Talia Rose Shire (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress and member of the

Coppola family The Coppola family ( , ) is an Italian-American family of filmmakers and performing artists. The family originates from Bernalda in the region of Basilicata. Agostino "August" Coppola (1882–1946) immigrated to the United States circa 1905. ...

. She is best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' trilogy and Adrian Pennino Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

'' and ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

'', Shire was nominated for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively, and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in ''Rocky''.

Early life and family

Shire was born Talia Rose Coppola in the Woodside section of

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, in 1946. Her paternal grandparents came to the United States from

Bernalda Bernalda (Neapolitan language, Metapontino: or ) is a town and municipality () in the province of Matera, in the southern Italy, Italian region of Basilicata. The nearby village of Metaponto is the site of the ancient city of Metapontum. Until ...

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

. Her maternal grandfather, popular Italian composer Francesco Pennino, emigrated from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy. Shire is the only daughter of

Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(

Pennino) and arranger/composer

Carmine Coppola Carmine Valentino Coppola (; June 11, 1910 – April 26, 1991) was an American composer, flautist, pianist, and songwriter who contributed original music to the films ''The Godfather'', ''The Godfather Part II'', ''Apocalypse Now'', ''The Outsid ...

. She is the sister of director/producer

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 ...

and academic

August Coppola August Floyd Coppola (February 16, 1934 – October 27, 2009) was an American academic, author, film executive, and advocate for the arts of the Coppola family. Early life and family August Coppola was the son of composer and flautist Carmine ...

, the aunt of actor

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

and director

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 ...

, and the niece of composer and conductor Anton Coppola. Her family moved to Lake Success,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where she lived during her high school years. She has three children. Her son Matthew Orlando Shire, an accomplished TV writer and film producer, is from her first marriage, to composer David Shire. Her other sons, actors/musicians

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, are from her second marriage, to film producer Jack Schwartzman.

Career

Shire portrayed Connie Corleone in ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'' and its sequels and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

for her performance in ''

'' (1974). For her portrayal of Adrian Pennino, the love interest of

Rocky Balboa Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name the Italian Stallion) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the ''Rocky'' franchise. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in eight of ...

in ''

'' (1976), she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress, the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for both the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

. In addition to reprising her Adrian role in four ''Rocky'' sequels, Shire has appeared in such films as '' Kiss the Bride'' (2002), '' I Heart Huckabees'' (2004), and ''

Homo Erectus ''Homo erectus'' ( ) is an extinction, extinct species of Homo, archaic human from the Pleistocene, spanning nearly 2 million years. It is the first human species to evolve a humanlike body plan and human gait, gait, to early expansions of h ...

'' (2007).

Filmography

Accolades

References

External links