Valeria Golino

Golino worked across actor, model, film director, film actor and screenwriter and 3 further recorded occupations. This article rests on 1 catalogued composition and 3 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

The recorded working language is Italian and English. Works named in the authority record are Like Two Crocodiles and Rain Man. Distinctions recorded are Busto Arsizio Film Festival, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Cannes, David di Donatello for Best Actress and David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress.

• Name — Valeria Golino • Born — 22 October 1965 • Birthplace — Naples, Italy • Occupation — * Actress • filmmaker • Years Active — 1983–present • Partner — Peter Del Monte (1985–1987) Benicio del Toro (1988–1992) Fabrizio Bentivoglio (1993–2001) Andrea Di Stefano (2002–2005) Riccardo Scamarcio (2006–2016) • Awards — Volpi Cup for best actress – Venice Film Festival 1985: Storia d'amore 2015: For your love

Golino was born on 22 October 1965 in Naples, Italy, the daughter of an Italian father who was a Germanist scholar, and a Greek mother, Lalla, who was a painter. One of her grandmothers was Egyptian French. She grew up in an "artistic household", and after her parents split up, was raised alternating between Athens and Sorrento (near Naples). Golino is the niece of the journalist Enzo Golino at L'Espresso, and her brother is a musician. When she was a girl, her mother frequently took her to the cinema, and she quickly became interested in films. In spite of this, though, she never thought about pursuing a film career until she made her first movie. Instead, she wanted to be a cardiologist. Valeria was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 11, and she had a steel rod implanted in her back for five years. She remained in the care of a surgeon in Chicago for six months, where she learned to speak English. At age 14, she started to work as a fashion model in Athens, Milan, London, and Los Angeles. She was in TV commercials for beer, perfume, and cosmetics, and she modeled swimsuits and blue jeans.

Golino never formally studied acting. Her career started by chance when her uncle Enzo received a phone call from the director Lina Wertmüller, who was searching for a young girl for her movie, and encouraged Golino to go to Wertmüller's house to meet her. The two met and Valeria was eventually cast in her first film, A Joke of Destiny (1983), alongside Ugo Tognazzi after an audition where she performed Shakespeare. Despite her parents' reservations and Wertmüller's demanding on-set behavior, she liked the experience so much that she decided to pursue an acting career. She gave up modeling, which she had never found fulfilling or interesting, and started to study diction and elocution. Among her early auditions were A Thorn in the Heart (an audition that she called "distasteful") and The Name of the Rose but was passed over for both films. She was offered roles in Giochi d'estate (1984) and other similarly themed romantic films about teenagers, but she turned them down to focus on smaller and more challenging projects. She followed her first with a string of independent films, including roles in My Dearest Son and Little Flames (both 1985), her first leading role, both of which won her a Globo d'oro award for Best Breakthrough Actress. Later that year, she was involved in a car accident which displaced the metal rod in her back and had to have surgery in order to fix it: she was bedridden for five months. Her star-making role came the following year, when she played the life-loving cleaning lady who romances two different men in A Tale of Love by Francesco Maselli. Her performance received rave reviews and earned her two prizes at the 1986 Venice Film Festival: the official Best Actress award (now called Volpi Cup) and the Golden Ciak award. The same film also won her the oldest and most prestigious critics' prize of the Italian cinema, the Silver Ribbon award for Best Actress. Her following projects were once again independent, auteur-driven films, The Gold Rimmed Glasses and Love and Fear. She was supposed to reunite with Maselli for his following film L'uomo della casa di fronte, co-starring Marcello Mastroianni, but the project never happened. The same director then moved on to another film, Private Access, and Golino turned down the role that was eventually played by Ornella Muti.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1988, following her then-partner, a Puerto Rican actor. Her Hollywood period started with the movie Big Top Pee-wee (1988). She was cast in Rain Man (also 1988) as Susanna, the girlfriend of Tom Cruise's character, and in the comedy films Hot Shots! (1991) and Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), as the girlfriend of the protagonist (Hot Shots! was a direct spoof of Top Gun). She became known for the "olive-in-the-belly-button" scene. Her character's nationality in Rain Man was changed from American to Italian American to accommodate her accent. Even though she was known as a dramatic actress in Italy, most of the offers she received in Hollywood were for comedies. Golino auditioned for lead roles in Pretty Woman and Flatliners, but both times she lost the part to Julia Roberts during the final audition. She was first runner-up for both roles and, in the case of Pretty Woman, she revealed many years later: "I was in the running until the final audition: it came down to Julia Roberts and me. The director asked us to walk in the same corridor, wearing the same clothes and makeup. As soon as I saw her [Roberts], I knew that she would have been chosen. And since she knew that, she told me: 'Go and get them, big mama!' I wouldn't have dared to say that to my rival. I would have been good in that film but she was perfect". She also turned down the leading role in the Ken Loach film Hidden Agenda, which she called "an offer that I still regret having declined". In 1993, she was heavily involved in producing and starring in an independent feature film, Cat in the Box, which was never made, and because of that project, she was forced to turn down a role in a movie directed by Carlo Verdone. During the following year, she was offered the leading role in True Lies, but she had to turn that down because of conflicts in scheduling with Slaughter of the Cock (1996), an independent film made in Cyprus. She had joined this film project in 1992, while it was still in preproduction, and she fervently wanted to be a part of it. Later on that year, she was supposed to act with Gian Maria Volonté in the film Treni sull'acqua. This project would have marked her third collaboration with the director Peter Del Monte, but it was canceled after the death of Volonté. In early 1996, she was supposed to play a journalist in the film Bravo Randy, directed by Alessandro D'Alatri and also starring Jovanotti in the titular role of a tramp who falls into a coma after an accident. However, the project fell apart just a few months before shooting was slated to begin: fearing a lack of influence, the Italian production company blocked the funds as the film would have been shot in California.

In 2000, Golino returned to Italy. In January 2001, she was supposed to star with Claudio Amendola in a TV mini-series called Cuore di ghiaccio, directed by Luciano Casciani, produced by Mediaset and set in Cefalù, but the project never took off the ground. She had a supporting role in the successful French thriller 36, Quai des Orfèvres (2004) and a leading role in Cash (2008), although the producers of the film had wanted Kristin Scott Thomas instead. Her role as Irene in Sacred Heart (2004) had been written specifically for her by director Ferzan Özpetek, but she was forced to abandon the project for personal reasons. She was replaced by Barbora Bobuľová. In 2005, she was offered the leading role in Fine pena mai (2008) but she turned it down, considering herself to be too old for the part. The role was eventually played by Valentina Cervi. In 2006, Theodoros Angelopoulos cast her in The Dust of Time (2008) after being impressed by Golino's work in Respiro. However the many delays in the shooting forced her to drop out of the project in late 2007 for scheduling conflicts. She was replaced by Irène Jacob. In 2009, she was the subject of the monograph Valeria Golino: Respiro d'attrice by Massimo Causo. The following year she was offered the chance to direct a short film by the company Pasta Garofalo, Armandino e il Madre, for which she also wrote the script. Her first feature film as director, Honey (2013), was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won a commendation from the Ecumenical Jury. She played Armida Miserere, a high-security warden in Like the Wind (2013), directed by Marco Simon Puccioni, a difficult leading role praised by the critics and awarded in festival. Despite her self-deprecating reluctance, she also sang in several films, most notably her English-language films Hot Shots! and Big Top Pee-wee and in Italian in Like the Wind. She recorded two LPs in 1987, the song "Maybe Once More" for L'inverno and 'Piangi Roma' for Giulia Doesn't Date at Night (featuring Baustelle), the latter of which won her a Silver Ribbon award for Best Song. She is a member of AMPAS thanks to the invitation of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. • Illustration — Golino at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival In 2016, she was a member of the main competition jury of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. In 2018, she directed Euforia which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and is considered to be one of best performances of Riccardo Scamarcio, who played the main role. Her recent project, L'Arte della Gioia TV series, was screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

From 2005 to 2016, she dated Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio. Since 2018, her partner is lawyer Fabio Palombi.

• Year — Title — Role(s) — Notes • 1995 — Fallen Angels — Eugenie Kolchenko — Episode: "Red Wind" • 1999 — La vita che verrà — Nunzia — 4 episodes • 2002 — Julius Caesar — Calpurnia — 2 episodes • 2008 — Tigri di carta — Delacroix — 3 episodes • 2013 — In Treatment — Eleonora — 9 episodes • 2021 — The Morning Show — Paola Lambruschini — 8 episodes • 2023 — The Lying Life of Adults — Vittoria — 6 episodes • 2025 — The Art of Joy — 5 episodes Director Writer

Valeria Golino was born on 22 October 1966 in Naples. Golino held the nationality of Italy. Recorded partner: Riccardo Scamarcio, Peter Del Monte, Benicio del Toro, Fabrizio Bentivoglio and Andrea Di Stefano. Golino worked as actor, model, film director and film actor, and the authority record catalogues a further 4 occupations under the same name, among them screenwriter, film producer, singer and musician. Golino was active from 1983. Golino worked in Italian and English.

• Event — Year — Film — Award — Category — Result • Annecy Italian Film Festival, France — 2012 — Kryptonite! — Best Actress Award • Athens Panorama of European Cinema, Greece — 2009 — Giulia Doesn't Date at Night — Special Award for Acting • Barcelona Italian Film Festival, Spain — 2013 — – — Honorary CSCI Award • Bari International Film Festival, Italy — 2014 — Come il vento — Italian Competition Award — Best Actress • Brussels European Film Festival, Belgium — 2013 — Honey — Euromillions Audience Award • Studio L'Équipe Award • Busto Arsizio Film Festival, Italy — 2003 — Respiro — Best Actress Award • Cannes Film Festival, France — 2013 — Honey — Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury • Golden Camera Award • Un Certain Regard Award • Capri Hollywood, Italy — 2013 — Come il vento — Capri European Actress Award • Castle of Precicchie Prize, Italy — 2014 — – — Castle of Precicchie Prize • Cervia Spettacoli e Dintorni Festival, Italy — 1986 — – — Best Newcomer Award • Cinema Italian Style, USA — 2006 — – — Innovator Award • David di Donatello Awards, Italy — 2026 — Fuori — David di Donatello — Best Actress • A Brief Affair — David di Donatello — Best Supporting Actress • 2025 — The Art of Joy — David di Donatello — Best Film • Best Director • Best Screenplay • 2020 — Volare — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 5 Is the Perfect Number — David di Donatello — Best Supporting Actress • 2019 — Euphoria — David di Donatello — David Youth Award • Best Original Screenplay • Best Director • Best Film • 2018 — Il colore nascosto delle cose — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 2017 — La vita possibile — David di Donatello — Best Supporting Actress • 2016 — Per amor vostro — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 2015 — The Invisible Boy — David di Donatello — Best Supporting Actress • 2014 — Human Capital — David di Donatello — Best Supporting Actress • Honey — David di Donatello — Best New Director • Best Screenplay • 2012 — Kryptonite! — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 2009 — Giulia Doesn't Date at Night — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 2008 — Quiet Chaos — David di Donatello — Best Supporting Actress • 2006 — Mario's War — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 2003 — Respiro — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 1998 — The Acrobats — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 1988 — The Gold Rimmed Glasses — David di Donatello — Best Actress • 1987 — A Tale of Love — David di Donatello — Best Actress • Eolie Film Festival, Italy — 1987 — – — Plate of the City of Lipari • European Film Awards — 2013 — Honey — European Film Award — Discovery of the Year • 2003 — Respiro — Audience Award — Best Actress • Federazione Italiana Cinema d'Essai, Italy — 2011 — Kryptonite! — FICE Award — Best Actress • 2006 — Our Country — FICE Award — Best Actress • 2005 — Mario's War — FICE Award — Best Actress • Festival delle Cerase, Italy — 2007 — Mario's War — Winter Award • Flaiano International Awards, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Golden Pegasus — Best Director • 2006 — Mario's War — Golden Pegasus — Best Actress • Gallio Film Festival, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Best Screenplay Award • Gavoi Film Festival, Italy — 2005 — – — Honorary Silver Tumbarinu • Giffoni Film Festival, Italy — 2011 — – — Giffoni Award • 2002 — Respiro — Bronze Gryphon — Best Actress • Golden Ciak Awards, Italy — 2015 — The Invisible Boy — Golden Ciak — Best Supporting Actress • 2014 — Honey — Golden Ciak — Best First Feature • Best Screenplay • 2012 — Kryptonite! — Golden Ciak — Best Actress • 2011 — L'amore buio — Golden Ciak — Best Supporting Actress • 2008 — Quiet Chaos — Golden Ciak — Best Supporting Actress • 1987 — A Tale of Love — Golden Ciak — Best Actress • Golden Globe Awards, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Golden Globe — Best Debut Feature Film • 2012 — Kryptonite! — Golden Globe — Best Actress • 2006 — Mario's War — Golden Globe — Best Actress • 2004 — Take Me Away — Golden Globe — Best Actress • 2002 — L'inverno — Golden Globe — Best Actress • 1986 — Little Flames — Golden Globe — Best Breakthrough Actress — Won • My Dearest Son • Golden Goblet Awards, Italy — 1997 — Le acrobate — Golden Goblet — Best Actress • Golden Graal Awards, Italy — 2009 — Quiet Chaos — Golden Graal — Best Dramatic Actress • 2008 — The Girl by the Lake — Golden Graal — Best Dramatic Actress • 2007 — Mario's War — Golden Graal — Best Dramatic Actress • 2006 — Texas — Golden Graal — Best Dramatic Actress • 2005 — 36 Quai des Orfèvres — Golden Graal — Best International Performer • Golden Sacher Awards, Italy — 1997 — Le acrobate — Golden Sacher — Best Actress • Haifa International Film Festival, Israel — 2013 — Honey — Special Mention of the Jury • Ischia Global Film & Music Festival, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Breakout Italian Director of the Year Award • Kinéo Awards, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Kinéo Award • 2012 — Kryptonite! — Kinéo Award — Best Actress • 2009 — Giulia Doesn't Date at Night — Kinéo Award — Best Actress • 2008 — The Girl by the Lake — Kinéo Award — Best Supporting Actress • Quiet Chaos — Kinéo Award — Best Supporting Actress • 2003 — Respiro — Kinéo Award — Best Actress • Lecce European Film Festival, Italy — 2007 — – — Honorary Award • Ljubljana International Film Festival, Slovenia — 2013 — Honey — Kingfisher Award • Los Angeles Italia, USA — 2014 — – — Excellence Award • Lux Prize — 2013 — Honey — Lux Prize — 2nd place • Magna Graecia Film Festival, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Best First Feature Award • Mantova Film Festival, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Golden Laurel • Maremetraggio International Festival, Italy — 2012 — Kryptonite! — Ippocampo Competition Award — Best Actress • Marzamemi Border Film Festival, Italy — 2007 — – — WindJet Award • Mons International Love Film Festival, Belgium — 2003 — Respiro — Best Actress Award • New Italian Cinema Events Festival, Italy — 2012 — Kryptonite! — Susan Batson Award — Best Acting Performance • Nice Italian Film Festival, France — 1985 — My Dearest Son — Best Newcomer Award • Primavera del Cinema Italiano Festival, Italy — 2009 — Giulia Doesn't Date at Night — Federico II Award — Best Actress • Rome Film Festival, Italy — 2013 — Come il vento — L.A.R.A. Award • Sergio Amidei Prize — 2013 — Honey — Sergio Amidei Prize • Silver Ribbon Awards (Nastro d'Argento), Italy — 2025 — Fuori — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2021 — Fortuna — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2020 — Portrait of a Lady on Fire and 5 Is the Perfect Number — Silver Ribbon — Best Supporting Actress • 2019 — The Summer House — Silver Ribbon — Best Supporting Actress • Euphoria — Best Screenplay • Best Director • Best Film • 2018 — Daughter of Mine — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2016 — Per amor vostro — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2014 — Come il vento — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2013 — Honey — Silver Ribbon — Best Debut Feature Film • 2012 — Kryptonite! — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2011 — Armandino e il Madre — Silver Ribbon — Best Debut Short Film • Best Short Film • 2010 — The Cézanne Affair — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2009 — Giulia Doesn't Date at Night — Silver Ribbon — Best Original Song • Best Actress • 2007 — Mario's War — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2006 — Texas — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2004 — Take Me Away — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 2002 — Respiro — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 1999 — Shooting the Moon — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 1989 — Rain Man — Silver Ribbon — Best Supporting Actress • 1988 — Three Sisters — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 1987 — A Tale of Love — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • 1986 — Little Flames — Silver Ribbon — Best Actress • Sulmona Film Festival, Italy — 2002 — Respiro — Best Actress Award • Taormina Film Festival, Italy — 2006 — Mario's War — Best Actress Award • – — Taormina Arte Award for Cinematic Excellence • Terra di Siena Film Festival, Italy — 2009 — – — Honorary Award • Tétouan International Mediterranean Festival, Morocco — 2014 — Honey — Best First Work Award • Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece — 2006 — – — Honorary Golden Alexander • 1996 — I sfagi tou kokora — Greek Competition Award — Best Actress • Trani Film Festival, Italy — 2002 — – — Stupor Mundi Award • Valenciennes Festival 2 Cinéma, France — 2014 — Come il vento — Best Actress Award • Vasto Film Festival, Italy — 2012 — – — Honorary Award • Venice Film Festival, Italy — 2015 — For Your Love — Volpi Cup — Best Actress • Pasinetti Award — Best Actress • 1986 — A Tale of Love — Best Actress Award • Golden Ciak — Best Actress • Viareggio EuropaCinema Festival, Italy — 2003 — Take Me Away — EuropaCinema Award — Best Actress • Vittorio De Sica Awards, Italy — 2013 — Honey — Vittorio De Sica Award • 1986 — – — Vittorio De Sica Award