---
name: "Nicoletta Braschi"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/nicoletta-braschi"
fi1m_id: "nicoletta-braschi"
imdb_id: "nm0000971"
tmdb_id: 9235
wikidata_id: "Q254462"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "10 August 1960"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T17:58:44.112002+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nicoletta Braschi

## Identity

Nicoletta Braschi

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nicoletta-braschi
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** nicoletta-braschi
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000971
- **TMDB ID:** 9235
- **Wikidata ID:** Q254462
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicoletta_Braschi, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q254462, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000971/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9235

Actor. Born 10 August 1960 in Cesena, Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 10 August 1960, Cesena, Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- **Active:** 1986–1997
- **Also known as:** Николетта Браски, 尼科萊塔·布拉斯基
- **Frequently works with:** [Roberto Benigni](https://film.one/person/roberto-benigni.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (1), 1990s 65 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicoletta_Braschi, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q254462, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000971/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9235

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Down by Law*](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md) (83)
- **Apple TV:** [*Life Is Beautiful*](https://film.one/film/life-is-beautiful.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Nicoletta Braschi

> Nicoletta Braschi's naturalism gives Roberto Benigni's extravagant comedy a useful steadiness. We value her as more than a romantic counterpart, though those parts can undersell her; the dramatic work deserves attention alongside the courtships.

In the courtship scenes of *Life Is Beautiful* (1997), Roberto Benigni's Guido makes trying to win Dora look like strenuous work. Nicoletta Braschi plays the woman who makes the effort worthwhile, without having to match his extravagance. We laughed at his attempts because Benigni throws himself into each invention with so little embarrassment. Braschi's naturalism matters here: the romance needs someone we can believe in while he is being ridiculous. We like her in this quieter job, even as we wish it gave her more to do.

Her screen work began alongside Benigni in *Tu mi turbi* (1983), but it was never confined to his films. Jim Jarmusch cast her in *Down by Law* (1986) and *Mystery Train* (1989), before *Johnny Stecchino* (1991) brought another substantial Benigni partnership. Comedy and drama, leading parts and ensemble work, sit alongside one another rather than falling into tidy separate periods. The recurring assignment is more specific: she is often the romantic or familial counterpart to Benigni's characters.

That familiarity can obscure the dramatic work. In *Ovosodo* (1997), her teacher Giovanna Fornari offers a useful place to look beyond the Benigni films. There is a reservation about her restraint, too: in the theatre, her measured playing of Beckett's Winnie in *Giorni felici* has drawn criticism for lacking intensity. Nor should affection for Braschi excuse *Life Is Beautiful*, whose romance we enjoy but whose softened Holocaust setting makes its reassurance hard to accept.

After a long gap, she returned in *Happy as Lazzaro* (2018), playing Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna for Alice Rohrwacher. She also appeared in *The White Crow* (2018). Those later credits are a reason to keep looking beyond the Benigni partnership, rather than let its familiarity settle our judgement of her. Start with the courtship in *Life Is Beautiful* for the familiar Braschi, then try *Ovosodo* for the dramatic actor that familiarity can conceal.

## Biography

Nicoletta Braschi is an Italian actress and producer. She trained at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome, where she met actor and director Roberto Benigni in 1980. They married in 1991 and have frequently collaborated on screen.

Braschi is known for her roles in Benigni's films, including Maria in *Johnny Stecchino* (1991) and Dora in *Life Is Beautiful* (1997). She has also appeared in Jim Jarmusch's *Down by Law* (1986) and *Mystery Train* (1989), and in *Happy as Lazzaro* (2018). She won a David di Donatello award and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for her work in *Life Is Beautiful*. In 2002 she served on the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Life Is Beautiful* (1997), Fi1m 65, as Dora — [page](https://film.one/film/life-is-beautiful.md)
- *Down by Law* (1986), Fi1m 83, as Nicoletta — [page](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The White Crow* (2018), as Claire's Mother
- *Happy as Lazzaro* (2018), as Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna
- *Quiproquo* (2011), Actor
- *I Vicerè* (2007), Thanks
- *The Tiger and the Snow* (2005), as Vittoria · Producer
- *Coffee and Cigarettes* (2004), Thanks
- *I Like to Work – Mobbing* (2004), as Anna
- *Pinocchio* (2002), as Blue Fairy · Producer
- *Life Is Beautiful* (1997), as Dora — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/life-is-beautiful.md)
- *Ovosodo* (1997), as Giovanna Fornari
- *Who Killed Pasolini?* (1995), as Graziella Chiarcossi
- *Pereira Declares* (1995), as Marta
- *The Monster* (1994), as Jessica Rossetti
- *Son of the Pink Panther* (1993), as Jacqueline Gambrelli
- *Johnny Stecchino* (1991), as Maria
- *Especially on Sunday* (1991), as Nicoletta
- *The Sheltering Sky* (1990), as French Woman
- *Mystery Train* (1989), as Luisa
- *The Little Devil* (1988), as Nina
- *How Good the Whites Are* (1988), as Luisa
- *Down by Law* (1986), as Nicoletta — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md)
- *Secrets Secrets* (1985), as Suora
- *You Upset Me* (1983), as Maria
- *Cinématon* (1978), as N°800

## Awards

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film 2019: European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film (nominated), for *Happy as Lazzaro*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/nicoletta-braschi