Ornella Muti | |
---|---|
![]() Muti in 2000 | |
Born | Francesca Romana Rivelli 9 March 1955 Rome, Italy |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1970–present |
Spouse(s) |
Alessio Orano
(m. 1975; div. 1981)Federico Fachinetti
(m. 1988; div. 1996) |
Partner | Fabrice Kerhervé |
Children | 3; including Naike Rivelli |
Ornella Muti (born Francesca Romana Rivelli; 9 March 1955) is an Italian actress. She made her film debut as Francesca Cimarosa in the 1970 film La moglie più bella.
Muti was born in Rome to a Neapolitan journalist father and Ilse Renate Krause, a Baltic German sculptor from Estonia. Her maternal grandparents emigrated from Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) to Estonia.[1]
Muti modeled as a teenager and made her film debut in the 1970 film La moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife).[2] She has primarily worked in Italian films but made her English-speaking film debut as Princess Aura in Flash Gordon in 1980.[2] American movies she appeared in include Love and Money (1982), Casanova (1987), Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1989), A Season of Giants (1990), Oscar (1991), Once Upon a Crime (1992), Somewhere in the City (1998) and To Rome with Love (2012).[2]
In 1999 she insured her breasts for $350,000.[3]
In 2008, Muti introduced her own line of jewellery and subsequently opened several shops around the world.[4]
In 2015, the Italian court of Pordenone sentenced her to eight months in prison for having cancelled a theatrical performance following a health problem, which did not prevent her from participating in a social dinner with Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg in December 2010. She avoided prison by paying the sum of 30,000 euros to the Verdi theater as compensation.[5]
Muti has been married twice, first to Alessio Orano (a fellow actor in The Most Beautiful Wife), from 1975 to 1981.[2] She was married, secondly, to Federico Fachinetti, from 1988 to 1996.[2] Muti has three children: Naike Rivelli (born 1974), a fashion model, singer, and actress; a son, Andrea, and a second daughter, Carolina, both from her marriage to Fachinetti.[2]
In 1994, she became a resident of Monaco.[6]
On February 1, 2022, the actress announced that she would like to obtain Russian citizenship. She told TASS: "It would be nice for me to get citizenship, because it is part of my culture associated with my mother. She died this year, and it would be a gift for her."[7]
In July 2022, Muti was criticised by the far right for supporting the legalisation of cannabis in Italy.[8]
Title | Year | Role | Original network | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Hitchhiker | 1986 | Sister Theresa | HBO | Episode: "True Believer" |
Casanova | 1987 | Henriette | ABC | Television film |
A Season of Giants | 1989 | Onoria | Rai 1 | Television film |
Il Grande Fausto | 1994 | Giulia Occhini | Rai 1 | Miniseries |
L'avvocato Porta | 1997 | Chiara | Canale 5 | Main role (season 1); 4 episodes |
The Count of Monte Cristo | 1998 | Mercedes Iguanada | TF1 | Miniseries |
Esther | 1999 | Vashti | Rai 1 | Television film |
Lo zio d'America | 2002 | Maria Monticelli | Rai 1 | Main role (season 1); 8 episodes |
Chi l'avrebbe mai detto | 2006 | Emma | Rai 1 | Miniseries |
Il sangue e la rosa | 2008 | Barbara Forleis | Canale 5 | Main role |
Doc West | 2009 | Debra Downing | Canale 5 | Television film |
Sirene | 2017 | Ingrid | Rai 1 | Main role; 6 episodes |