Models From Italy

"Sequels are always made for purely commercial reasons, i.e. to allow producers to make more money. However, they are extremely damaging to an artist's career."

"She makes Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple."

"(About Marilyn Monroe) When we met, the first thing she told me was that they called her the American Gina Lollobrigida. She was surprisingly modest, and I immediately liked her."

"What makes me angry is that they have always tried to take something away from women, and this continues today. It is always men who move forward and women who are always one step behind, and this is not fair. We should have a little equality."

"A beautiful woman, even at seventy, is a beautiful woman, damn it, and if she has talent, you have to admit it, not despise the beautiful woman."

"There is less emotion in cinema today. There are stories that unfold in a setting of absolute futurism, and when I see them, I change the channel. In Italian cinema, when it was number one in the world, and that's what I was lucky enough to do, there was more emotion. People would watch a film and identify with it, they would cry and get emotional. There was something in the films that touched our emotions."

"(About acting) I think a little training is good, but I also believe that instinct is what wins out."

"I wasn't passionate about cinema. I did it to help my family. We were displaced in Rome and needed to eat. Those were the years when actors were picked up off the street. Some people stopped me as I was leaving school and asked me if I wanted to be in films, and I said no, that I wasn't interested. Then they offered me a thousand lire a day, and that convinced me to become an actress."

"[Which recognition do you value most?] The four stamps that San Marino had printed with my face on them. It's a privilege reserved for kings and queens."

"(About the reasons for her marriage to Milko Skofic) Well, there was a reason... I had a misadventure, like many women. There was a wretch who took advantage of me, a footballer from Lazio. He drugged me, I was a virgin... What was I going to report him for? In those days... Now he's dead. I tried to convince myself that nothing had happened, but you don't forget something like that. Afterwards, I got together with Milko. It wasn't that he wanted to marry me, I wanted to, to have a normal life, I felt ruined... It was certainly a marriage of convenience on his part. He played tennis and counted money, that's all he did. When it became legal to do so, I divorced him."

"Gossip only lasts a few days, it dies down very quickly and the truth prevails once again."

"Siempre voto comunista."

"Raffaella Carrà was one of the symbols of Italian television, perhaps its most beloved personality. She will be missed by millions of viewers who loved her for her style and by all those who, like me, had the opportunity to know her and work with her. I loved her very much. With her programmes, she was able to speak to very different generations, having the ability to always keep up with the times and never resorting to vulgarity."

"I would like to know why I, raised by a single mother, couldn't have a child as a single woman! I even thought about becoming Spanish."

"I'm glad I didn't get big-headed, I have a lot of self-irony. You have to be at peace with yourself to do this job."

"Mina was not, but she is. Mina did not “leave a mark”, but she leaves one every day. [4]"

"(About Mina) When I was asked to celebrate her birthday, I thought about the value of the present and the past, and I realised that the imperfect or recent past tenses are not suitable for her. The right tense is the present indicative."

"I will die without knowing. On my tombstone, I will write: ‘Why did gay people like me so much?’[3]"

"My mother revealed what they found so extraordinary about my belly button: "They like it because it's a Bolognese belly button.""

"About Valerio Staffelli Working with dad was fantastic, the best thing in the world is having him by your side. I don't know about the future, I'm still young. Dad, he always told me to "fly low and learn what you want to do"."

"Io conosco realmente il mio percorso, mi rendo conto che a volte il pregiudizio sia difficile da allontanare, anche perché è umano, ma penso che prima di giudicare una persona debba conoscere, e sono consapevole che non si può sempre piacere a tutti. Poi, sono apertissima alle critiche costruttive."

"I really know my path, I realize that sometimes prejudice is difficult to remove, also because it is human, but I think that before judging a person you have to know, and I am aware that you can't always please everyone. Then, I am very open to constructive criticism."

"Ho iniziato a cantare, ballare, suonare la chitarra e a studiare recitazione. I miei genitori mi hanno sempre incoraggiato. Mi hanno anche messo in guardia sulle difficoltà del settore, raccomandandosi: "Studia, studia, studia. Vai avanti e credici". Prima di entrare in studio dico una preghiera. Credo in Dio e nelle energie: nelle buone vibrazioni che mi trasmettono il mio staff e il pubblico a casa. Dopo la diretta mangio."

"I started singing, dancing, playing the guitar and studying acting. My parents always encouraged me. They also warned me about the difficulties of the sector, recommending: "Study, study, study. Go ahead and believe it." Before entering the studio I say a prayer. I believe in God and in energies: in the good vibrations that my staff and the audience at home send to me. After the live broadcast I eat."

"I never used my last name, I arrived in the team little by little. As a young girl I went to my father's office, I was in contact with the authors, I could ask and understand how to write a project, how to create a format. I had this privilege of being able to see how a father's job is done, as happens to the son of a lawyer or dentist. I got my golden token after several years of sacrifice, study and work. I don't have a degree, but after graduating I wanted to immediately get involved and as a self-taught I studied what could be useful to me."

"About Cesara Buonamici She is a professional of the highest level. She is a journalist and you can immediately understand: she is someone who wants to know, to know, to arrive immediately; her and is in perfect position."

"Alfonso was a discovery! I knew who he was, but from a human and professional point of view he is a master of excellence. He really impressed me with how, with serenity, professionalism and devotion towards the public, he managed everything in an incredible way."

"In my private life, certainly, there is health, first and foremost, love, family and friends. These are the fantastic four for me. For my career, however, the voice because it's all based on communication. I communicate on the radio, from the stage that is my strong point. I would have loved to work with Anne Hathaway in Lo stagista inaspettato or The Devil Wears Prada. As a child I was so obsessed, I saw it so many times that I then played with my friends to "play" The Devil Wears Prada, to reinterpret the protagonists. Plus I'm also fond of fashion. I'm honestly happy that there is a generational change. I am a new recruit and therefore I am always available for new experiences."

"She is not only beautiful, but she is intelligent, dynamic and sincere. Every time I saw her, she asked me how the Tibetan cause was going! Moreover, Nicolas Sarkozy is the only French president who met me face to face, perhaps thanks to Carla, who understands Tibetan spirituality."

"What bothers me about ageing is the tiredness, feeling less physically strong. As for aesthetics, I preferred being twenty, but I feel sorry for the crazy battle against age. Besides, I had so many beautiful photos, beautiful moments when I was young, I used my body to the fullest. Obviously, I take care of myself, I'm careful, but more for my health."

"Image is the fracture of contemporaneity. Rereading the myth of Narcissus as an adult, you understand that he dies not because he loves his image, but because he prefers his image to himself. I am convinced that our individual relationship with our image is quickly established in childhood: what is this reflection for you? It is you. Do you accept yourself as you are? OK. But usually we are disappointed or vain, because we are divided: half of us are animals, half of us feel like God."

"Communication works like this: the image of a woman today is that her power is control, but it is a suggestion, it is like showing a beautiful photo."

"I feel as French as I do Italian. Today, my life is in France, but my heart, my roots and my culture belong equally to both countries, and I am proud to have dual nationality. My greatest joy, but also my greatest dilemma, would be if France and Italy met again in the World Cup final."

"My role attracts media attention. Attention that I hope to direct towards important causes, which unfortunately still attract little interest. I hope to draw the public's attention to those who fight exemplarily every day to improve the lives of others. The more visible their work is, the more it will be supported by the general public, and the more likely they will be to obtain the necessary means to continue and develop their activities."

"The unique position I find myself in thanks to my marriage gives me the opportunity to meet people I would never have met otherwise, to give a voice to those who do not have one, and to draw public attention to causes that are close to my heart. It is a unique opportunity that I do not want to pass up."

"I was fortunate enough to grow up healthy, in a privileged and artistic environment. I would like to be able to pass on some of this good fortune to those who have not been so lucky. The fight against AIDS is a cause I have supported for many years. The fashion world in which I worked was severely affected by this disease and mobilised from the outset."

"Human beings cannot be faithful. I take what men believe to be their biological right and, if I feel like it, I go with someone else. I give him the image of fidelity, the same that I demand from him."

"I always calculate everything, everything I am I have studied at my desk. I control myself, always."

"I can't stand discos: they are full of smoke and people jumping around and going there to pick someone up."

"I am a materialist, I am not interested in ideals, and men who are too intense scare me."

"I am proud of my bottom. It is difficult for a white woman to achieve such perfection. And I find that the bottom is very important in contemporary sensuality. It is sexy and modern. And practical. Unlike large breasts, which are old-fashioned and uncomfortable."

"First, I am a Sarkozy supporter. [...] I am an ultra-Sarkozy supporter. [...] I am no longer, at all, on the left."

"I was part of an artistic community. We were bohemians, we were left-wing, but at that time I was voting in Italy. I have never voted for the left in France, and I can tell you, I'm not about to start now. I don't really feel left-wing anymore. There have been certain events, certain comments, particularly following the Polanski-Mitterrand affair. I heard socialist leaders saying the same things as those from the National Front. That really shocked me.""

"That was America in 1992! So Obama's arrival is obviously a source of immense joy. For me, for everyone who loves America. For all French people, including one whom I know quite well. I know how hopeful we all are, full of expectations. On the contrary, when I hear Silvio Berlusconi taking the event lightly and joking that Obama is “always tanned”, it strikes me as odd. You could put it down to humour... But often, I am very happy to have become French!"

"We spent several days in South Carolina for a photo shoot. But Naomi Campbell and I always had lunch in our caravan, even though there was a good restaurant nearby. When I asked why, they told me that Naomi would never be allowed in because she was black. Seeing Obama win was therefore a source of immense joy."

"Royal. I don't really like him, but I will always vote for the left, as my parents have always done."

"My life has been, and is, full of experiences, a life that we can define as intense. I could say that perhaps I have lived three lives in one, having done so many things, and there are certainly many that I still want to do."

"I must say that all the things that have happened in my life have happened almost by chance. I was a gymnast, then one day I was seen and chosen by the biggest modeling agent John Casablanca, founder of the Elite Model Management agency, who instantly catapulted me onto catwalks around the world. I immediately had the opportunity to model for the most important fashion designers, until I arrived in Japan. At just 17 years old, after graduating, I was already modeling as a model and was much appreciated in particular for my face which has somewhat Asian facial features, with upturned eyes. From there I did my first important advertising campaign as a testimonial for Shiseido and that was the opportunity for my real launch as a top model."

"I was welcomed very well by the Italians when I arrived, because I was chosen for the role of Valentina. Imagine that the decision to choose me as the protagonist fell on me, after seeing well over five thousand women who auditioned. Of course I was nervous, but the staff and the entire production knew how to put me at ease and I immediately felt integrated. I certainly remember that she was very emotional."

"Up to now you have almost always played the role of the daughter of, primarily for reasons of age. But do you think that Italian fiction and cinema should rejuvenate the teen story, along the lines of the American example? In Italy we often stop at the character of the son because we tend to look at the world of children with an adult eye. Instead, we should reverse the perspective, which is what allowed the Americans and the British to conceive series such as Euphoria, Tredici, Sex Education."