21 Facts About Valeria Golino

Valeria Golino was born on 22 October 1965 and is an Italian actress and film director.

Valeria Golino grew up in an "artistic household", and after her parents split up, was raised alternating between Athens and Sorrento.

Valeria Golino is the niece of the journalist Enzo Valeria Golino at L'Espresso, and her brother is a musician.

Valeria Golino was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 11, and she had a steel rod implanted in her back for five years.

Valeria Golino remained in the care of a surgeon in Chicago for six months, where she learned to speak English.

Valeria Golino was in TV commercials for beer, perfume, and cosmetics, and she modeled swimsuits and blue jeans.

Valeria Golino's career started by chance when her uncle Enzo received a phone call from the director Lina Wertmuller, who was searching for a young girl for her movie, and encouraged Golino to go to Wertmuller's house to meet her.

Valeria Golino gave up modeling, which she had never found fulfilling or interesting, and started to study diction and elocution.

Valeria Golino was offered roles in Giochi d'estate and other similarly themed romantic films about teenagers, but she turned them down to focus on smaller and more challenging projects.

Valeria Golino followed her first with a string of independent films, including roles in My Dearest Son and Little Flames, her first leading role, both of which won her a Globo d'oro award for Best Breakthrough Actress.

Valeria Golino's performance received rave reviews and earned her two prizes at the 1986 Venice Film Festival: the official Best Actress award and the Golden Ciak award.

Valeria Golino's following projects were independent, auteur-driven films, The Gold Rimmed Glasses and Love and Fear.

Valeria Golino 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.

Valeria Golino moved to Los Angeles in the 1988 following her then partner, a Puerto Rican actor.

Valeria Golino auditioned for lead roles in Pretty Woman and Flatliners, but both times she lost the part to Julia Roberts during the final audition.

Valeria Golino turned down the leading role in the Ken Loach film Hidden Agenda, which she called "an offer that I still regret having declined".

Valeria Golino had joined this film project in 1992, while it was still in preproduction, and she fervently wanted to be a part of it.

Valeria Golino had a supporting role in the successful French thriller 36, Quai des Orfevres and a leading role in Cash, although the producers of the film had wanted Kristin Scott Thomas instead.

Valeria Golino played Armida Miserere, a high-security warden in Like the Wind, directed by Marco Simon Puccioni, a difficult leading role praised by the critics and awarded in festival.

Valeria Golino recorded two LPs in 1987, the song "Maybe Once More" for L'inverno and 'Piangi Roma' for Giulia Doesn't Date at Night, the latter of which won her a Silver Ribbon award for Best Song.

Valeria Golino is a member of AMPAS thanks to the invitation of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.