Life and career

Born in Cesena, Braschi studied in Rome's Academy of Dramatic Arts where she first met Benigni in 1980. Her first film was with Benigni in 1983, the comedy Tu Mi Turbi (You Upset Me). She later appeared in two Jim Jarmusch films, Down by Law and Mystery Train.

Braschi's two most successful collaborations with her husband were Johnny Stecchino (1992) and La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful) (1998). The first, an Italian comedy that cast the actress as the girlfriend of a mobster (Benigni), was a huge hit in Italy, while the second, in which Braschi played the wife of an Italian Jew (Benigni) imprisoned in a concentration camp, was a widely praised success that launched both Braschi and her husband into the international spotlight. She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award as a cast member of that film.

In 1997 Braschi starred in Ovosodo as a depressed teacher encouraging a student to work and study harder. The film won her a David di Donatello award (Italy's equivalent of the Oscars) and much praise from critics and the public.

In 2002, she was a member of the jury at the Berlin Film Festival.

In 2005 she starred in and produced The Tiger and the Snow (La tigre e la neve) a love story set during the initial stage of the Iraq War. This is her last film.

In 2010 she toured the Italian theatres starring in Tradimenti, based on Harold Pinter's play Betrayal.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role
1983	Tu mi turbi	Virgin Mary
1986	Down by law	Nicoletta
1988	Ya bon les blancs	Luisa
1988	The Little Devil	Nina
1989	Mystery Train	Luisa (Segment- Ghost)
1990	The Sheltering Sky	French Woman
1991	La domenica specialmente	Girl (Segment La domenica specialmente)
1991	Johnny Stecchino	Maria
1993	Son of the Pink Panther	Jacqueline Gambrelli
1994	The Monster	Jessica
1995	Pasolini, un delitto italiano	Graziella Chiracossi
1996	Sostiene Pereira	Marta
1997	Ovosodo	Giovanna
1998	La vita e bella	Dora Orefice
2002	Pinocchio	Blue Fairy
2003	Mi piace lavorare	Anna
2005	The Tiger and the Snow	Vittoria

[ Source: Wikipedia ]