Greta Scacchi

Greta Scacchi

Greta Scacchi, January 2008
Born Greta Gracco
(1960-02-18) 18 February 1960
Milan, Italy
Nationality Italy
Australia
Occupation Actor
Partner(s) Carlo Mantegazza
Children
  • Leila George D'Onofrio
  • Matteo Mantegazza

Greta Scacchi (English pronunciation: /ˈskækiː/, Italian pronunciation: [ˌɡrɛːta ˈskakːi]; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress known for her roles in the films White Mischief, Presumed Innocent and The Player. She won an Emmy Award in 1996 for her portrayal of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.

Early life

Scacchi was born Greta Gracco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɡrakːo]) in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela, an English dancer and antiques dealer.[1] Scacchi's parents divorced when she was four, and her mother returned to her native England with Greta and her two older brothers, first to London, then to Haywards Heath, West Sussex.[2] In 1975, after her mother's remarriage to Giovanni Carsaniga,[3] the family settled in Perth, Australia,[4] where she attended Hollywood Senior High School and the University of Western Australia (UWA).[5] She made her theatrical debut at UWA's New Dolphin Theatre in Edward Bond's play Early Morning.[6]

Career

Greta Scacchi at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

In 1977, Scacchi left UWA to return to England to pursue an acting career, studying at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, with Miranda Richardson and Amanda Redman. In 1982, she made her film debut in the German movie, Das Zweite Gesicht (The Second Face), and gave versatile performances in films, such as Heat and Dust (1983), The Ebony Tower (1984), The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), White Mischief (1987), Presumed Innocent (1990), The Player (1992) and Country Life (1994). She turned down the role of Catherine Trammell in Basic Instinct (1992).[7]

In 1996, she won an Emmy Award for her work as Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and numerous other awards. In 1999, she had a role as an Italian-Australian single mother in the Australian film Looking for Alibrandi,[8] a performance for which she won the 2000 AFI award for Best Supporting Actress.[9]

In 2007, she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for Broken Trail.

Scacchi is fluent in English, French, German and Italian, which has made her a popular choice for European casting directors and has been an asset when working for European directors and producers. In May 2011, she appeared alongside Anita Dobson in the play Bette and Joan at London's Arts Theatre, directed by Bill Alexander, about the personal and professional relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.[10]

In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at The Old Vic in London. Scacchi played Regan.[11]

Personal life

Scacchi was in a relationship with New Zealand musician Tim Finn from 1983–89. She has a daughter (born 1992) with actor Vincent D'Onofrio[12][13] Scacchi also has a son, Matteo born in 1998, with Carlo Mantegazza .[14]

Scacchi applied for British citizenship after turning 18, but was turned down because her father was not a British citizen. After appealing unsuccessfully, she decided not to apply for it again, and retained her Italian citizenship.[15] In January 1995, she became an Australian citizen and has since had dual nationality.

She lived for many years in Hurstpierpoint until moving in early 2011 to a rented property in East Grinstead because of a dispute with her neighbour.[16]

Scacchi is an active supporter of campaigns and organisations that promote environmental causes. She has supported Greenpeace and, more recently, Christian Aid's climate change campaign.[17] In 2009, she posed nude with a Codfish to promote the documentary End of the Line, a film exposing the effects of over-fishing.[18]

In October 2013 she was made a Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito for her services to the Arts.[19]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Bergerac - "The Hood and the Harlequin" Annie Series 1, episode 10.
1982 Das Zweite Gesicht Anna
1983 Dead on Time Pretty girl
1983 Heat and Dust Olivia Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer to Film
1984 The Ebony Tower Diana TV film
1984 Camille Marguerite TV film
1984 Waterfront Anna Cheri TV mini-series
1985 Defence of the Realm Nina Beckman
1985 Burke & Wills Julia Matthews
1985 Doctor Fischer of Geneva Anna Luise-Fischer TV film
1985 The Coca-Cola Kid Terri
1987 White Mischief Diana Lady Broughton
1987 Good Morning, Babylon Edna Bonnano
1987 A Man in Love Jane Steiner
1988 Woman in the Moon Angela
1988 Love and Fear Maria
1990 Presumed Innocent Carolyn Polhemus
1991 Shattered Judith Merrick
1992 Fires Within Isabel
1992 Salt on Our Skin George
1992 The Player June
1992 Turtle Beach Judith
1994 Country Life Deborah Voysey
1994 The Browning Version Laura Crocker-Harris
1995 Jefferson in Paris Maria Cosway
1996 Emma Mrs. Weston
1996 Così Mental patient Uncredited
1996 Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny Tsarina Alexandra TV film
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1997 The Odyssey Penelope TV film
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1997 The Serpent's Kiss Juliana
1998 Love and Rage Agnes MacDonnell
1998 The Red Violin Victoria Byrd
1998 Macbeth Lady Macbeth TV film
1999 Ladies Room Lucia
1999 Cotton Mary Lily MacIntosh
1999 Tom's Midnight Garden Aunt Gwen
1999 The Manor Mrs. Ravenscroft
1999 Looking for Alibrandi Christina Alibrandi Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actress
2000 One of the Hollywood Ten Gale Sondergaard
2001 The Farm Liz Cooper TV film
2001 Festival in Cannes Alice Palmer
2002 Jeffrey Archer: The Truth Margaret Thatcher TV film
2002 Daniel Deronda Lydia Glasher TV serial
2003 Baltic Storm Julia Reuter
2004 Strange Crime Nicoletta
2004 Beyond the Sea Mary Duvan
2005 Flightplan Therapist
2006 Broken Trail Nola Johns 2 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2006 Marple Tuppence Beresford Episode: "By the Pricking of My Thumbs"
2006 The Book of Revelation Isabel
2006 Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the stories of Stephen King Dr. Katie Arlen TV mini-series- Episode-Autopsy Room Four
2007 Hidden Love Dr. Dubois
2008 Brideshead Revisited Cara
2008 Shoot on Sight Susan Ali
2008 Miss Austen Regrets Cassandra Austen TV film
2008 The Trojan Horse Helen Madigan 2 episodes
2010 Un altro mondo Cristina
2010 Way to Live Forever Private instructor
2011 Hindenburg Helen Van Zandt TV film
2013 Agatha Christie's Poirot Mrs Burton-Cox Episode: "Elephants Can Remember"
2014 The Falling Miss Mantel
2015 A.D. The Bible Continues Mother Mary 4 episodes
2016 "War and Peace" Countess Rostov 6 episodes

References

  1. ↑ "Greta Scacchi profile". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  2. ↑ Law, Cally; Scacchi, Greta (17 Aug 2008). "Slight mischief". The Sunday Times. p. 2.
  3. ↑ "Greta Scacchi Biography – Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 Nov 2012.
  4. ↑ Cornwell, Jane (22 June 2014). "Greta Scacchi: acting royalty". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Bosworth, Michael (2000). "Hollywood Senior High School – A History" (PDF). Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Octagon Takes a Bow". Uniview 29 (1): 16–19. Summer 2010. Retrieved 6 Jan 2011.
  7. ↑ Bryce Hallett, Her world's a stage, The Sydney Morning Herald, Metropolitan, 10 February 2001, p.3
  8. ↑ "Urban Cinefile Scacchi, Greta - Looking For Alibrandi". Urbancinefile.com.au. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  9. ↑ George, Sandy (19 November 2000). "Looking For Alibrandi finds five AFI Awards | News | Screen". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Bette & Joan". Londontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Old Vic | King Lear". Bookings.oldvictheatre.com. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Macdonald, Marianne (28 September 2008). "Greta Scacchi: glad to be back". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  13. ↑ Macdonald, Marianne (28 November 1999). "'Trainspotting, I'd love to do that...'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2015. Her daughter's father is the actor Vincent D'Onofrio, with whom Scacchi had a four-year relationship that ended acrimoniously not long after the baby, Leila, was born
  14. ↑ Maher, Kevin (26 April 2008). "Greta Scacchi takes on Miss Austen Regrets". The Times. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Urban, Andrew L. "Scacchi, Greta – Looking for Alibrandi". Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  16. ↑ Walker, Emily (5 February 2011). "Greta Scacchi's "driven out" of Sussex dream home". The Argus. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "Greta Scacchi". Christian Aid. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent. "Greta Scacchi revels in her happiest role yet: environmental campaigner | Environment | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Cinema: conferito a Greta Scacchi Ordine a Merito

Filmography

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