. After her official debut at just sixteen years of age under the direction of

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an Italian stage director, theatre practitioner, actor, and politician. Strehler was one of the most significant figures in Italian theatre during his lifetime, described by Mel Gu ...

in ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'', she tied herself romantically and artistically to film and theatre director Gabriele Lavia, acting in his theatrical performances mostly strong female characters like

Jocasta In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered as Iocaste ( ) and EpicasteHomer, ''Odyssey'', Vol. XI11.271/ref> (; ), was Queen of Thebes through her marriages to Laius and her son, Oedipus. She is best known for her role in the myths surroundi ...

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

and

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

. Miss Julie in Strindberg's drama. The couple separated in 2001, during the rehearsals of Ingmar Bergman's ''Scenes from a Marriage'' in which she played Marianne. Guerritore continued her work with other directors, like Giancarlo Sepe, in ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

'', ''Carmen'', and ''

The Lady of the Camellias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently Theatrical adaptation, adapted by Dumas for the Drama, stage, the pl ...

''. Beside the stage career, Guerritore works on television and film, starting in 1976 along

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

in '' Signore e signori, buonanotte.'' In 1977, she plays the title role in first

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

colour TV play ''Manon Lescaut''; significant performances were in

Salvatore Samperi Salvatore Samperi (26 July 1944 – 4 March 2009) was an Italian film director. His 1973 film ''Malicious (1973 film), Malicious'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and his 1979 film ''Ernesto (film), Ernesto' ...

's '' The Dark Side of Love'' (1985) and in

Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. After earning a master's degree in architecture at the University of Florence, Bol ...

's ''

The Venetian Woman ''La venexiana'' (internationally released as ''The Venetian Woman'') is a 1986 Italian erotic film directed by Mauro Bolognini. The film is a transposition of the anonymous 16th century comedy play '' La Venexiana''. Cast * Laura Antonell ...

'' (1986). She stayed far away from television for 17 years and came back on screen RAI in 1997 with the title role in ''Costanza'', and in 1999 in

Mario Caiano Mario Caiano (February 13, 1933 – September 20, 2015) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer, art director and second unit director. Career Born in Rome, he directed nearly 50 films between 1961 and 2001 and wr ...

's ''L'amore oltre la vita''. In 2004, she played Ambra Leonardi in '' Amanti e segreti'', and in 2006 she played Ada Sereni in Gianluigi Calderone's ''Exodus''. Lavia directed her in many movies, often erotically toned, including '' Scandalous Gilda'' (1985), '' Evil Senses'' (1986) and a Sicilian film by

Giovanni Verga Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian Literary realism, realist (''Verismo (literature), verista'') writer. His novels ''I Malavoglia'' (1881) and ''Mastro-don Gesualdo'' (1889) are widel ...

, '' La lupa'' (1996). In theatre, she also wrote and directed ''Giovanna d'Arco'' (2004–2006), and ''Dall'Inferno all'Infinito'' (2008). In 2007, she played a part in

Ferzan Özpetek Ferzan Özpetek (, ; born 3 February 1959) is a Turkish-Italian film director and screenwriter, residing in Italy since 1978. Biography Ferzan Özpetek was born in Istanbul in 1959. In 1976, he decided to move to Italy to study Cinema History ...

's '' A Perfect Day'' (''Un giorno perfetto''), and in 2008 she took part to

Ivano De Matteo Ivano De Matteo (born 22 January 1966) is an Italian director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Rome, De Matteo formed as an actor in the drama laboratory "Il Mulino di Fiora", and later formed a stage company together with his ...

's ''La bella gente''. She has performed Saint Monica in Christian Duguay's ''Sant'Agostino''. Guerritore portrayed Anna Di Gastoni in the 2018 film '' My Big Gay Italian Wedding''. In 2024, she starred as Gabriella in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Italian series '' Deceitful Love''.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerritore, Monica Living people Actresses from Rome 20th-century Italian actresses Italian film actresses Italian television actresses Italian stage actresses 21st-century Italian actresses People of Campanian descent People of Calabrian descent 1958 births