Asia Argento
Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with appearances in "XXX" (2002), "Land of the Dead" (2005) and "Marie Antoinette" (2006). Her other notable acting credits include "Queen Margot" (1994), "Let's Not Keep in Touch" (1994), "Traveling Companion" (1996), "Last Days" (2005) and "Islands" (2011). Argento is the recipient of several accolades, including two David di Donatello awards for Best Actress and three Italian Golden Globes . Her directorial credits include "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" (2004) and "Misunderstood" (2014). After the Weinstein scandal in 2017, she became a leader of the "#MeToo" movement. In August 2018, "The New York Times" detailed allegations that Argento sexually assaulted actor Jimmy Bennett in 2013, when he was 17 and she was 37. Early life. Argento was born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento in Rome on 20 September 1975. Her father is Dario Argento, an Italian filmmaker known for his work in the Italian giallo genre and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies. Her mother  was actress Daria Nicolodi and her maternal great-grandfather was composer Alfredo Casella. One of her great-grandmothers was a French pianist of Jewish origin. When Argento was born, the city registry office in Rome refused to acknowledge "Asia" as an appropriate name, and instead officially inscribed her name as "Aria" (a name accepted by the city registry). She went by the name Asia, which she later used professionally. She pronounces her name as "AH-she-ah", which friends sometimes abbreviate to sound like "Ozzie". Argento has said that as a child she was lonely and depressed, owing in part  to her parents' work. Her father used to read her his horror scripts as bedtime stories. At age eight, Argento published a book of poems. At the age of 14, she ran away from home. Argento has mentioned in interviews that she does not have a close relationship with her father. She has mentioned that he was absent when she was a child, and has also mentioned that, because of this, she did not have a happy childhood. Regarding her relationship with her father and her reason for acting, she has stated that: In an interview with "Filmmaker" magazine, she  stated that, at one time, "I was sick for a while; I was agoraphobic. I was afraid to go out of my apartment for a long time, I could only go out to work." Career. Asia Argento began to act at the age of nine, when she was cast in a small role in a film by Sergio Citti. When she was 16, she starred in her father's film "Trauma" (1993). She received the David di Donatello (Italy's version of the Academy Award) for Best Actress in 1994 for her performance in "Perdiamoci di vista", and again in  1996 for "Compagna di viaggio", which also earned her a Grolla d'oro award. Argento subsequently began to appear in English-language movies, such as "B. Monkey" and "New Rose Hotel" (both 1998). Argento also performed in French-language roles, beginning with Charlotte de Sauve "La Reine Margot" (1994). Around the same time, she made her first foray into directing with the short films "Prospettive" and "A ritroso" (both 1994) and a documentary about her father (in 1996) and Abel Ferrara (in 1998). In 2000, Argento directed and wrote her first fiction feature film, "Scarlet Diva" (2000), which her father co -produced. In a review, "Filmmaker" magazine called the film "riotously funny" and dubbed Argento "a filmmaker with a great degree of promise". She achieved wider recognition when she portrayed Russian undercover spy Yelena in the Hollywood action film "XXX" (2002), alongside Vin Diesel. The film grossed $277.4 million and launched Argento to international fame. She directed her second feature film, "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" (2004), based on a book by JT LeRoy. In addition to her cinematic accomplishments, Argento has written a number of stories for magazines such as "Dynamo" and "L'Espresso", while her first novel , titled "I Love You Kirk", was published in Italy in 1999. She has modeled for the denim jeans brand Miss Sixty. She became a fan of the band Hondo Maclean when they wrote a track named after her and liked the track so much that she sent them pictures which they used as the cover of their 2003 album "Plans for a Better Day". She appeared in Placebo's music video for "This Picture", and appeared on Placebo frontman Brian Molko's cover version of "Je t'aime... moi non plus". Argento has also starred in Catherine Breillat's period drama  The Last Mistress. She dubbed the Italian version of the video game "Mirror's Edge" in the role of the runner Faith Connors, from 2008 to 2009. Argento has been part of the Legendary Tiger Man's project "Femina", which was released on 14 September 2009. She is featured on the song "Life Ain't Enough for You", which was released as a single along with the B-side "My stomach is the most violent of all Italy", in which she also contributes vocals. In May 2013, Argento's debut album, entitled "Total Entropy", was released by Nuun Music. In  2014, Argento played supporting role in the British film "Shongram", a fictional romantic drama based around the factual and historical events of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Also in 2014, she directed her third feature film, titled "Misunderstood" (2014), was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at that year's Cannes Film Festival. That year, while promoting the film, Argento stated that she was not going to act anymore and that she had decided to concentrate on writing and directing. Writing. Asia published her autobiography, "Anatomy of a wild heart," in 2021. Personal life. Besides Italian, Argento  speaks English and French, which she learned for her role in "Les Morsures de L'Aube". In 2009, Argento signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. In 2017, she expressed regret for signing the petition, calling it "a mistake," and stating later on that Polanski’s continued career, "speaks terribly of the industry." Argento moved to Germany in 2017 after the harsh experiences of victim blaming received in Italy. Relationships. Her first child , Anna Lou, was born in 2001. Italian rock and roll musician Morgan (lead singer of Bluvertigo), is the father. She named her daughter after her half-sister Anna Ceroli, who died in a motorcycle accident. Argento married film director Michele Civetta on 27 August 2008 in Arezzo. Her second child, Nicola Giovanni, was born in 2008 in Rome. The couple divorced in 2013. She and her children live in the Vigna Clara neighborhood of Rome. Argento worked & became romantically involved with Anthony Bourdain in 2016 during the production of the . They fell in love and were in a relationship for  quite some time. Bourdain become outspoken alongside Argento during her allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and the time after those events. Bourdain's relationship with Argento is noted as a contributing factor for his suicide in 2018. Sexual assault allegations by Argento. Argento alleged in an October 2017 "New Yorker" article by Ronan Farrow that she had been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s. She would later have consensual albeit "one-sided" sexual relations with him. She confirmed that a scene in "Scarlet Diva" where her character is accosted by a movie executive was indeed a reference to Weinstein . Later, Argento stated that the "article did a huge disservice to me and to my truth by simplifying all this", and accused Farrow of "misrepresenting" what happened to her. Argento delivered a speech on 20 May 2018, following the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, calling the festival Weinstein's "hunting ground", alleging that she was raped by Weinstein in Cannes when she was 21. She added, "And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women." On 24 January 2021, Argento alleged that director Rob Cohen drugged her with gamma -Hydroxybutyric acid and raped her during the filming of "xXx". A representative of Cohen denied Argento's assault accusation as "absolutely false". Sexual assault allegation against Argento. On 19 August 2018, "The New York Times" published allegations that Argento sexually assaulted actor Jimmy Bennett. Argento had first met Bennett when he played her son in the 2004 film "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" when Bennett was 7 years old. The alleged assault occurred in 2013 when he was two months past his 17th birthday in a hotel room in California where the age of consent is 18; Argento  was 37 at the time. According to Bennett, in their encounter Argento gave him alcohol, performed oral sex on him and had sexual intercourse with him. Argento had quietly arranged a $380,000 nondisclosure settlement with Bennett in the months following her revelations regarding Weinstein. Bennett said when Argento came out against Weinstein, it stirred memories of his own experience in 2013. He imparted that he had sought to resolve the matter privately, and had not spoken out sooner "because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative." In a statement provided to the "Times", he  said: "I was underage when the event took place, and I tried to seek justice in a way that made sense to me at the time because I was not ready to deal with the ramifications of my story becoming public. At the time I believed there was still a stigma to being in the situation as a male in our society. I didn't think that people would understand the event that took place from the eyes of a teenage boy." Bennett said he would like to "move past this event in my life", adding, "today I choose to  move forward, no longer in silence." Argento denied the allegations, claiming that she never had a sexual encounter with Bennett and that when he made a request for money to her, her partner Anthony Bourdain paid him to avoid negative publicity. On 22 August, she released a statement reading: "I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the "New York Times" article dated 20 August 2018, as circulated also in national and international news. I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett." A spokeswoman for  the "Times" responded, "We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting, which was based on verified documents and multiple sources." Fellow #MeToo advocate Rose McGowan initially expressed support for Argento and implored others to show restraint, stating, "None of us know the truth of the situation and I'm sure more will be revealed. Be gentle." McGowan faced criticism on social media for her comments, which contradicted the #MeToo movement's message of believing survivors. Following Argento's denials, a photograph of her topless in bed with Bennett was published, as well as her alleged admission of sex with  him in text messages to model Rain Dove. In the screenshots, Argento reputedly stated: "I had sex with him it felt weird. I didn't know he was a minor until the shakedown letter." In a letter published online in September 2018, Argento's attorney admitted there was a sexual encounter, but claimed Bennett "sexually attacked" Argento. Amid the allegations, it was announced that Argento had been dropped as a judge on "X-Factor Italy". Awards. Asia Argento has received the following awards: Recognition. In 2012, Argento was highlighted in the retrospective "Argento: Il Cinema Nel Sangue" at the Museum  of Arts and Design in New York City. The retrospective celebrated the influence of the Argento family on filmmaking in Italy and around the world. It highlighted Asia's contribution as well as that of her mother (Daria Nicolodi), father, grandfather (Salvatore), and uncle (Claudio).