Love's Labors Lost

Background:

Italian actress Stefania Rocca, who made her English language film debut in writer/director Rob Tregenza's independent film "Inside/Out" (1997), is probably best remembered by American audiences for her roles in Gabriele Salvatore's "Nirvana" (1997), Anthony Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999), and Kenneth Branagh's "Love's Labors Lost" (1999). She was also seen in Mike Figgis's "Hotel" (2001), Tom Tykwer's drama/thriller "Heaven" (2002), and the independent screwball comedy "Go Go Tales" (2007; with Willem Dafoe, Bob Hoskins, Matthew Modine, and Asia Argento).

Rocca continued to act in a number Italian films, most recently in "D'Artagnan et les trois mousquetaires" (2005; aka. "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers"), "Bestia nel cuore, La" (2005; aka. "Don't Tell"; earned her a Best Supporting Actress at the David di Donatello Awards), "Cura del gorilla, La" (2006), "Commediasexi" (2006), "Candidat, Le" (aka. "The Candidate"), and "Voce del verbo amore." Next, she will star in an upcoming romantic Italian miniseries titled "Questo è amore."

Italian Beauty

Childhood and Family:

In Turin, Italy, Stefania Rocca was born on April 24, 1971. She has a sister named Silvia Rocca, who is also an actress. Stefania has one child, Leone, (born in October 2007), with her companion Carlo Capasa.

La Bestia nel cuore

Career:

In her twenties, Stefania Rocca began appearing on the Italian screen, starting with a role in a 2-minute short film titled "Effetto" (1994). She followed it up with a role in the miniseries "Voci notturne" (1995; aka. "Night Voices") and made her first appearance in a major feature film alongside Giancarlo Giannini and Raoul Bova in the action/crime/drama "Palermo Milano solo andata" (1995).

Rocca went on to appear in the 1996 films "Virtuali, I," "Effetto placebo," "Correre contro" (aka. "Running Against"), "Cronaca di un amore violato" (aka. "Diary of a Rapist"), "Poliziotti," and "Misura dell'amore, La." She was also cats in the next year's films "Corti stellari," "Amico di Wang, L'" (aka. "Out of Hand"), and "Nirvana" (starring Christopher Lambert), as well as in the made-for-television movies "Storia di Gigi 2, La" and "Nei secoli dei secoli."

Rocca made her English language film debut in writer/director Rob Tregenza's independent film "Inside/Out" (1997) and made her English language TV movie debut in the adventure/drama "Solomon" (1997), alongside Ben Cross, Anouk Aimée, Vivica A. Fox, Max von Sydow, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.

She then returned to her home country to film in the romantic drama/comedy "Giochi d'equilibrio" (1998), the comedy "Voglio una donnaaa!" (1998), the drama/thriller "Viol@ " (1998), in which she stars as a single woman who meets her unknown sex partner online, "Senso unico" (1999), and the comedy "In principio erano le mutande" (1999; aka. "In the Beginning There Was Underwear"), which was based on the novel by Rossana Campo. She also played the lead in the TV movies "Amiche davvero!!" (1998), a comedy, and "Ombre" (1999; aka. "Shadows"), a thriller.

Going back to America, Rocca shared the screen with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Anthony Minghella's film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999). She also portrayed Mary of Bethany in the biblical Tv movie "Jesus" (1999), alongside Jeremy Sisto, Debra Messing, Jacqueline Bisset, and Gary Oldman.

The new millennium saw Rocca in in Kenneth Branagh's big screen version of William Shakespeare's play, "Love's Labour's Lost," starring Alessandro Nivola and Alicia Silverstone, and in Giorgio Treves' take on Remo Binosi's play, "Rosa e Cornelia," sharing the title characters with Chiara Muti.

Rocca then appeared in Mike Figgis' comedy movie "Hotel" (2001; with Saffron Burrows, Salma Hayek, and Rhys Ifans), Tom Tykwer's drama/thriller "Heaven" (2002; opposite Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi), and Alessandro D'Alatri's romantic comedy "Casomai" (2002), in which she co-starred with Fabio Volo as a couple who are set to marry and earned a Best Actress nominations at the David di Donatello Awards and from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. She also could be seen in the made-for-television movies "Lourdes" (2001), "Resurrezione" (2001; aka. "Resurrection"), and "Dracula" (2002; aka. "Dracula's Curse").

In 2003, Rocco was cast in "Vita come viene, La," which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination from Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. She also appeared in "Piazza delle cinque lune" (aka. "Five Moons Plaza"; with Donald Sutherland and Giancarlo Giannini) and "Prima dammi un bacio" (aka. "Kiss Me First"), in which she co-starred with Marco Cocci.

Rocco continued to add to her resume with works in the films "Cartaio, Il" (2004; aka "The Card Player"), "Amore è eterno finché dura, L'" (2004; aka. "Love Is Eternal While It Lasts"), "Aspects of Love" (2005), "D'Artagnan et les trois mousquetaires" (2005; aka. "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers"), "Mary" (2005), "Bestia nel cuore, La" (2005; aka. "Don't Tell"; earned her a Best Supporting Actress at the David di Donatello Awards), "Cura del gorilla, La" (2006), and "Commediasexi" (2006). She also acted in the TV movie "Stauffenberg" (2004; aka. "Operation Valkyrie") and in the miniseries "Mafalda di Savoia" (2006).

Recently, in 2007, Rocco appeared in the political drama "Candidat, Le" (aka. "The Candidate"), the comedy "Voce del verbo amore," the independent screwball comedy "Go Go Tales" (with Willem Dafoe, Bob Hoskins, Matthew Modine, and Asia Argento), and in the TV movie "Candidat libre." She is currently working on her upcoming project, a romantic Italian miniseries titled "Questo è amore," in which she plays the lead.

Awards:
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