Celebrity Movie Blog

Who is Valeria Golino?

Valeria Golino was born October 22nd, 1966 in Naples, Italy. Golino started acting in 1983 in A Joke of Destiny and 9 more roles rapidly followed including her 1986 star turn in Storia d Amore (A Tale of Love) that garnered her a Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1988, Hollywood called upon this actress of artistic, Italian film roles for— of all things— Big Top Pee-wee, the Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) vehicle. Golino says stepping on a huge, big budget Hollywood set was strange and disconcerting yet wonderful which fits the plot of Big Top Pee-wee in which Pee-wee finds a circus blown into his backyard by a storm. Two more Hollywood films followed, Rain Man (Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman), and Hot Shots! Part Deux. At the time, Golino was on a roll in the international film market and famous in her home country, although when asked about it by talk show host Arsenio Hall she would only say coyly: I am well known. Surprisingly, her Hollywood career stalled rather suddenly when she lost the Pretty Woman role to Julia Roberts. Although she has never regained her highest visibility, her almost 40 films since the early 1990s are impressive. They include Indian Runner with Sean Penn and Selma Hayeks Oscar nominated movie, Frida.