Giovanna Mezzogiorno

Celebrated Italian actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno has been exposed to the world of acting all her life. Her parents, Vittorio Mezzogiorno and Cecillia Sacchi, both successful actors, would take her on set when she was a child. At first, she wanted to become a ballerina. She studied ballet for 13 years, but after her father's death when she was 19, her ambitions changed. She relocated from Rome to Paris and studied theater with legendary theater director Peter Brook, who had also taught her father. Her talent became apparent in her very first role, as the tragic character Ofelia in the play "Qui est la," which was based on Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Her performance won her the Coppola-Prati award, a jury prize for theater, in 1996. The following year, she was appearing in her first film role, in director and star Sergio Rubini's comedy "The Bride's Journey." In 2004, she appeared again in a Rubini-directed film, "Love Returns." Her starring role as Sabina, a woman who is haunted by nightmares after the death of her father, in 2005's Cristina Comenici-directed drama "Don't Tell," earned her the Copp Volpi award, considered to be one of the most prestigious international awards for an actress. Previous winners have included Bette Davis, Shirley MacLaine, and Catherine Deneuve. In 2009, Mezzogiorno paid tribute to her famous father by narrating and producing a documentary about his life.