Monica Bellucci was born on September 30th, 1968, in the village of Citta di Castello, in Umbria, Italy. Initially pursuing a career as a lawyer, Monica decided to start modeling in order to help pay for her tuition while at the University of Perugia.

But of course, the glamorous life of a model - which includes travel and a sweet income - tempted Monica away from her law studies.

Her movie career started in 1990. Long a star in Italy, where she has drawn comparisons to Sophia Loren, Monica Bellucci turned heads worldwide as a hip-swinging war widow in the 2000 Italian hit Malena.

She made her U.S. feature debut in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (1992) and proved herself as a leading lady in L'Appartement (1996). She appeared with Morgan Freeman in Under Suspicion (2000) and with Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne in 2003's The Matrix Reloaded. In 2004 she played Mary Magdalene to Jim Caviezel's Jesus Christ in the film The Passion of the Christ.