Paola Cortellesi
Cortellesi in 2009
Born (1973-11-24) 24 November 1973
Rome, Italy
Occupations
  • Actress
  • filmmaker
Years active1999–present
Spouse
Riccardo Milani
​
(m. 2011)​
Children1

Paola Cortellesi (born 24 November 1973) is an Italian actress, film director, screenwriter and producer. She has starred in about 20 movies as well as a number of theatrical, television and radio shows.

Biography

Cortellesi debuted in the show business at the age of 13, as a singer for Cacao meravigliao, the jingle of the popular RAI TV show Indietro tutta! by Renzo Arbore. At 19 she began studying as an actress at the "Teatro Blu" in Rome (the same theatre school that Kim Rossi Stuart, Gianmarco Tognazzi, Claudia Gerini, Stefania Rocca, and Claudio Santamaria, among others, have attended).

She began her career in television with the show Macao, presented by Alba Parietti, but eventually reached nationwide popularity as a comic actress in the TV show Mai dire Gol by the Gialappa's Band (2000), which, in particular, showcased her skills at parodying famous people, a genre where she collected some of her most appreciated performances (the latest one being her parody of Milan's mayor Letizia Moratti in the 2010–2011 edition of the popular TV show Zelig).

After Mai dire Gol, Cortellesi has collaborated in several other TV Show of the Mai dire... franchise by Gialappa's Band. Other major performances of Cortellesi on television include the 2004 edition of the Sanremo Music Festival and the leading role in the TV movie Maria Montessori: Una vita per i bambini, a biography of Maria Montessori, for which Cortellesi received the "Maximo Award" at the Roma Fiction Fest.

Her career in cinema includes several appreciated performances in comedies and comic movies, including a leading role in Tu la conosci Claudia?, a very popular production starring the comic trio Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo. In 2008, she was nominated for the David di Donatello award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie Piano, solo by Riccardo Milani. In 2011 she won the David di Donatello for Best Actress for her leading role in Escort in Love.[1]

One of her most appreciated theatrical performances was Gli ultimi saranno gli ultimi ("Last will be last") by Massimiliano Bruno, which has been staged 189 times from 2005 to 2007 in over 50 theatres, and for which Cortellesi has collected a number of awards.[2]

As a singer, Cortellesi has been described by Mina as "one of the best Italian voices"[3] and has cooperated with several notable Italian musicians, including Elio e le Storie Tese, Renato Zero, Claudio Baglioni, Frankie Hi-NRG MC, and Neri per Caso. In 2019 she was filmed in the title role of Petra for the four-part Italian TV crime drama, broadcast from September 2020.[4] in 2023 , her directorial debut C'è ancora domani became box office hit and become highest grossing in Italian film instudy [5]

Cortellesi married director Riccardo Milani on 1 October 2011. The couple have a daughter, Laura, born 24 January 2013.

Filmography

Paola Cortellesi
Films
Year Title Role Notes
1999 The King and I Anna Leonowens (voice) Italian voice-over
2000 Ask Me If I'm Happy Dalia Feature film debut
2001 Un altr'anno e poi cresco Alessia
2001 Se fossi in te Caterina
2002 A cavallo della tigre Antonella
2002 Bell'amico Damiana Cameo appearance
2002 Stuart Little 2 Margalo the Bird (voice) Italian voice-over
2003 Past Perfect Claudia
2003 The Soul's Place Nina
2004 Do You Know Claudia? Claudia
2006 Don't Make Any Plans for Tonight Cinzia
2007 Piano, solo Baba
2007 Persepolis Marjane Satrapi (voice) Italian voice-over
2009 Turtle: The Incredible Journey Narrator (voice) Italian voice-over
2009 The Ladies Get Their Say Sofia
2009 La fisica dell'acqua Giulia Direct-to-video film
2010 Men vs. Women Chiara
2011 Women vs. Men Chiara
2011 Cars 2 Holley Shiftwell (voice) Italian voice-over
2011 Escort in Love Alice Bottini
2011 Some Say No Irma Camuzzo
2014 A Boss in the Living Room Cristina D'Avola/ Carmela Cimmaruta
2014 Sotto una buona stella Luisa Tombolini
2014 Do You See Me? Serena Bruno
2015 Wondrous Boccaccio Usimbalda
2015 The Little Prince Mother (voice) Italian voice-over
2015 The Last Will Be the Last Luciana Colacci
2016 Qualcosa di nuovo Lucia
2017 Mom or Dad? Valeria Mozzati
2017 Like a Cat on a Highway Monica
2018 The Legend of the Christmas Witch The Witch
2018 Early Man Goona (voice) Italian voice-over
2019 Detective per caso Inspector Bellamore
2019 Don't Stop Me Now Giovanna Salvatori
2020 Figli Sara
2020 Soul 22 Italian voice-over
2021 Like a Cat on a Highway 2 Monica
2022 Marcel! Jewels seller Cameo appearance
2023 There's Still Tomorrow Delia Also director and co-writer
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Maria Montessori: Una vita per i bambini Maria Montessori Miniseries
2010 Le cose che restano Nora 4 episodes
2020–present Petra Petra Delicato Lead role

Writings

  • Gianluca Maria Tavarelli; Paola Cortellesi; Massimo Poggio; Gianmarco Tognazzi, Alberto Cracco (2006). Maria Montessori: [una] vita per i bambini. Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: Taodue. OCLC 819807992. (both a book and a film)

References

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