Laura Morante

Life and career

Morante was born in Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto (Tuscany), the daughter of a lawyer and playwright Marcello Morante, the brother of the novelist Elsa Morante.

Originally a dancer, Morante started her acting career on stage at 18 years old, in the theatrical company of Carmelo Bene. She made her film debut in Oggetti Smarriti (Lost Belongings)., directed by Giuseppe Bertolucci, whose brother would direct the second film in which Morante would appear, La Tragedia di un uomo ridicolo (The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man). She eventually had her breakout thanks to Nanni Moretti, who gave her the title role in Bianca.

After her marriage to French actor Georges Claisse, Morante moved to Paris, where, thanks to her participation in numerous productions, she acquired a certain notoriety in European art cinema. Returned to Italy, in 2001 she eventually won the David di Donatello for best actress her performance in Moretti's The Son's Room. Later she was nominated for the David di Donatello in the same category in 2003, for Gabriele Muccino's Remember Me, My Love, and won the Silver Ribbon for best actress for Love Is Eternal While It Lasts (2003) by Carlo Verdone.

Morante attracted considerable attention with her performance as the neglected Madame Jourdain, with whom the young Molière, played by Romain Duris, falls in love, in the 2007 release Molière. She also provided The Voice of Helen Parr/Elastigirl in the Italian-dubbed version of the Pixar animated film, The Incredibles. Very active in France, in 2012 Morante made her directorial and writing debut with the Franch-Italian co-production Cherry on the Cake, for which she was nominated for the David di Donatello for Best New Director.