Maria Violante Placido (; born 1 May 1976) is an Italian actress and singer.
Early life Violante Placido was born in Rome, Italy, into a family deeply involved in the arts. She is the daughter of actor and director Michele Placido and actress Simonetta Stefanelli, and grew up surrounded by cinema and theatre. She spent much of her childhood observing film sets and rehearsals, which fostered her interest in performing from a young age. She later described this environment as formative in developing both her artistic curiosity and her desire to pursue a creative career of her own.
Career
Film and television Placido made her film debut alongside her father in Quattro bravi ragazzi (1993). In 1996 she appeared in Enza Negroni's Jack Frusciante Left the Band. Her first important role was in L'anima gemella (2002), directed by Sergio Rubini.
In the following years Placido appeared in Ora o mai più (2003), by Lucio Pellegrini, Che ne sarà di noi (2004), by Giovanni Veronesi, and Ovunque sei (2004), directed by her father. In 2007, she starred in Pupi Avati's comedy La cena per farli conoscere. In 2009, she played a role in the Hindi movie Barah Aana. She also played the title role as Moana Pozzi in the 2009 miniseries Moana. In 2010, she appeared alongside George Clooney in the drama-thriller The American.
Placido played Nadya in the 2011 film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, a sequel to the 2007 film Ghost Rider, both based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.
In 2014 Placido starred in Transporter: The Series, a spin-off from the film franchise of the same name. In season two, she plays Caterina Boldieu, a former French intelligence officer, who is assisting Frank Martin, the Transporter.
Music
In 2006, Placido released, under the name Viola, her first album as a singer, Don't be shy..., including 10 tracks she wrote (most of which are in English), inspired by Stuart Benson. Viola sings in the style of singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. The second single is "How to save your Life". Subsequently, she collaborated with the Italian singer-songwriter Bugo in the remake duet version of his song "Amore mio infinito".
Personal life Violante Placido has one child with her partner, Massimiliano D'Epiro, who is an Italian film director.
She is a fan of Italian football team S.S. Lazio.
Filmography
Film YearFilmRole Notes 1993 Quattro bravi ragazzi Valeria Film debut 1996 Vite strozzate Laura 1996 Jack Frusciante è uscito dal gruppo Adelaide 1997 Farfalle 2000 A Deadly Compromise Caterina 2002 Les amants de Mogador Hélène 2002 Ciao America Paola Angelini 2002 Soul Mate Maddalena Major role 2002 Ginostra Nurse 2003 Now or Never Viola 2003 Gli indesiderabili Agneska 2004 Che ne sarà di noi Carmen 2004 Ovunque sei Elena 2004 Ruins July 2005 Raul – Diritto di uccidere Sonia 2006 Fade to Black Stella 2006 Any Reason Not to Marry? Nina 2007 A Dinner for Them to Meet Betty Lanza 2007 Lessons in Chocolate Cecilia Ferri 2008 La luna nel deserto Voice Short 2009 Sleepless Anna 2009 Barah Aana Kate Bollywood film 2010 The American Clara Hollywood film 2011 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Nadya Hollywood film 2012 The Lookout Anna 2016 7 Minutes Marianna 2019 Modalità aereo Linda 2022 Improvvisamente Natale Alberta 2023 Improvvisamente a Natale mi sposo Alberta 2025 La Dolce Villa Francesca
Television YearTitleRole Notes 2001 Casa famiglia TV series 2005 Karol: A Man Who Became Pope Maria Pomorska TV movie 2005 Les Rois maudits TV mini-series 2006 The Mona Lisa Mystery Aurore TV movie 2007 War and Peace Helene Kuragin TV mini-series 2007 Quelli che... il calcio Herself TV series 2008 Una madre Maria TV movie 2008 Donne assassine Marta TV series 2008 Pinocchio Fata Turchina (Blue Fairy) TV movie 2009 Moana Moana TV movie 2010 Entertainment Tonight HerselfTV series 2010 Janela Indiscreta Herself TV series 2014 Transporter: The Series Caterina Boldieu TV series (11 episodes)
Music videos
"'Solo' è solo una parola" by Tiziano Ferro (2018)
References
External links