Mediterranean actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno grew up in Rome, then entered formal dramatic studies under the aegis of the legendary Peter Brook at his Paris-based International Center of Theatre Research. Early roles waxed exclusively continental, so that Mezzogiorno's work in projects including Il Viaggio Della Sposa (1997), Un Uomo Perbene (1999), and Nobel (2001) did little to carry her beyond Adriatic borders. A few pivotal crossover efforts, however, began to reverse this trend, notably Cristina Comencini's Don't Tell (2005) -- a child abuse-themed #92;drama that received positive critical notices thanks largely to Mezzogiorno's evocation of post-incest trauma -- and director Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), with Mezzogiorno as the sole female member of a South American love triangle that also includes Javier Bardem and Liev Schreiber. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Family
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Father: Vittorio Mezzogiorno. Died when Giovanna was 19
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Mother: Cecilia Stacchi.
Significant Others
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Companion: Stefano Accorsi. Acted together in Gabriele Muccino’s “L ultimo bacio” (2001)
Milestones
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1995 Made her stage debut with the role of Ofelia in “Qui est là,” based on Shakespeare s “Hamlet”
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1997 Made film debut in “Il viaggio della sposa / The Bride s Journey” written by and starring Sergio Rubini
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1998 Acted in Michele Placido s “Del perduto amor”
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2001 Appeared with Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich in the TV miniseries, “Les Misérables” (aired in France and the U.S.)
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2001 Starred in Gabriele Muccino’s “L ultimo bacio / The Last Kiss” alongside Stefano Accorsi
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2002 Starred in the movie “Il più crudele dei giorni,” as Italian journalist Ilaria Alpi who had been killed in Somalia in mysterious circumstances; earned a Silver Ribbon for the role
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2003 Starred in Ferzan Ozpetek s “La finestra di fronte / Facing Windows”
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2005 Starred in the Oscar nominated “La Bestia nel Cuore / The Beast in the Heart” by director Cristina Comencini
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2007 Starred alongside Spanish actor Javier Bardem and American actor Benjamin Bratt, in Mike Newell s film adaptation of “Love in the Time of Cholera” based on the novel by Gabriel García Márquez
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Worked for two years in Paris in Peter Brook s theater laboratory