Alessandra Martines
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Alessandra Martines | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 September 1963 Rome, Italy |
| Education | Conservatoire de Paris |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Cyril Descours (2008–2018) |
| Website | https://www.alessandramartines.com/ |
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]
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]
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: 3 September – 31 December 2016. |
