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Constanzia "Connie" Corleone is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
'', a 1969 novel by
Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather'' (1969), which ...
, and the 1972 film ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''. In the film, Connie is portrayed by
Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire (née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress who played roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' films and Adrian Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''The Godfather Part II'' and ''Rocky'', Shire ...
, the sister of the director
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
. Shire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Connie Corleone in ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
''.


''The Godfather''

Born in 1925, Connie is the youngest child and only daughter of
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
Vito Corleone Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfather ...
and his wife Carmela. She is the sister of Sonny,
Fredo Fredo is a masculine given name, and diminutive of Alfredo or Federico, which may refer to: People * Getúlio Fredo (born 1954), Brazilian football manager * Fredo Santana (1990–2018), stage name of American rapper Derrick Coleman (born 1990) * ...
and
Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather''. In the The Godfather (film series), three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portr ...
and adopted sister of Tom. In 1945, she marries Sonny's friend Carlo Rizzi. Vito disapproves of the match, due to the fact that Carlo's mother is from
Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
rather than
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, and only agrees to the marriage on the condition that they have a traditional Sicilian wedding. Puzo characterizes Carlo as "a punk sore at the world", and his angry behavior is exacerbated by the Corleone family shunting him aside after marrying into the family. He physically abuses and cheats on Connie. On their wedding night, he blackens Connie's eye when she refuses to give up the bridal purse containing thousands of dollars in cash wedding gifts. Connie complains about Carlo's abuse to her family. Her brothers despise Carlo for mistreating their sister; Sonny is particularly enraged. Vito refuses to intervene and he strictly forbids anyone in the family from retaliating against Carlo. Connie is hurt and confused by this seeming indifference. Vito, however, is concerned, but feels powerless; Italian tradition forbids interfering in another person's marriage, and Vito worries his son-in-law will be unable to discharge his "duties as a husband" if he fears the family. Vito instead has Carlo secretly watched. This perceived inaction only emboldens Carlo to become more abusive. Sonny obeys his father's command not to interfere until he visits Connie and finds her sobbing and battered. Sonny severely beats Carlo in the street, threatening to kill him if he hurts Connie again. Rival mob boss
Emilio Barzini Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in its 1972 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte. The Barzini crime family was inspired by the Geno ...
recruits Carlo in a plot to murder Sonny. Carlo arranges for his mistress to call the apartment to provoke a fight with the pregnant Connie. After Carlo severely beats Connie, she hysterically phones the Corleone compound. An enraged Sonny drives off alone to Connie's apartment, his bodyguards following in a separate car. At the causeway toll booth, Sonny is ambushed and killed by Barzini's
Tommy gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
-wielding men. Michael returns from Sicily and assumes Sonny's place as Vito's heir apparent. Connie and Carlo's relationship seems to improve and they have a second child. Following Vito's death, Michael becomes the new Don and avenges Sonny's murder by having Carlo
garrote A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...
d by ''
caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a ''made member'' of an Italian crime family who head ...
''
Peter Clemenza Peter Clemenza is a fictional character who first appeared in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. He is played by Academy Award-nominee Richard Castellano in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and by Bruno Kirby (as ...
, one part of a wave of murders orchestrated by Vito and Michael to eliminate their enemies. Connie (who was unaware of her husband's role in Sonny's murder), hysterical after Carlo's death, blames Michael, denouncing him in front of his wife, Kay. In the novel, Connie quickly recovers from Carlo's demise, apparently relieved to be rid of an abusive, philandering husband. Days later, she apologizes to Michael for her outburst and assures Kay that Michael is blameless. Kay initially believes both Connie and Michael, but later learns her husband did have Carlo killed, along with the other Mafia heads.


''The Godfather Part II''

In ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
'', set three years later, Connie is still angry at Michael, and has several meaningless affairs just to spite him. Michael, to his dismay, is often caretaker for Connie's children during her frequent absences. On the day of Michael's son
Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...
's
First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...
, she comes to Michael's house and asks for money so she can marry Merle Johnson, a man Michael disapproves of. Michael refuses, and Connie storms off. At the end of the film, Connie returns for her mother's funeral and makes peace with Michael. She intercedes on Fredo's behalf after Michael disowns him for conspiring with Corleone rival
Hyman Roth Hyman Roth (born Hyman Suchowsky) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1974 film ''The Godfather Part II''. He is also a minor character in the 2004 novel '' The Godfather Returns''. Roth is a Jewish mobster, investor and a bus ...
, pleading with Michael to forgive him. Michael publicly appears to forgive Fredo, but later has him killed after Connie organized a visit for Kay behind Michael's back which breaks the agreement. Connie later says that Fredo had drowned, feigning ignorance of the truth. After Michael and Kay divorce, Connie helps care for Michael's children. In a flashback at the end of the film, it is revealed that Sonny introduced her to Carlo in 1941 during Vito's birthday party.


''The Godfather Part III''

In ''
The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, ...
'', set 20 years later, Connie has become one of Michael's closest advisors, gradually assuming an active role in Corleone Family operations. She encourages Michael to bring Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini into the Corleone family and support him in his feud with
Joey Zasa This is a list of characters from the film series ''The Godfather'' consisting of ''The Godfather'' (1972), ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name, as ...
. When Michael suffers a diabetic stroke following an attempt on his life, Connie and Michael's bodyguard
Al Neri Albert "Al" Neri is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of films based on it. In all three motion pictures, he is portrayed by actor Richard Bright. He functions as ...
give Vincent the approval to kill Zasa, who was complicit in the attack. Michael is furious that Connie gave an order behind his back, but she maintains that it was necessary to strike fear into his enemies and prevent further hit attempts upon Michael. In a hospital room meeting with Vincent, Neri and Connie, rather than simply ordering Connie to stay out of Corleone Family illegal activities, Michael demands -- and gets -- her agreement to abide by his decisions, essentially granting her authority in family operations subject only to his own. Connie travels with the Corleone family to
Palermo, Sicily Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its hi ...
to watch Anthony's operatic debut. Now acting with full authority, Connie tells Vincent to prepare a counterattack if Michael is killed. She then stands at Michael's side when he retires and names Vincent his successor. She attends the opera, along with the entire Corleone family. Upon discovering that her godfather
Don Altobello Osvaldo "Ozzie" Altobello is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the 1990 film ''The Godfather Part III''. In the film, he is portrayed by Eli Wallach. Casting Frank Sinatra biographer Tom Santopietro notes that Francis Ford C ...
is the mastermind of the plot against their family, she kills him by giving him a gift of poisoned
cannoli Cannoli (; scn, cannola ) are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from . In mainland Italy, they are ...
. Connie is distraught when her niece
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
is killed by an assassin who intended to kill Michael. The
Italian-language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 m ...
version of ''The Godfather Part III'' changes Connie's name's spelling to the far more standard and common "Costanza" rather than keeping the original "Constanzia", which is rare and archaic in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.


Character

Connie is Vito's only daughter and has been described as his favorite child, next to Michael. Connie attempts to have her family accept Carlo in the first film, and is, at least initially, devastated by his murder, despite the abuse she suffered at his hands. Talia Shire described her character as "'a pain-in-the-ass, whiny person' in the shadow of all-powerful men." In ''
The Godfather, Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
'', Connie has become an irresponsible social climber, paying scant attention to her sons while speeding through two superficial marriages, much to the disapproval of Michael. With Vito and Sonny dead, and Fredo proving incapable of serving as any kind of family authority figure, Connie must beg Michael for money to support her party-girl lifestyle. Following the death of matriarch
Carmela Corleone Carmela Corleone (1897–1959) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather.'' Carmela is portrayed by Italian-American Morgana King in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and in ''The Godfather Par ...
, Connie apparently abandons her promiscuous ways, and returns to the now-divorced Michael to assume a supportive role in his household. By the events of '' The Godfather, Part III'', Connie has become more decisive and self-sufficient, apparently having accepted the need for Michael to have eliminated Carlo. (Her sons by Carlo are not mentioned in the film.) Although still feigning ignorance of the true circumstances of Fredo's death, she rationalizes it with Michael as "God's will."


In other media

Connie appears as a supporting character in
Mark Winegardner Mark Winegardner (born November 24, 1961) is an American writer born and raised in Bryan, Ohio. His novels include '' The Godfather Returns'', ''Crooked River Burning'', and ''The Veracruz Blues''. He published a collection of short stories, '' ...
's
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
novels '' The Godfather Returns'' and ''
The Godfather's Revenge ''The Godfather's Revenge'', a 2006 novel written by author Mark Winegardner, is the sequel to his 2004 novel '' The Godfather Returns''. It is the fourth book in ''The Godfather'' novel series and is chronologically set last. The story takes p ...
''.


Family

*
Vito Corleone Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfather ...
 — Father *
Carmela Corleone Carmela Corleone (1897–1959) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather.'' Carmela is portrayed by Italian-American Morgana King in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and in ''The Godfather Par ...
 — Mother * Santino 'Sonny' Corleone — Brother *
Tom Hagen Thomas Hagen is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and Francis Ford Coppola's films ''The Godfather'' (1972) and ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974). He is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He also appears i ...
 — Adopted brother *
Fredo Corleone Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. Fredo is portrayed by American actor John Cazale in the Francis Ford Coppola 1972 film adaptation and in the 1974 sequel, ''The Godfather Part II'' ...
 — Brother *
Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather''. In the The Godfather (film series), three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portr ...
 — Brother *
Kay Adams-Corleone This is a list of characters from the film series ''The Godfather'' consisting of ''The Godfather'' (1972), ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name, as ...
  Sister-in-law *
Anthony Corleone Anthony Vito "Tony" Corleone is a fictional character in ''The Godfather film'' trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He is the son of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and Kay Adams (Diane Keaton), and the older brother of Mary Corleone (Sofia ...
 — Nephew *
Mary Corleone Mary Corleone is a fictional character in ''The Godfather Part III'', portrayed by Sofia Coppola. She is the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams and sister of Anthony Vito Corleone. ''The Godfather Part II'' Mary first appears in '' Th ...
 — Niece *
Vincent Corleone Vincent Santino Corleone ('' né'' Mancini) is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film ''The Godfather Part III.'' He is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. Vincent is the illegitimate so ...
 — Nephew * Carlo Rizzi — First Husband *Victor Rizzi — Son *Michael Francis Rizzi — Son


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corleone, Connie The Godfather characters Characters in American novels of the 20th century Characters in American novels of the 21st century Literary characters introduced in 1969 Fictional murderers Female characters in literature Fictional Italian American people Female characters in film Cultural depictions of the Mafia Fictional victims of domestic abuse