Monica Bellucci made her screen debut in the 1990 Italian television film ‘Vita coi figli’ directed by Dino Risi. In 1991, she made her first big-screen appearance in the Francesco Laudadio-directed Italian comedy-drama film ‘The Raffle’ where she played the role of ‘Francesca.’ She next starred in the 1992 American Gothic horror film ‘Bram Stoker's Dracula’ directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film was praised by critics and received 4 ‘Academy Award’ nominations. It was also a major box office success and grossed over $215.9 million on a budget of $40 million. She went on to star in films like ‘Briganti – Amore e libertà’ (1994), ‘I mitici – Colpo gobbo a Milano’ (1994), ‘Palla di neve’ (1995), ‘Il cielo è sempre più blu’ (1995), ‘L'Appartement’ (1996), ‘Dobermann’ (1997), ‘Come mi vuoi’ (1997), ‘Kaputt Mundi’ (1998), ‘A los que aman’ (1998), and ‘Comme un poisson hors de l'eau’ (1999). In 2000, she starred as ‘Chantal Hearst’ in the American-French thriller film ‘Under Suspicion’ directed by Stephen Hopkins. The film holds a 49% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, she also portrayed ‘Malèna Scordia’ in the Giuseppe Tornatore-directed erotic comedy-drama film ‘Malèna.’ The film grossed over $14.4 million at the box office. The following year, she appeared in the French period action horror film ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ directed by Christophe Gans. The film garnered praise from critics and grossed over $70.7 million on a $29 million budget.
Bellucci next played the role of ‘Cleopatra’ in the 2002 Alain Chabat-directed French/Italian fantasy comedy film ‘Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.’ The film performed well at the box office, grossing over $128 million on a budget of $58.5 million. In 2003, she portrayed ‘Persephone’ in the American science-fiction action film ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ directed by The Wachowskis. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a major financial success, grossing over $741.8 million on a $127–150 million budget. She next starred in films like ‘The Matrix Revolutions’ (2003), ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004), ‘She Hate Me’ (2004), ‘How Much Do You Love Me?’ (2005), ‘Sheitan’ (2006), ‘Napoleon and Me’ (2006), ‘Shoot 'Em Up’ (2007), ‘Sanguepazzo’ (2008), ‘Ne te retourne pas’ (2009), ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee’ (2009), ‘The Sorcerer's Apprentice’ (2010), ‘Un été brûlant’ (2011), ‘Rhino Season’ (2012), ‘Des gens qui s'embrassent’ (2013), and ‘The Wonders’ (2014). In 2015, she played the role of ‘Lucia Sciarra’ in the Sam Mendes-directed spy film ‘Spectre.’ It was the twenty-fourth installment in the James Bond series and received a mixed response from critics upon release. Nevertheless, it managed to gross over $880.7 million on a $245–300 million budget.
She was next seen in films such as ‘On the Milky Road’ (2016), ‘Nekrotronic’ (2018), ‘The Best Years of a Life’ (2019), ‘Spider in the Web’ (2019), ‘The Man Who Sold His Skin’ (2020), ‘La Befana vien di notte II - Le origini’ (2021), and ‘Memory’ (2022). She was last seen in the 2022 Italian apocalyptic comedy film ‘Dry’ directed by Paolo Virzì. The film saw its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
