Monica Belluci Profile

Monica Bellucci was born on September 30, 1968 in the village of Citta di Castello in Perugia. Her father ran a trucking company. At the age of 18, she enrolled in classes at University of Perugia, where she studied law. She began working as a model, part-time, to help pay her tuition. However, she dropped out of school after realizing that she could earn more as a model than she would as a lawyer. In 1988, she moved to Milan, Italy's major fashion capital. She signed on with Elite Model Management.

Monica, who was voted the most beautiful woman in the world by French TV viewers in 2004, easily found lots of projects to keep her busy. She worked with Dolce & Gabbana and even posed for French Elle. She also became a fixture on the catwalks in New York, Paris and Milan. However, it seemed that Monica yearned for something else as well. She began taking acting classes; and, in a short time, she became a solid fixture in films. In 1990, she made her screen debut on TV in the series Vita coi figli (Life with the Sons). Later that same year, she showed up on the big screen in Briganti (a.k.a Bandits: Love and Liberty) along with actress Francesca Neri, daughter of the legendary Rosalba Neri.

Monica played Francesca, a single mother, in La Riffa (1991). She also had a nude scene in this film. Monica, who is proud of her body, is not afraid to show it off. She has had nude scenes in a variety of her other films. She has been quoted as saying, "My body is so important to me… my face, my arms, my legs, my hands, my eyes, everything. I use everything I have." In fact, her American film debut in 1992 showcased her as one of the topless brides of Gary Oldman's Dracula. Francis Ford Coppola's directed her in this movie rendition of the classic Bram Stoker novel.