Valentina Chico

Valentina Chico (born 2 May 1976) is an Italian television, film and theatre actress. She is best known for the lead role of Caterina Masi in the third season of popular Italian drama series Incantesimo and for playing Marta in the 1996 film Follow Your Heart.

Biography She studied acting in Rome under Pietro Gallina, and later under and Geraldine Baron. She also obtained a diploma in solfeggio at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Chico made her acting debut in 1994 in the Italo-German film Mario and the Magician by Klaus Maria Brandauer. In 1996 she starred alongside Virna Lisi in Cristina Comencini's Follow Your Heart, based on Susanna Tamaro's novel of the same name. In 1997 she starred in the short films La guerra è finita and Brividi blu, and in 2000 in the feature film , directed by Nico Cirasola. In 2005 she starred in the short film Una giornata nera, for which she won Best Actress in the Corti Pluriel 2005 section of the Venice Film Festival. In 2006 she starred in Matteo Rovere's short Homo homini lupus, 2007 winner of the Nastro d'Argento for best short film. In 2008 she portrayed Iris Cantelli in Larry Weinstein's Toscanini: In His Own Words. She portrayed the same role in the fourth season of Incantesimo in 2001. In 2003 she returned in some episodes of the series' sixth season as a guest star.

Although continuing to work for television and cinema, Chico has increasingly focused her career on theatre since the early 2000s. Among her notable theatrical works is the lead role in The Last Harem, alongside Serra Yılmaz, which ran for a record 10 years.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Mario and the Magician Silvestra 1996 Follow Your Heart Marta 1997 2005 Taxi Lovers Linda 2006 Homo homini lupus Monica Hotmann Film won Nastro d'Argento for best short film 2008 Toscanini: In His Own Words Iris Cantelli 2012 Canepazzo Stefano Costa's Wife 2017 Elisa

Television