Caterina Murino

Caterina Murino (born 15 September 1977) is an Italian actress. She began her acting career in the 1999 production of the play Richard III and later made her breakthrough with the 2004 film The Corsican File. She went on to appear in the 2006 film Casino Royale and received a European Golden Globe at the 2008 Italian Golden Globe Awards.

Early life and career

Murino was born in Cagliari, Sardinia, and initially wanted to become a doctor. In 1997 she participated in the Miss Italy contest and finished fifth. Between 1999 and 2000 she studied drama at the Scuola di Cinema e Teatro run by Francesca De Sapio. She then appeared in stage productions of Richard III and Italian-language plays.

In 2002 Italian director Dino Risi cast Murino in the television film Le ragazze di Miss Italia. She made her feature film debut the same year in Nowhere (2002), directed by Chilean writer and filmmaker Luis Sepúlveda, which received positive reviews in France. In 2004, she appeared in the French film Il bandito corso alongside Christian Clavier and Jean Reno, marking the beginning of her French acting career.

Murino gained international fame after playing Solange Dimitrios in the 2006 adaptation of the James Bond novel Casino Royale.

In early 2011, she co-starred with Rufus Sewell in the short-lived BBC One TV series Zen.

In 2011, she also appeared in Bob Sinclar's music video clip Far l'amore. She also starred in the video clip of the famous party band The Gypsy Queens' "l'Italiano".

In 2013, she starred as Penelope, Ulysses' wife for a TV production Odysseus.

In 2023, she hosted the 80th Venice International Film Festival from 30 August to 9 September.