• Name: Roberto Benigni
  • Date of Birth: October 27, 1952
  • Place of Birth: Misericordia, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy
Mini-bio: After his movie Vita è bella, La (1997) received seven Academy Award nominations, he met the Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and said, after shaking his hand: "Now I have the Oscar in my hand!"...( read more).

When the Ulivo party won the parliamentary elections, Benigni jumped on the stage and kissed Walter Veltroni, one of the party's candidates.

His father Luigi Benigni (1918-2004), who worked as a farmer, carpenter and bricklayer, was a prisoner in the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen between 1943 and 1945. Roberto used his stories as the basis for his film Vita è bella, La (1997).

His mother Isolina Papini (1918-2004) worked as a fabric inspector.

Sister: Bruna Benigni (textile worker), born 1945.

Sister: Albertina Benigni (flower shop owner), born 1947.

Sister: Anna Benigni (teacher's aide), born 1948.

Attended a seminary in Florence, planning to become a priest.

Left the seminary after two-thirds of Florence had been flooded by the Arno River (4 November 1966).

Graduated from Instituto Tecnico Commericale Datini di Prato.

He and Laurence Olivier are the only two actors to have directed themselves in Oscar winning performances.

The first actor to win a Best Actor Oscar for a non-English speaking role.

He is the sixth actor in history to win the Oscar for Best Actor in a comedy after Clark Gable in It Happened One Night (1934), James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940), Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou (1965),Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets (1997).

Benigni met wife Nicoletta Braschi on the set of Tu mi turbi (1983).

The first actor to win a Worst Actor Razzie for a non-English speaking role.

He joins Sylvester Stallone, Prince, Kevin Costner, William Shatner, and Tom Green as being the only actors to direct themselves in performances that would "win" them a Razzie Award for Worst Actor.

When he "won" the 2003 Razzie Award for Worst Actor in Pinocchio (2002), Razzies.com declared his win "By a Nose!", as he'd just barely beaten fellow nominee Steven Seagal in the film Half Past Dead (2002) by a mere few votes.

Federico Fellini considered him a genius

Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 1990

Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Guignols de l'info, Les" (1988).

Was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2 February 2007).

Candidate to be awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature for his explanation and recitations of Dante's "Divina Commedia" (2007).

Winning the Best Foreign Language Film category at the The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998) (TV), he famously climbed on the back of the seat for his procession to the stage and applauded the audience. The following year, while announcing the nominees for the Best Actress Award, Billy Crystal appeared behind him with a large net to restrain him.

Also a respected poet, known for his poesia estemporanea, and singer-songwriter.

After leading a crowd of thousand in Rome, protesting against Silvio Berlusconi's government's decision to cut state arts funding by 35 percent, he hijacked the opening credits of Italy's most watched news show, removed his shirt to drape it over the anchorman's shoulders and announced "Berlusconi had resigned!" the next day (15 September 2005).

Was a supporter of the Italian Communist Party (PCI).

Is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. The other are Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Marion Cotillard and Benicio Del Toro.
Post it anywhere Link it anywhere

Roberto Benigni Wiki Profile


Welcome to the Roberto Benigni wiki profile. This page is created by Flixster users like you with the help of friendly community Flixster Experts.
No Expert yet! Want your picture here? Click here.

Adding your knowledge to this page is easy. Just click the "EasyEdit" button below. To become a Flixster Expert or find out more about the program, click here. And for general help on the wiki, click here.

Fan Pages
  • No pages yet
  • Add a page
(What's this?) What is the EasyEdit button? This website gets better when people like you add to it. Just click the EasyEdit button to start. (help)
What's going on here?
Flixster members are collaborating to create the definitive resource for Roberto Benigni information on the Internet. We're adding all the images, info, and ideas that best tell this actor's unique story. To add your knowledge of Roberto Benigni, just log in and click the EasyEdit button at the top of the wiki pages. (
Click here for help.)
Replace this image with an actor photoRoberto Benigni mini-bio: After his movie Vita è bella, La (1997) received seven Academy Award nominations, he met the Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and said, after shaking his hand: "Now I have the Oscar in my hand!". When the Ulivo party won the parliamentary elections, Benigni jumped on the stage and kissed Walter Veltroni, one of the party's candidates. His father Luigi Benigni (1918-2004), who worked as a farmer, carpenter and bricklayer, was a prisoner in the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen between 1943 and 1945. Roberto used his stories as the basis for his film Vita è bella, La (1997). His mother Isolina Papini (1918-2004) worked as a fabric inspector. Sister: Bruna Benigni (textile worker), born 1945. Sister: Albertina Benigni (flower shop owner), born 1947. Sister: Anna Benigni (teacher's aide), born 1948. Attended a seminary in Florence, planning to become a priest. Left the seminary after two-thirds of Florence had been flooded by the Arno River (4 November 1966). Graduated from Instituto Tecnico Commericale Datini di Prato. He and Laurence Olivier are the only two actors to have directed themselves in Oscar winning performances. The first actor to win a Best Actor Oscar for a non-English speaking role. He is the sixth actor in history to win the Oscar for Best Actor in a comedy after Clark Gable in It Happened One Night (1934), James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940), Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou (1965),Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets (1997). Benigni met wife Nicoletta Braschi on the set of Tu mi turbi (1983). The first actor to win a Worst Actor Razzie for a non-English speaking role. He joins Sylvester Stallone, Prince, Kevin Costner, William Shatner, and Tom Green as being the only actors to direct themselves in performances that would "win" them a Razzie Award for Worst Actor. When he "won" the 2003 Razzie Award for Worst Actor in Pinocchio (2002), Razzies.com declared his win "By a Nose!", as he'd just barely beaten fellow nominee Steven Seagal in the film Half Past Dead (2002) by a mere few votes. Federico Fellini considered him a genius Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 1990 Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Guignols de l'info, Les" (1988). Was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2 February 2007). Candidate to be awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature for his explanation and recitations of Dante's "Divina Commedia" (2007). Winning the Best Foreign Language Film category at the The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998) (TV), he famously climbed on the back of the seat for his procession to the stage and applauded the audience. The following year, while announcing the nominees for the Best Actress Award, Billy Crystal appeared behind him with a large net to restrain him. Also a respected poet, known for his poesia estemporanea, and singer-songwriter. After leading a crowd of thousand in Rome, protesting against Silvio Berlusconi's government's decision to cut state arts funding by 35 percent, he hijacked the opening credits of Italy's most watched news show, removed his shirt to drape it over the anchorman's shoulders and announced "Berlusconi had resigned!" the next day (15 September 2005). Was a supporter of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). Is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. The other are Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Marion Cotillard and Benicio Del Toro.

VITAL STATS

Roberto Benigni Information:
Eye color:
Height:
Nickname(s):
Notable feature(s):
Education:
Family:
Resides in:
Religious affiliations:
Political affiliation:
Personal interests/hobbies:
Charities/Causes:
Other:



Comments


  • bhoirmangala
    I remember life time ur acting in life is beautiful,and when I depressed ,ur laughing face teach me to laugh,and face the problems, and lesson to me that life is so beautiful!you are a great actor.
    posted 592 days ago
  • lipinhame15
    eu gosto muito do trabalho do actor roberto benigni e é um dos meus actores preferidos da mesma forma que o filme "A vida é bela" muitos parabens andreia araujo ps continue assim
    posted 837 days ago
  • jennifermitts
    My favorite all-time actor. He hasn't made a bad film. Genius.
    posted 937 days ago
  • sylviamilliken3
    funny witty and sexy,yummy.italianini. yummy. s.
    posted 1030 days ago
Roberto Benigni at LocateTV.com

Actor Skins


Roberto Benigni Trivia


  • Which actor was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award in 1998 for "American History X", but lost to Roberto Benigni from "Life is Beautiful"?  Answer »
  • What famous actor plays in tke movie La Vita E Bella?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Roberto Benigni play as Guido Orefice in 1997?  Answer »
  • In which film would you find: Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie Lee, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Jack White, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, and Taylor Mead?  Answer »

Actor Quizzes