Paola Cortellesi
Paola Cortellesi (born 24 November 1973 in Rome) is an Italian actress, singer, voice actress, and presenter. She has starred in about 20 movies as well as a number of theatrical shows, television shows, and radio shows.
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Born | Rome, Italy | 24 November 1973
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1999–present |
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 San Remo 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 e 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.
Cortellesi married director Riccardo Milani on 1 October 2011. The couple have a daughter, Laura, born 24 January 2013.
Filmography
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Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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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 |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Maria Montessori: Una vita per i bambini | Maria Montessori | Miniseries |
2010 | Le cose che restano | Nora | 4 episodes |
2020 | Petra | TBA | Upcoming television series |
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 – via archive.is. (both a book and a film)
References
- Cortellesi, escort (imbranata) per caso
- "Premio Anima". Archived from the original on 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
- Mina: La migliore a Sanremo è Paola Cortellesi