Monica Bellucci on embracing age, beauty and her daughters — for Harper’s Bazaar
«Either you grow old with dignity, or you die»
Monica Bellucci graces the cover of the October issue of Harper’s Bazaar Spain. In the interview, the 61-year-old Italian actress speaks candidly about aging, beauty, motherhood, her career and the changes that come with getting older. Today, Bellucci sees time not as an enemy, but as an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of life.
«There is no real alternative: either you grow older and accept the process with dignity, or you die. If you look at it that way, I would choose to grow old a thousand times over. Growing older means that you have been lucky enough to remain alive and that there is a future ahead of you», the actress says.
According to Bellucci, maturity gives a person a particular kind of freedom — the ability to step back from oneself and look at the world from the outside. «You stop being just an actress and become a spectator of the entire world», she says.
For the magazine’s photoshoot, Bellucci wore looks by Fendi, Gucci, Tom Ford, Matières Fécales, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana.
The actress reflected at length on age and the process of accepting oneself. Bellucci believes that the years one has lived give an actress something that cannot be created with makeup alone.
«To give a character with such inner brokenness a body, weight and truth, you have to have lived. You need to accumulate scars and experience», Monica says.
According to Bellucci, it is not only one’s appearance that changes with age. An actress also gains the ability to notice and convey far more nuances of human life on screen.
That is why she would not want to revisit her former roles today. «It would be absurd if I tried to play the same roles now as I did in «Malèna», «Irreversible» or «The Passion of the Christ»», Bellucci says. In her view, maturity opens the door to more complex female characters and new possibilities as an actress.
Her perception of beauty has also changed over the years. For Bellucci, beauty has long been about much more than physical appearance.
«What matters is not how other people see you, but what you feel inside», the actress explains. She associates true beauty with a rich and fulfilling life, love, friends, family and the opportunity to watch one’s children grow up.
Bellucci has two daughters — 21-year-old Deva and 16-year-old Léonie — with actor Vincent Cassel. Monica says she particularly treasures being able to watch her daughters grow into adults, make their own decisions and build lives of their own.
«Seeing them grow and fly away, making their own decisions, brings a deep sense of joy and allows you to take on an enriching role as an observer», she says.
Bellucci adds that even ordinary things take on a new meaning with age. «You wake up in the morning, and your health or the ability to enjoy the aroma of coffee becomes a reason for gratitude. But you can only understand that with time», she says.
Looking back at herself at 20, the actress says she would not give her younger self too much advice. She believes that youth is valuable precisely because of its openness and lack of life experience.
«The value of youth lies in its blessed ignorance», Bellucci says.
Today, she also does not try to define once and for all who she is. «We are constantly in the process of becoming. We begin to understand ourselves through the path we have taken and the decisions we have made, but we never stop learning», the actress says.
At the same time, Bellucci speaks proudly about her femininity: «I am proud of myself and of being a woman, because femininity is the force of humanity».
Yet the greatest personal wealth she values has nothing to do with material possessions.
«The greatest luxury for me is having love around me», Bellucci says in conclusion, adding that she does not feel that anything important is missing from her life: «No, I have everything. Life has already given me enough, and I am grateful to it for that».
Photo: Harper’s Bazaar
