Ornella Muti: italo rock beauty with a Ryazan character

There are actresses who are remembered for their roles. There are those who are remembered for their beauty. And there are a few whose image becomes a myth even during their lifetime. Ornella Muti is one of the latter. Her eyes looked from posters all over the world, her name was a symbol of Italian cinema, and her personal life excited the imagination of journalists. But behind this brilliance, behind thousands of flashes of cameras and glasses of champagne, there is an amazing destiny — with Russian roots, dramatic twists and an unshakable faith in life. We will tell her story as it is: without pomposity, but with respect for her path.

Childhood, youth and the first chord of fate

Francesca Romana Rivelli (the real name of Ornella Muti) was born on March 9, 1955, in Rome. Her father, a Neapolitan, was a journalist and singer, her mother, an Estonian by origin, worked as a graphic designer. But the main mystery of her origin is the Russian roots on her father's side. Her grandfather was from Ryazan, and as she herself has admitted several times, this connection always gave her a sense of inner strength. In childhood, Francesca heard Russian at home, but did not speak it — she absorbed only the melody, the smell and the atmosphere. As the actress herself confesses: “I feel a connection with Russia at the subconscious level, it is something genetic”. Later, this feeling turned into incredible popularity in the USSR and a special love for Dostoevsky and Chekhov.

At the age of 14, Ornella won the beauty contest “Miss Cinema”, and this became the beginning of her film career. She was so young that director Salvatore Samperi did not believe that she could play adult roles at first. But it was this childlike naivety combined with a piercing gaze that became her calling card. Soon she was already filming with Marcello Mastroianni, Adriano Celentano, Richard Harris. Real fame came in 1976 with the film “Taming of the Shrew”, where she created a cult duet with Celentano, becoming legendary for millions of viewers.

Hollywood dream and its price

In the 1980s, Ornella Muti conquered Hollywood. She acted with Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was an European diva who everyone wanted to see on the covers. But the path to the top was thorny: she refused to play supporting roles, fought for the right to choose projects herself and was not afraid of conflicts with directors. Her scandalous refusal to film in “The Three Musketeers” (although she had already rehearsed the role) — because the creators of the film did not want to wait until she sorted out the documents — became legendary. “I am not a machine, I cannot work myself out, I want to live my own life,” she explained.

But behind this was also drama: her marriage to Italian producer Luciano Franco was tense. The birth of her daughter Natasha and son Andrea did not save the union. Later, she married twice more — for director Federico Facciinetto and for a plastic surgeon. Now she is alone, and she speaks about this without regret: “I have learned to be happy alone, and this has taught me to trust myself, not others”.

Ornella Muti and Russia: special relations

In the USSR, Ornella Muti was a superstar. Her films “Taming of the Shrew”, “Madly in Love”, “Sir Robinson” gathered audiences of millions. Her face was known in every family. In 2014, she came to Moscow for the first time for the premiere of the film “Crystal” — and was overwhelmed by the warmth of the reception. “I felt like not a guest, but my own”. She communicated a lot with Russian directors, participated in festivals. She remained loyal to her principle: “I am not a politician, I am a person and an artist”.

She explains her love for Russia simply: “Russians have always been for me a people of the soul. They suffer, suffer, but do not lose their inner strength. This is very close to my inner feelings. Perhaps it is that Ryazan blood”. She admits that she has read Dostoevsky's “The Idiot” several times and each time discovers something new: “This is not just a novel, it is a confession that is akin to my own soul”.

Creed of life: never give up

In interviews, Ornella Muti often repeats one phrase: “It doesn't matter how many times you fall, what matters is how many times you rise”. This philosophy has gone through her whole life — through the loss of parents, through divorces, through conflicts with producers, through difficult relationships with children (her son Andrea died in 2015 from cancer — a tragedy after which she came out only a year later). “Life teaches us to be strong, but for this we first need to allow ourselves to be weak”.

She does not hide that she uses the services of plastic surgeons, but she believes that beauty is not the main thing. “I want to age decently, but I don't want to look like a doll. The main thing is to preserve the inner light”. She continues to act, perform on the theater stage, tour the world. Her plans include a documentary film about Russian writers and possibly a visit to Ryazan to find her grandfather's grave. “This is my story, and I want to complete the circle”.

Ornella today: 70 years later

In 2026, Ornella Muti turned 71. She is still as beautiful, although now her beauty has become another — wise, calm, almost aristocratic. She continues to act in Italy, participate in television shows, record audiobooks. But her main project now is her own show “Una vita da diva” (“Life of a diva”), where she talks about the behind-the-scenes of cinema, about the people she has met, and about how to keep yourself in a world of illusions. She does not teach life, she just shares her experience: “I am not a guru, I am just a woman who has traveled a long way and has not lost herself”.

Her plans for the future are not vague: she wants to write memoirs, but not as a star romance, but as a confession about what it means to be a woman in a world that requires you to be perfect all the time. “I want my story to help others not to be afraid of their vulnerability”. She is not looking for peace, she is looking for new meanings. And perhaps this is the most important in her destiny — to be in motion, not to freeze, not to be afraid to change the vector. This is why she is still interesting, relevant and alive — not as an icon, but as a person.

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