Alessandra Martines (born 19 September 1963) is an Italian French dancer and actress mainly working in the English, French and Italian speaking-worlds.[1][2][3][4] She started young in ballet on opera stages in Switzerland, France, the United States and then Italy before becoming a lead on television for RAI captured ballets and entertainment shows (the Italian national public broadcasting) in the eighties.[5]
Alessandra Martines | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 September 1963 Rome, Italy |
| Education | Conservatoire de Paris |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Cyril Descours (2008–2018) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | https://www.alessandramartines.com/ |
She is primarily known for portraying the main role in the cult Fantaghirò series, consisting of five films (1991–1996) still regularly re-run across Europe as of 2020, and for her work in auteur productions such as nine films by Claude Lelouch to whom she was married until 2009.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
She was awarded numerous prizes including the Best Actress Telegatto for The Cave of the Golden Rose (1991),[17] the Grolla d'oro for Edda (2005),[18][19] the Silver Hugo for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival (1998) for Chance or Coincidence, the Diamanti al Cinema Award in Cannes (2007)[20] or the 2009 European Golden Globe in Rome.[21] In 2008, she was made Knight of the Ordre national du Mérite awarded by the President of the French Republic.[22] She received the lifetime achievement Kineo Award at the 71st Venice International Film Festival in 2014.[23]
Early life
Second cousin of Carla Bruni and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi,[24][25][26] she moved to France with her family at the age of five. As a teenager, she enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris where she studied solfeggio, history and theory of dance and classical music and dance.[27]
Career
Martines debuted at a young age as a dancer at the Zurich Opera House in 1972.[28] After some time working in the United States, including the Chicago City Ballet, she moved to Rome where she worked at the Teatro dell'Opera.[28] In 1985 she began her collaboration with RAI, with the lunchtime chat / quiz show Pronto, chi gioca?; she later gained great popularity with the Saturday Night shows Fantastico and Europa Europa, and then for her portrayal of Princess Fantaghirò in the Fantaghirò series.[28]
In cinema, she is best known for her interpretations under the direction of her ex-husband, the French director Claude Lelouch, in several film including Les Misérables and And now... Ladies and Gentlemen. She also starred on stage, most notably in L'appartamento by Franca Valeri.[28]
Personal life
Martines has a daughter with Claude Lelouch to whom she was married between 1995 and 2009. In 2012, at the age of 49, she had a son with her partner Cyril Descours.[29]
Stage
Dancer
| Year | Company | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Ballett Zürich | Patricia Neary |
| 1975 | New York City Ballet | George Balanchine |
| - | Chicago Ballet | Maria Tallchief & Paul Mejia |
| - | Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Fedra (Mayr) & Carmen) | Maïa Plissetskaïa |
| - | Opéra de Marseille | Roland Petit |
| Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi | Roland Petit |
Theatre
| Year | Play | Playwright | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 | Adriana Lecouvreur | An opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play Adrienne Lecouvreur by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. | Mauro Bolognini |
| 1988–1989 | The Apartment | Billy Wilder | Franca Valeri |
| 2016 | Lady Windermere's Fan | Oscar Wilde - Mrs. Erlynne | Jean-Luc Revol - Théâtre Tête d'or / France national tour: September 3 - December 31, 2016. |
Filmography
Cinema
| Year | Film | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Miss Arizona | Marta | Pál Sándor |
| 1989 | Sinbad of the Seven Seas | Alina | Enzo G. Castellari, Luigi Cozzi |
| Saremo felici | Jole | Gianfrancesco Lazotti | |
| Passi d'amore | Elisa | Sergio Sollima | |
| 1993 | Tout ça... pour ça! | Allessandra Barrucq | Claude Lelouch |
| 1995 | Les Misérables | Elise Ziman | Claude Lelouch |
| 1996 | Men, Women: A User's Manual | Doctor Nitez | Claude Lelouch |
| 1998 | Chance or Coincidence | Miriam Lini | Claude Lelouch |
| 1999 | One 4 All | Maxime | Claude Lelouch |
| 2001 | Day Off | Francesca Socoa | Pascal Thomas |
| J'ai faim !!! | Anaïs Pommard | Florence Quentin | |
| 2002 | Amnèsia | Virginie | Gabriele Salvatores |
| And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen | Françoise | Claude Lelouch | |
| 2004 | Le genre humain - 1ère partie: Les Parisiens | Herself | Claude Lelouch |
| 2005 | Le courage d'aimer | Alessandra | Claude Lelouch |
| 2007 | L'Heure Zéro | Marie-Adeline | Pascal Thomas |
| 2008 | Love Me No More | Marion Dange | Jean Becker |
| 2011 | Je m'appelle Bernadette | Louise Soubirous | Jean Sagols |
| 2017 | L'Araignée Rouge | Sonia Stern | Franck Florino |
Television
| Year | Film | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Cinema che follia! | Antonello Falqui | |
| 1991 | Fantaghirò | Fantaghirò | Lamberto Bava |
| 1992 | Processo di famiglia | Giovanni Fabbri | |
| Fantaghirò 2 | Fantaghirò | Lamberto Bava | |
| 1993 | Fantaghirò 3 | Fantaghirò | Lamberto Bava |
| Colpo di coda | Paola | José María Sánchez | |
| 1994 | Fantaghirò 4 | Fantaghirò | Lamberto Bava |
| 1996 | Fantaghirò 5 | Fantaghirò | Lamberto Bava |
| 2003 | Quelques jours entre nous | Juliette | Virginie Sauveur |
| 2004 | Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love | Marchesa Barolo | Lodovico Gasparini |
| 2005–2010 | Caterina e le sue figlie | Adele Parisi | Several |
| 2005 | I colori della vita | Giulia | Stefano Reali |
| Edda | Edda Ciano | Giorgio Capitani | |
| 2006 | L'onore e il rispetto | Francesca De Santis | Alessio Inturri, Luigi Parisi, Salvatore Samperi |
| 2008 | Il sangue e la rosa | Ortensia Damiani | Luciano Odorisio, Luigi Parisi, Salvatore Samperi |
| 2009 | La reine et le cardinal | Anne of Austria | Marc Rivière |
| L'Onore e il Rispetto | Francesca De Santis | Luigi Parisi, Salvatore Samperi | |
| Panique ! | Clémentine | Benoît d'Aubert | |
| 2011 | Inspector Rex | Malice Bonomi | Marco Serafini |
| 2012 | Le Romancier Martin | Jérôme Foulon | |
| 2014 | Furore | Luciana Belgrano | Alessio Inturri |
| 2016 | Il bello delle donne... alcuni anni dopo | Françoise Leroux | Eros Puglielli |
Presenter or Jury Member
| Year | Film | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Danse avec les stars (French version of Strictly Come Dancing) | Jury member for season 1 & season 2. | TF1 - several. |
| 2013–2014 | The Best : Le Meilleur Artiste | Jury member for season 1 & season 2. | TF1 - several. |
References
External links
