Roberto Benigni

**Roberto Remigio Benigni** (Italian: [roˈbɛrto beˈniɲɲi]; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film Life Is Beautiful (1997), for which he received the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best International Feature Film. Benigni was the first actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award for a non–English language performance. His directorial debut was the 1983 anthology film Tu mi turbi, which was also the acting debut of his wife, Nicoletta Braschi. He's acted in the Jim Jarmusch films Down by Law (1986), Night on Earth (1991) and Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). He also acted in Woody Allen's To Rome with Love (2012), and Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio (2019). Benigni's first theatrical success came with Cioni Mario di Gaspare fu Giulia, written by Giuseppe Bertolucci in 1975. Benigni became widely known in Italy in the 1970s for a television series called Onda Libera. His popularity increased with L'altra domenica (1976–1979). In 1998, his film Life Is Beautiful was nominated for seven Academy Awards. At the 1999 ceremony, the film was awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Dramatic Score. Benigni received the award for Best Actor.