Actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta was born 54 years ago in Messina, Sicily, is married and has a daughter. She is also an ex-model and film producer.
After graduating in her teens, Maria Grazia travelled to Milan to try her luck in modelling. In 1987, she took part in the Miss Italia beauty contest and from there was noticed by an Italian singer Renzo Arbore, who chose her to be his assistant in a TV show.
Two years later, she appeared in the video of singer Zucchero’s song ‘Diamante’. During the 90s, she starred in several Italian movies of different genres, in particular ‘Il Postino’ in 1994, alongside late actor Massimo Troisi, who chose her himself. Thanks to this film she became a star, not just in Italy but also internationally.
In 2005, she co-produced her first movie ‘All the Invisible Children’. For the rest of the 2000s, Cucinotta starred in a TV mini-series, acted in several movies and appeared as a guest in some TV shows. She even had voice roles for a couple of cartoon series.
During her career, Maria Grazia starred in over 50 movies and more than 15 TV programmes, as well as theatrical productions and music videos. In 2010, she received the Italy-USA Foundation America Award.