Italia Pennino Coppola (; December 12, 1912 – January 21, 2004) was the matriarch of the

Coppola family The Coppola family () is an Italian-American family of filmmakers and performing artists. Family tree Academy Awards The lineal descendants of Carmine Coppola and Italia Pennino have been nominated 2 ...

. She appeared in three non-speaking roles in Francis Ford Coppola's movies, ''

One from the Heart ''One from the Heart'' is a 1982 American musical romantic drama film co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, and Harry Dean Stanton. The story is set e ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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, ...

''. She was known for her Italian cooking and published a cookbook called ''Mama Coppola's Pasta Book''. Her nickname "Mammarella" is the name of her pasta and sauce line. Francis Ford Coppola named his 1998 Edizione Pennino zinfandel after her family’s name and Italian heritage. Her image has also appeared on the "Mammarella" pasta and sauce line, named after her and made by her son Francis.

Early life

Born in New York City, she was one of six children of Anna (

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

Giaquinto) (1879-?) and composer Francesco Pennino (1880-1952), both from Naples,

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 ...

. Her father was a musician and composer of Italian songs, an importer of silent Italian films and a movie theater owner. She was born in an apartment over the family's Empire Theater in Brooklyn.

Coppola family matriarch

Italia Pennino Coppola was the wife of Carmine Coppola and the mother of academic August Coppola, filmmaker

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 ...

and actress

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 ...

, as well as the maternal grandmother of actors

Jason Schwartzman Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjeeling Limited'' (2 ...

, Robert Carmine and writer Matthew Shire, and the paternal aunt of talent manager Anthony Pennino, and paternal grandmother of actors

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

, Marc Coppola and directors

Roman Coppola Roman François Coppola (born April 22, 1965) is an American director, screenwriter, producer and the son of Francis Ford Coppola and Eleanor Coppola. For the 2012 film ''Moonrise Kingdom'', he and co-writer Wes Anderson were nominated for the A ...

Christopher Coppola Christopher R. Coppola (born January 25, 1962) is an American film director and film producer, producer. Early life Coppola was born in Los Angeles County, California. His father, the late August Coppola, was a professor of literature, while hi ...

and

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor Coppola, Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed ...

. Under her maiden name, Pennino, Italia Coppola was a lyricist known for writing "Non ci Lasceremo Mai", Connie's wedding song from The Godfather, the Sicilian lyrics for "Ninna-Nanna A Michele", consisting of The Godfather Waltz and Michael's Theme, composed by

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

and sung by Nino Palermo in ''The Godfather Part II'' soundtrack, "Come Back To Love (the Chief's Death)" from ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...

'', and songs from Carmine Coppola themes from ''Napoleon'', ''

The Black Stallion The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a Sheikh's prized stallion a ...

,'' and '' The Outsiders''.

Death

Italia Pennino Coppola is buried in

San Fernando Mission Cemetery The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The property adjoins the San Fernando Mission and Bishop Alemany Catholic High School. ThSan Fernando Mi ...

alongside her husband.

Filmography

References

External links