Valeria Golino
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"I liked modeling. Only the part to feed my vanity. When you're young, you need reassurance" --Valeria Golino in Us, June 1994.
Biography
An alluring brunette actress of Italian and Greek heritage, Valeria Golino made her film debut at age 16 in Lina Wertmuller's "A Joke of Destiny Lying in Wait Around the Corner Like a Robber" (1983). Raised in Greece and Italy, she worked regularly in Italian features including "Little Flames" (1985) and "Love Story" (1986). She made an impact in the USA co-starring in two high-profile 1988 films opposite two very different leading men. "Big Top Pee-Wee" cast her as a trapeze artist who falls for Pee-Wee Herman, with whom she shares what is reputedly the screen's longest kiss. As Tom Cruise's sympathetic girlfriend in "Rain Man," the actress gave autistic Dustin Hoffman his first kiss.
Usually cast as "the sultry woman," Golino proved adept at comedy in the Jim Abrahams adventure spoof "Hot Shots!" (1991) for which she performed a torch song. She also starred in the inevitable sequel, "Hot Shots! Part Deux" (1993). In between, Golino played David Morse's Mexican-born wife in Sean Penn's directorial debut, "The Indian Runner" (1991). More recently, she was one of the women in the life of composer Ludwig Beethoven in "Immortal Beloved" (1994). had small roles in "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Four Rooms" (both 1995) and was one of the denizens of post-apocalyptic Southern California in "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." (1996).
Golino then primarily plied her trade in Italian cinema, resurfacing occasionally in American films such as the episodic drama "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her" (2000) in which played the terminally ill Lilly in the sequence "Goodnight Lilly, Goodnight Christine." Her next major role was in producer-star Salma Hayek's long-gestating biopic "Frida," based on the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1981
Began modeling at age 14
1983
At age 16 met director Lina Wertmuller at her uncle's house in Rome; director cast her in "Scherzo del Destino in Agguato Dietro L'Angolo Come un Briganti di Strada/A Joke of Destiny Lying in Wait Around the Corner Like a Robber"
1984
First US film, "Blind Date"
1988
Had featured role in "Big Top Pee-Wee"
1988
Played Tom Cruise's love interest in "Rain Man"
1991
Co-starred in "The Indian Runner", directed by Sean Penn
1991
Displayed comedic abilities in "Hot Shots!"
1993
Reprised her role in "Hot Shots! Part Deux"
1994
Appeared in "Immortal Beloved"
1995
Played one of the witches in the Allison Anders-directed segment ("Strange Brew") of the omnibus "Four Rooms"
1996
Had featured role in "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A."
2000
co-starred in "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her"
2002
played Lupe Marin in Salma Hayek's Frida Kahlo biopic "Frida"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I liked modeling. Only the part to feed my vanity. When you're young, you need reassurance" --Valeria Golino in Us, June 1994.
