Paola Cortellesi

Paola Cortellesi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːola kortelˈleːsi, -eːzi] ^ⓘ; born 24 November 1973) is an Italian actress, comedian, film director, screenwriter and producer. She has starred in about 20 movies as well as a number of theatrical, television and radio shows. In 2023, she made her directorial debut with the black-and-white feminist comedy-drama There's Still Tomorrow, which received critical acclaim and became one of the highest-grossing films of all time in Italy.

Paola Cortellesi
Cortellesi in 2009
Born	(1973-11-24) 24 November 1973 (age 51) Rome, Italy
Occupations	Actress comedian filmmaker singer
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Riccardo Milani ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	1

Biography

Cortellesi debuted in the show business at the age of 13, as a singer for Cacao meravigliao, the jingle of the popular RAI TV show Indietro tutta! by Renzo Arbore. At 19 she began studying as an actress at the "Teatro Blu" in Rome (the same theatre school that Kim Rossi Stuart, Gianmarco Tognazzi, Claudia Gerini, Stefania Rocca, and Claudio Santamaria, among others, have attended).

She began her career in television with the show Macao,^[1] presented by Alba Parietti, but eventually reached nationwide popularity as a comic actress in the TV show Mai dire Gol by the Gialappa's Band (2000), which, in particular, showcased her skills at parodying famous people, a genre where she collected some of her most appreciated performances (the latest one being her parody of Milan's mayor Letizia Moratti in the 2010–2011 edition of the popular TV show Zelig).^[2]

After Mai dire Gol, Cortellesi has collaborated in several other TV Show of the Mai dire... franchise by Gialappa's Band. Other major performances of Cortellesi on television include the 2004 edition of the Sanremo Music Festival and the leading role in the TV movie Maria Montessori: Una vita per i bambini, a biography of Maria Montessori, for which Cortellesi received the "Maximo Award" at the Roma Fiction Fest.^[3]

Her career in cinema includes several appreciated performances in comedies and comic movies, including a leading role in Tu la conosci Claudia?, a very popular production starring the comic trio Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo. In 2008, she was nominated for the David di Donatello award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie Piano, solo by Riccardo Milani. In 2011 she won the David di Donatello for Best Actress for her leading role in Escort in Love.^[4]

One of her most appreciated theatrical performances was Gli ultimi saranno gli ultimi ("Last will be last") by Massimiliano Bruno, which has been staged 189 times from 2005 to 2007 in over 50 theatres, and for which Cortellesi has collected a number of awards.^[5]

As a singer, Cortellesi has been described by Mina as "one of the best Italian voices"^[6] and has cooperated with several notable Italian musicians, including Elio e le Storie Tese, Renato Zero, Claudio Baglioni, Frankie Hi-NRG MC, and Neri per Caso. In 2019 she was filmed in the title role of Petra for the four-part Italian TV crime drama, broadcast from September 2020.^[7]

In 2023 her directorial debut There's Still Tomorrow (C'è ancora domani) was a major hit. It was the most successful film at the Italian box office in 2023,^{[8][9][10][11]} and the 10th highest-grossing film in the country's history.^[12] It was the opening film at the Rome Film Festival,^[13] at the 69th David di Donatello it brought Cortellesi 6 awards, including the Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.^[14]

Personal life

Cortellesi married director Riccardo Milani on 1 October 2011, after being engaged for nine years.^[15] The couple have a daughter, Laura, born in 2013.^[16]

Filmography

Paola Cortellesi

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	The King and I	Anna Leonowens (voice)	Italian voice-over
2000	Ask Me If I'm Happy	Dalia	Feature film debut
2001	Un altr'anno e poi cresco	Alessia
2001	Se fossi in te	Caterina
2002	A cavallo della tigre	Antonella
2002	Bell'amico	Damiana	Cameo appearance
2002	Stuart Little 2	Margalo the Bird (voice)	Italian voice-over
2003	Past Perfect	Claudia
2003	The Soul's Place	Nina
2004	Do You Know Claudia?	Claudia
2006	Don't Make Any Plans for Tonight	Cinzia
2007	Piano, solo	Baba
2007	Persepolis	Marjane Satrapi (voice)	Italian voice-over
2009	Turtle: The Incredible Journey	Narrator (voice)	Italian voice-over
2009	The Ladies Get Their Say	Sofia
2009	La fisica dell'acqua	Giulia	Direct-to-video film
2010	Men vs. Women	Chiara
2011	Women vs. Men	Chiara
2011	Cars 2	Holley Shiftwell (voice)	Italian voice-over
2011	Escort in Love	Alice Bottini
2011	Some Say No	Irma Camuzzo
2014	A Boss in the Living Room	Cristina D'Avola/ Carmela Cimmaruta
2014	Sotto una buona stella	Luisa Tombolini
2014	Do You See Me?	Serena Bruno
2015	Wondrous Boccaccio	Usimbalda
2015	The Little Prince	Mother (voice)	Italian voice-over
2015	The Last Will Be the Last	Luciana Colacci
2016	Qualcosa di nuovo	Lucia
2017	Mom or Dad?	Valeria Mozzati
2017	Like a Cat on a Highway	Monica
2018	The Legend of the Christmas Witch	The Witch
2018	Early Man	Goona (voice)	Italian voice-over
2019	Detective per caso	Inspector Bellamore
2019	Don't Stop Me Now	Giovanna Salvatori
2020	Figli	Sara
2020	Soul	22	Italian voice-over
2021	Like a Cat on a Highway 2	Monica
2022	Marcel!	Jewels seller	Cameo appearance
2023	There's Still Tomorrow	Delia	Also director and co-writer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Maria Montessori: Una vita per i bambini	Maria Montessori	Miniseries
2010	Le cose che restano	Nora	4 episodes
2020–present	Petra	Petra Delicato	Lead role
2023	Call My Agent - Italia	Herself	Season 1, episode 1[17]

Writings

• Gianluca Maria Tavarelli; Paola Cortellesi; Massimo Poggio; Gianmarco Tognazzi, Alberto Cracco (2006). Maria Montessori: [una] vita per i bambini. Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: Taodue. OCLC 819807992. (both a book and a film)

Accolades

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Associazione Nazionale dei Critici di Teatro	2006	Critics' Award	Gli ultimi saranno ultimi	Won
Bari International Film Festival	2019	Best Actress	Figli	Won
Ciak d'oro	2011	Personality of the Year	Herself	Won
	2018	Best Actress	Like a Cat on a Highway	Won
		Best Screenplay		Nominated
	2020	Best Actress	Figli	Won
	2021		Like a Cat on a Highway 2	Nominated
	2023	Golden SuperCiak	There's Still Tomorrow	Won
David di Donatello	2008	Best Supporting Actress	Piano, solo	Nominated
	2011	Best Actress	Escort in Love	Won
	2014		Sotto una buona stella	Nominated
	2015		Do You See Me?	Nominated
	2016		The Last Will Be the Last	Nominated
	2018		Like a Cat on a Highway	Nominated
	2021		Figli	Nominated
	2024	Best Film	There's Still Tomorrow	Nominated
		Best New Director		Won
		Best Original Screenplay		Won
		Best Actress		Won
		David Giovani		Won
		Audience Award		Won
Federazione Italiana Cinema d'Essai	2007	Best Actress	Piano, solo	Won
Flaiano Award	2014	Best Movie Actress	A Boss in the Living Room	Won
	2023	Best TV Actress	Petra	Won
Globo d'oro	2011	Best Actress	Escort in Love	Nominated
	2018		Like a Cat on a Highway	Won
	2023	Best Film	There's Still Tomorrow	Won
Hystrio Award	2007	Best Actress	Piano, solo	Won
Kinéo Award	2018	Honorary Award	Herself	Won
Le Maschere Awards	2006	Best Monologue	Gli ultimi saranno ultimi	Won
Nastro d'Argento	2002	Best Supporting Actress	Se fossi in te	Nominated
	2009		The Ladies Get Their Say	Nominated
	2011	Best Actress	Escort in Love	Nominated
	2014		Sotto una buona stella	Nominated
	2015		Do You See Me?	Nominated
		Nino Manfredi Award		Won
	2016	Best Actress	The Last Will Be the Last	Nominated
	2018	Best Comedy Actress	Like a Cat on a Highway	Won
	2019		Don't Stop Me Now	Won
	2020		Figli	Won
	2024	Film of the Year	There's Still Tomorrow	Won
Rome Film Festival	2020	Women in Cinema Award	Figli	Won
	2023	Jury's Progressive Cinema Special Award	There's Still Tomorrow	Won
		Best First Work – Special Mention		Won
		Audience Special Award		Won
Taormina Film Fest	2014	Taormina Arte Award	Herself	Won