Monica Bellucci

“In a couple, sometimes, one or both people have to give up their personal life, dreams and ambitions for the good of the family.”

“I am certainly Italian in my love of food! I eat everything, but I love Italian food most of all. Even my daughter does. Her favourite food is pasta and parmigiana.”

“If a man sees a woman with red lipstick, he admires her, but often he won't feel like kissing her.”

“I grew up in Perugia, Umbria, in a world outside of fashion, so I didn't learn about it until I was older and moved away. In Milan, the women are really into fashion, and all the big fashion brands are based there, but I don't think they feel pressure to look good all the time.”

“I was very shy as a girl. Absurdly shy, even. Maybe because I was an only child. And I think that's why I'm so happy to have two kids now.”

“There is this thing in America where actresses reach 40 and go mad. The film industry wants all these young people.”

“I think we can all be divas, but as an actress, you can't only be the diva; that would be boring. But sometimes, perhaps, it's fun.”

“I wouldn't want to be 20 again for anything.”

“Lipstick is the most valuable weapon in a woman's make-up kit. It has the power to transform the appearance and mood of the person wearing it, and, at the same time, arouses the admiration of everybody else.”

“I do acupuncture. Because it really helps. It is the opposite of Botox. Botox blocks, and acupuncture moves.”

“If you believe what you are on the red carpet, then you would have to go see a doctor, and there are so many actors like that. You have to know very well this is a moment of glamour, and when I go back home, I don't have the airbrush, and I have dark circles because I don't have the make-up on.”

“I have no idea how I'm perceived in America because I don't live the reality of America.”

“I think the person creates the artist. And I think when you get lost within your person, your artistry get lost, too. It's like in 'Birdman.' Because the artist inside you is attached to your soul. And when you're not attached to yourself anymore, the soul goes away. You can't let that happen.”

“I come from a Catholic religion, but I'm not Catholic.”

“I'm a European, and I live there. I work in European films, and then once in a while, I make an American movie.”

“In so many places in the world, women have been prisoners for so long that they feel they have to scream about their rights. But when you scream, nobody listens to you. Real authority comes when you no longer need to scream - and that's something we women still need to learn.”

“Because I'm pretty, everybody thinks I'm stupid. But it is like a mask, and you have to break the mask to show that there is something else behind it. You have to show who you are to make the others come to discover you.”

“British people don't express when they are in pain. They don't think it's elegant.”

“I think the lawyers are such incredible actors. Can you imagine the performance they have to do every day?”

“Now, all the movies are for teenagers. It's very difficult for an actress to find really deep, beautiful characters to play.”