Queen of Hearts

MONICA BELLUCCI AND ISABELLA ROSSELLINI ARE MUSES OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS. THE ITALIAN ICONS MEET TO RETRACE THEIR LONG AND WINDING CAREERS.

By Megan Hullander

Every piece of Monica Bellucci belongs to Italy. She’s shaped by the films of Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, and Luchino Visconti that she watched in her youth. She’s shaped by her mother and her grandmother—their aesthetic sensibilities, which informed her own iconic look. She’s shaped by the rural landscapes of her home in Città di Castello and the easy, untroubled attitude of Rome.

Monica mostly lives in Paris now, but she’s as Italian as ever. It’s the same for Isabella Rossellini, who designed her Long Island farm like a piazza, built to foster the community central to its work; her children have been taught her native language, and, in true Mediterranean spirit, have settled down close by.

Though synonymous with Italian glamor, Monica and Isabella are understood as quintessential muses worldwide: their beauty inspiring the filmmakers and photographers who capture them, the designers who create for them, and the women who yearn to emulate them. It’s their charisma, really, that make the pair iconic, allowing Monica to seamlessly leap from the runway to arthouse cinema to theater. She’s taken on a biblical thriller as Mary Magdalene, action-adventure as a Bond girl, operatic memoir as Maria Callas, and soon, fantasy horror as the titular character’s wife in Tim Burton’s forthcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Isabella, in the same vein, is just as alluring in front of the lenses of Richard Avedon and Annie Liebovitz and Robert Mapplethorpe as she is acting out insect mating rituals for her short film series Green Porno.

Longtime friends, the two reconnect by phone, reflecting on family, film, and femininity.

MONICA BELLUCCI: Do you still have family in Italy, Isabella?

ISABELLA ROSSELLINI: I have my brothers and sister in America, and I have an older brother that lives in Paris. But I don’t really go much to Italy anymore.

MB: It’s different, because all my family is in Italy and I have so many friends there. I’m really, really close to Italy. But what I love about a big city—like Paris, where I live—is that it’s so international and there is a good quality of life. It reminds me of Italy. But there is not one city in Italy that is like Paris. I really find my balance living between Rome and Paris.

IR: I think because we both had international careers it was easier for us to operate out of London, Paris, or New York rather than Rome or Milan.

MB: Yes, but for fashion, Milan is one of the centers. Milan is much more of an international city than Rome, but what I like about Rome is this peaceful atmosphere. When you go to Rome, you have this feeling of well-being. It is a city that relaxes me. There is this romance everywhere. So once in a while, I really need to go to Rome. The light and the beauty of Rome is unique, as well as its history and architecture.

IR: I was born in Italy, and I knew it was beautiful, but I only really realized the depths of that beauty now that I live in the United States. I see that Rome is an exceptionally beautiful city and really wonderful to walk around. But I was more encouraged in America to take a lot of initiatives career-wise. For example, I was a model, I was a film director, I did theater, I have a farm, I’m running a business. I had my own cosmetic house when Lancôme asked me to go. I think all of this is very American because in Europe, especially in Italy, there is this fare la bella figura [mindset] about impressing people... Whereas the Americans are predatorial. They do things and if they don’t work, it doesn’t matter—they do something else. I think there is a busyness I have acquired from living in America.

MB: Italy is a small country but there is such a strong identity. And there is so much going on now. Things are moving differently. When I speak to young people today, they travel a lot. I remember, when I was a young model, I didn’t have the chance to meet many Italian models because they didn’t like to travel. They liked the family and the boyfriend. And they used to say to me, “How can you live in Paris by yourself?” Or, “How can you travel like that by yourself?” But now things have completely changed.

IR: There are a lot of Italian models now, it’s true. When I worked as a model, there was only Benedetta Barzini, then me, and then you.

MB: We did that beautiful Dolce & Gabbana campaign together. You remeMB:er, in New York?

IR: Yes, that was really one of my favorites—and, I think, one of Dolce & Gabbana’s best. I was in Rome and I went to an art gallery where there was a book of paparazzi photos, which I bought for Steven [Meisel] and myself because I thought we could be inspired by it. Then Steven used the book to reconstruct the campaign. This is how we met, our first time modeling for Domenico and Stefano.

MB: Yes, and it was great. Then we did the fashion show together in Rome. I remeMB:er that was a beautiful moment, too.

IR: Fashion has been a very important factor in both our careers. Not only are we actresses, but we are also models—and I think I might love modeling even more than acting. Richard Avedon used to tell me that modeling is a little bit like being a silent movie star because you don’t have a dialogue, but you do have to show emotion. Anybody photographed without emotion is just sitting there. The photo has no glamor, no life. So I think Avedon was right.

MB: He was, but at the same time, the picture is static and the movie is movement. Photography is absolutely one of the most important forms of art.

IR: But when you pose, you still have to move. I also liked modeling because of my family—because it was a lesser commitment, you know. You could go on a photo shoot for three days and then you could come home to attend to your children. A film was a much harder conflict as a mother with a big career, because sometimes films request that you go away for two months, three months. I loved modeling because of the creativity and the fantasy, and for very practical reasons, too.

MB: You’re right. When you have kids, it is a bit complicated to organize the time. I try to work less or make space between one film and another because then I have the chance to stay a longer time with my family. Of course, being a mother, your priorities change naturally.

IR: I am the daughter of a professional actress—a famous actress, Ingrid Bergman—and she had the same problem. I often asked myself, Did I miss Mama when I was a little girl? And I did miss her, but not enough for me not to become an actress. I also felt that we had a lot of fun. And I thought, I want to have as much fun as my mama did. Did your mother work or was she a mother by profession?

MB: I was so lucky. I come from a classical Italian family. My father was working but not my mother. I actually would have loved sometimes if she was working, but she was with me most of the time, and today I thank her for all the time and care she gave me.

IR: The fun I saw my mother having and her relationships working with people seemed so interesting. I wasn’t really dreaming of being famous. I was dreaming of having the same kind of friendships that I saw my mother having, and being involved in creating characters. It seemed like grown-up playing. I remember my mom used to say, “I can’t believe they’re paying me to do something I love so much. I would do it for free!” And I remember thinking, Don’t say that too loud!

MB: It’s beautiful that your mother was so passionate about her work. And I think it’s the same for my two daughters Deva and Leonie—they naturally have an artistic sensitivity. I’m so happy when I see that they are happy. They love what they do and they are full of passion. We are very lucky that we had the possibility to do something that we love.

IR: Which brings us to old-age beauty. I’m older than you, much more.

MB: Not much more. Beauty is about soul, and soul has no age.

IR: But you do not look the age you are. I always say that like it’s slightly a compliment, but also slightly an insult because [not to look your age] would mean something is wrong. We are alive! But you do not look like you’re 60. So, how is it to become old since we were both icons of beauty? First of all, I have to say that I didn’t grow up saying, I’m going to be an icon of beauty. It is not a job description. It just…

MB: …happened. But you are.

IR: It’s something that happened that you don’t really work for. So it’s luck. It is like winning the lottery. You just say, “Oh, thank you so much.” But you can’t really plan it. So when it went away, I was just grateful that I had been beautiful. It’s something that lingers even when you’re old.

MB: I remember a commercial you did for a perfume. You were walking, and you were looking at the camera, and everything was full of emotion. It was much more than just advertising. We could feel your femininity and sensuality that was coming from the inside.

IR: It’s an art.

MB: Yes, but I think what you had, Isabella, you still have today. It is something sweet, something feminine, something warm. These are all things that come out from you. And this is beauty.

IR: Thank you so much. I have to say the same thing about you. You’re iconic. You exude a warm air. Every time I meet with you, I feel that warmth because it’s your personality. It exudes out of you and your physical form; which is beautiful. You can have the perfect nose or the perfect mouth, but if you are cold or bitter, the camera will register that. The camera sees beyond the physical form, it sees something of your character, of your intimacy.

MB: Years ago, I met your daughter when she was a very young girl. I think I was pregnant with Deva at the time. Her attitude and the way she expressed herself were very Mediterranean; I was very surprised, because she did not live in Italy. Her kindness reminds me of your sweetness.

IR: As mothers, we are often asked for advice by other mothers who have a beautiful daughter solicited into modeling, and I always say to accompany them to the shoot, at least until they are 16 years old. Or until they make some friends. I think it’s so important for someone to be with you on set. Because you’re young, and people dress you up to look like an adult woman, but you’re not. So you’re very intimidated. And it can be an unpleasant moment. People can forget that they are in front of a child.

MB: You’re right. You are so shy at that age and don’t have much experience, so they need their parent’s protection.

IR: Tell me, Monica, about this new role that you played. I follow your career, and I was fascinated by the fact that you played Maria Callasin that beautiful play [Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs]. What attracted you to play somebody that everybody knows?

MB: This challenging project came to me. Maria Callas represented a moment: In Italy during the ’50s, most women still lived a domestic reality, yet she was independent, traveling and making her own money. She really represented a new era. This is a woman that fought for her freedom. Maria Callas divorced in a moment when divorce was forbidden. She was an incredible woman, so when this proposal came to me from the director Tom Volf, I was so happy to perform the play in theaters for three years around the world.

IR Were you afraid of the stage in comparison to a movie?

MB: I was very afraid. But certainly, it was at the same time an amazing experience. You did the same with your monologues.

IR: Yes, I write my own monologues but I don’t play celebrities or icons. I found, when I became older, there was less work as a model and as an actress. I always loved animal behavior, which is a science called ethology. So when the children were grown up and going to college, I went back to university and took a masters degree in ethology and conservation and started my farm. I have so much joy following my curiosity, which is not limited to fashion or characters in films or in the theater.

MB: What I like about Callas is her duality. She had an immense talent, yet she was a woman with a simple heart. She died of sadness, of a broken heart. So that duality was interesting to play. It was really an experience for me. Three years in theater was an enriching experience, and also very strong because the relation with the public is so direct. There is something artisanal in the process of creating a show that is sincere. But at the same time, sometimes I fought with my shyness.

IR Yes, me too. Sometimes my heart beats so fast before entering the stage that I say to myself, “Can I really continue to do this?” Maybe in a few years, I will die of a heart attack behind the curtain. Ladies and gentlemen, this show cannot go on! The fear is immense.

For the first 10 minutes, my heart is beating a hundred miles per hour, but then I come down. The more I concentrate, the more I am in character and the easier it is. But it is hard to do. It’s like being Muhammad Ali. For those two hours you are onstage you need immense concentration and immense physical effort. Also what I find very hard is the traveling. Sometimes it’s nice to be in a new city; you can visit a museum, a monument, or a friend you haven’t seen. But sometimes it’s very lonely, especially working on monologues because you don’t have any actor friends onstage with you.

MB: You know what is so beautiful—when we love something, we take risks. And onstage, you cannot afford to make any mistakes. This sensation during one to two hours with the public, where we breathe the same emotion, is just magical.

IR: We are very lucky. I think that’s the great beauty of growing old. When I was young, I had so many things that my work had to answer for. I wanted to be financially independent and not depend on my family or a husband. I had to prove that I could be a mother and have a career. I had to prove so many things. As you grow older, you have to prove less because, hopefully, you have some money put aside. I have a pension. I have satisfied a lot of my questions with answers. Yes, I can make it. I’m financially able to stand on my own two feet. So I concentrate more on the things that I love and what I want to do before I die.

In my experience, although you might lose your beauty, you acquire a lot of freedom from things that used to require enormous courage. It was much harder, for instance, to go to school when I was young. I wanted to impress the professor and if I got a bad note or mark I would cry. When you’re an adult, you just say, “Well, I didn’t understand this part. But it doesn’t matter.” You move on. There is a lightness of being as you become older that is never discussed. With the wrinkles and the loss of beauty comes more freedom and lightness, and that’s what I like about growing old.

MB: Even though time inevitably passes, I think it is already a blessing to get older. Maturity has its own beauty, but it is also important that the child that still remains inside of us stays alive to continue enjoying every moment. At the same time, it’s appreciable to become a spectator instead of an actor in this life.

IR What do you dream of now, Monica? Where do you find the most inspiration? For me, old age brings new chapters, and there is a freedom to say, “If I don’t do this now, I will have missed doing it. So let’s do a farm. Let’s experiment with that.”

MB: What I like about my work is that everything is unpredictable. There are things that come up, and I don’t know what they are going to be. I might have a phone call tonight or tomorrow, and I might be offered a movie or something that I don’t expect. Then I have the freedom to say whether I want to do it or not. We have the choice because we know what is essential in our lives today.

IR: Right. Especially now, with age, we know what is essential. For example, we’ve set some money aside to grow old without asking our children to support us, so we are also more tranquil in that sense. For me, financial independence was essential because my parents were very known, but we had no money. Everybody thinks that fame is connected with money, but not always.

MB: Women today have learned that one of the most important things is to be financially independent to preserve and protect their freedom.