Simonetta Stefanelli

Simonetta Stefanelli (; born 30 November 1954) is an Italian former actress. Internationally, she is best known for her performance as Apollonia Vitelli in the 1972 film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Her other roles include appearances in Moses the Lawgiver, Scandal in the Family and Three Brothers. In 1992, Stefanelli made her last film appearance in the drama Le amiche del cuore (Close Friends) directed by her then-husband Michele Placido.

Personal life Stefanelli was married to the actor/director Michele Placido, with whom she appeared in several films, including the 1975 erotic drama Peccati in famiglia. They had three children together, including actress Violante Placido, and divorced in 1994. Following their separation, Stefanelli and her children briefly lived in London.

A hoax stating that Stefanelli had died appeared on the Internet in 2006, and then again in 2008.

Career

Before appearing in The Godfather in 1972, Stefanelli had small supporting roles in several Italian films directed by renowned Italian directors: La moglie giapponese (The Japanese Wife) by Gian Luigi Polidoro, Non commettere atti impuri (Do Not Commit Adultery) by Giulio Petroni, Homo Eroticus by Marco Vicario, and In nome del popolo italiano (In the Name of the Italian People) by Dino Risi. In 1972, she appeared in the German television film Die Sonne angreifen (To Attack the Sun) by Peter Lilienthal.

The same year, Stefanelli landed her breakout role as Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone, the doomed Sicilian wife of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in the American crime film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Stefanelli, who was 16 at the time of filming, revealed that when filming the wedding night scene in Sicily, her gown strap slipped revealing her breasts which Coppola insisted on keeping in the scene. Her character was featured in the 1977 miniseries The Godfather: A Novel for Television.

In 1973, she posed nude in the Italian edition of Playboy, but later refused a career in Hollywood, in order to avoid being typecast and required to do nudity. She explained during an interview in 1997 about the offers of Hollywood filmmakers: "They wanted nothing more than to expose my body... I refused so much work." She continued her career in Italy. In 1973, she filmed one picture in Spanish, El mejor alcalde, el rey (The Best Mayor, the King), directed by Rafael Gil. The following year, Stefanelli appeared in the miniseries Moses the Lawgiver, starring Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quayle and Ingrid Thulin. She would later have roles in many Italian films, including Peccati in famiglia (Scandal in the Family), an erotic drama she starred in opposite her husband Michele Placido. Eriprando Visconti, Walerian Borowczyk, Franco Castellano, Giuseppe Moccia and Mario Caiano are some of the directors she worked with.

Stefanelli took a break from acting in the mid-1970s following her marriage and the birth of her daughter, Violante Placido, in 1976. She returned in the early 1980s to appear in Francesco Rosi's Tre fratelli (Three Brothers). After appearing in Michele Placido's film Le amiche del cuore (Close Friends), Stefanelli ended her acting career in 1992, just one year before her daughter began her own acting career.

After a hoax about her death surfaced online in 2007, Stefanelli stated that if a film project came along, she might participate in it. "But after my death, I don't know," she joked.

Having quit her acting career in 1992, Stefanelli owned and operated a fashion store in Rome called Simo Bloom, where she designed purses and shoes.

Filmography Title Year Role Director Notes La moglie giapponese 1968 Girl Gian Luigi Polidoro Do Not Commit Adultery 1971 Maria Teresa Giulio Petroni Die Sonne angreifen 1971 Henia Peter Lilienthal TV film Man of the Year 1971 Tano's Daughter Marco Vicario In the Name of the Italian People 1971 Giugi Santenocito Dino Risi The Godfather 1972 Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone Francis Ford Coppola Il caso Pisciotta 1972 Anna Eriprando Visconti Gli amici degli amici hanno saputo 1973 Fulvio Marcolin The King is the Best Mayor 1973 Elvira Rafael Gil The Big Family 1973 Mrs. Vitale Tonino Ricci La profanazione 1974 Tiziano Longo Ho incontrato un'ombra 1974 Gal Fabian Daniele D'Anza TV series; 3 episodes Young Lucrezia 1974 Lucrezia Borgia Luciano Ercoli Moses the Lawgiver 1974 Cotbi Gianfranco De Bosio TV miniseries La nuora giovane 1975 Mrs. Flora Luigi Russo Scandal in the Family 1975 Doris Bruno Gaburro The Godfather: A Novel for Television 1977 Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone Francis Ford Coppola TV miniseries Il falco e la colomba 1981 Rita Alemani Fabrizio Lori Three Brothers 1983 Young Donato's wife Francesco Rosi Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana 1983 Assuntina Piero Schivazappa TV series; 3 episodes Ars Amandi 1985 Widow Walerian Borowczyk Grandi magazzini 1986 Marisa Romano Castellano & Pipolo Non basta una vita 1988 Lungo la via Mario Caiano TV series Close Friends 1992 Giuliana Michele Placido