Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Maria Grazia Cucinotta — Biography

Maria Grazia Cucinotta was born in Messina, Sicily, on 27 July 1968 and, entering cinema around 1990, became one of Italy's most internationally recognized actresses. Her 1994 performance as Beatrice opposite Massimo Troisi and Philippe Noiret in Il Postino, a film that went on to wide acclaim, drew strong critical praise; five years later she played the assassin Cigar Girl opposite Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. On American television she took the title role of Isabella in an episode of The Sopranos and voiced Sideshow Bob's wife, Francesca, on The Simpsons. She both acted in and produced a segment of the UNICEF charity anthology film All the Invisible Children. She built a wide filmography of comedies and dramas including Cominciò tutto per caso, Italiani, Our Italian Husband, Vanilla and Chocolate, Last Minute Marocco, The Museum of Wonders and American Night. She received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2010 and a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2012. She married Giulio Violati in 1995, with whom she has a daughter, Giulia, and is a practicing Catholic devoted to Saint Anthony of Padua.