Nicoletta Braschi (; born 19 April 1960) is an Italian actress and producer, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...

Life and career

Born in

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

, Braschi studied in Rome's Academy of Dramatic Arts where she first met Benigni in 1980. Her first film was with Benigni in 1983, the comedy ''

Tu Mi Turbi ''Tu mi turbi'' (also known as ''You Upset Me'' and ''You Disturb Me'') is a 1983 Italian anthology comedy film written, directed and starred by Roberto Benigni. It is both the directorial debut of Benigni and the film debut of Nicoletta Braschi. ...

'' (''You Upset Me''). She later appeared in two Jim Jarmusch films, '' Down by Law'' and ''

Mystery Train "Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabi ...

''. Braschi's two most successful collaborations with her husband were ''

Johnny Stecchino ''Johnny Stecchino'' is an Italian comedy film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni in dual roles. This film is one of Benigni's many collaborations with co-star and wife, Nicoletta Braschi. It was the highest-grossing film of all-time in I ...

'' (1992) and ''

La Vita è Bella ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...

(Life is Beautiful)'' (1997). The first, an Italian comedy that cast the actress as the girlfriend of a mobster (Benigni), was a huge hit in Italy, while the second, in which Braschi played the wife of an Italian Jew (Benigni) imprisoned in a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

, was a widely praised success that launched both Braschi and her husband into the international spotlight. She was nominated for a

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

award as a cast member of that film. In 1997, Braschi starred in ''

Ovosodo Ovosodo (from ''Ovosodo'', a quarter in the historic center of Livorno, the city where the story takes place), also known as ''Hardboiled Egg'', is a 1997 Italian comedy film, written and directed by Paolo Virzì. Cast * Edoardo Gabbriellini: Pi ...

'' as a depressed teacher encouraging a student to work and study harder. The film won her a David di Donatello award (Italy's equivalent of the

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

) and much praise from critics and the public. In 2002, she was a member of the jury at the 52nd Berlin Film Festival. In 2005, she starred in and produced ''

The Tiger and the Snow ''The Tiger and the Snow'' (Italian: La tigre e la neve) is a 2005 Italian comedy-drama film starring and directed by Roberto Benigni. Inspired by the fairy tale ''Sleeping Beauty'', the film is set in Rome and Baghdad during the invasion of Ir ...

'' (''La tigre e la neve'') a love story set during the initial stage of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. This was her last film appearance until the 2018 film ''

Happy as Lazzaro ''Happy as Lazzaro'' ( it, Lazzaro felice) is a 2018 Italian drama film written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where Rohrwacher won the award for Best Screenpla ...

''. In 2010, she toured the Italian theatres starring in ''Tradimenti'', based on

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's play ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. ...

''. In 2013, she was a member of the Cinéfondation and short films jury at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography

External links

* 1960 births 20th-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian actresses Italian film actresses People from Cesena Living people Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni David di Donatello winners Ciak d'oro winners {{italy-film-actor-stub