"I've stopped thinking in terms like, 'It's just a dress.' It's like people saying to me: 'What are you so nervous about? It's just a film!"
"In Cannes I will focus on my dress. On such occasions a dress is a way to say: 'Here I am'"
Famous for
She's the call-center girl in the film Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzì. In competition at Cannes with La Nostra Vita by Daniele Luchetti: "Elio Germano and I work well together. Even looks-wise."
Personal style
Au naturel, but only on the outside. "Who said I don't like playing the vamp lady? Sure, I like to change all the time: I love dressing up, it's the good part of being an actress, right?"
Zoom
Born in Palermo in a family of cinema and theater lovers, she adores her home town: "I used to ride around on a Vespa with my first boyfriend and I would close my eyes and try to recognize the streets by their smells. When in Paris, on my Erasmus project, I would dream of those same streets, of the itineraries I chose to reach University or Mondello. I really missed my city."
Theater helped her train for cinema, with lots of stage performances (also as an author): in 2000 she took a diploma in acting at the Teatès school in her home town and took part in all available workshops and internships. "And so, one day, while I was touring in Pisa, I was noticed by a collaborator of film director Virzì who was looking for the leading actress of his next movie. After five auditions I was cast."
At college, she studied philosophy. For Virzì's film she has even reworked parts of the dissertation thesis of the main character: "They had no meaning, so I rewrote them."
She hates being labelled or defined in any way: "I follow an individual, clear path, I choose things that that are not boring."
"I'm very proud of going to Cannes with La Nostra Vita by Luchetti. I share everyone's pride: from the makeup artist to the cameraman. It's a group effort, we actors are just the representatives."
She will debut on TV next fall, in serial Il Commissario Montalbano: "An affectionate participation, an homage to a TV show I used to watch all the time."
Public style
"I know little about high fashion, I choose not to be dressed by a single designer: I believe that each brand has an item, maybe even only one, that suits me."
Private style
"I don't know how to apply make-up but I like to take care of my body, in my own way I feel sensuous. I think that sensuousness is actually something else from the stereotypes we get all the time".
Shoes
She hates pointy shoes: "Why adding another half-foot to yours?"
Hair
Auburn-colored and done up for Tutta la vita davanti, wavy and natural brown for Viola di mare, blonde for Due vite per caso: her hair changes according to the role and the character she plays.
Jewelry
Yellow gold earrings and necklaces.
Favorite dress
"There's a '70s dress of my mother's, a Marianne Faithful kind of pattern. I put it on when I'm feeling down and it cheers me up."
Favorite designers
For the red carpet she usually chooses Gucci, Cavalli and Missoni.
Favorite book
Life: A User's Manual, by Georges Perec. "You can begin it and end it when you wish. It always makes sense."
Favorite music
Gianna Nannini, Franco Battiato.
Favorite actresses
"My idols have always been Gena Rowlands, Diane Keaton, Debra Winger, Monica Vitti, strong, determined and also a little masculine women. I get inspired a lot by actors, too. For instance, I always keep in mind Marcello Mastroianni in Una giornata particolare playing the role of a homosexual."
She loves
"Cold cuts and Emilia-Romagna cuisine."
She hates
"Boredom and animal prints."
We love her because
The sunny and spontaneous way she interacts with the audience, without acting like a diva.
by Marika Surace
Published:
05/19/2010
Please click the link to read:
http://www.vogue.it/en/vogue-starscelebsmodels/vogue-stars/2010/05/isabella-ragonese
