Thalia Shire: biography and filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Thalia Shire is an American actress, director and producer of Italian origin. Sister of famed director Francis Ford Coppola. Audiences know her for her role in The Godfather trilogy and the Rocky film series. She was twice nominated for an Oscar. In total, she took part in seventy projects throughout her career.

Childhood and youth

Thalia Shire (maiden name Coppola) was born April 25, 1946 in Lake Success, New York. Younger sister of director Francis Ford Coppola and university professor August Coppola.

Beginning in the late 60s, she began acting in television series and low-budget films. Then she took her husband's surname Shire, which she left even after the divorce and by which she became known.

Most notable roles

In 1972, Thalia Shire played the role of Connie Corleone in The Godfather. The film became a real hit at the box office and for some time even held the first line in the ranking of the highest grossing films in history. The film also received numerous nominations forOscar, but Shire herself was not nominated.

Two years later, the actress starred in the sequel to The Godfather. The picture again received the main prize of the American Film Academy, and Talia Shire the film brought the first nomination for "Oscar" in the category "Best Supporting Actress".

In 1976, the actress played the female lead in the sports drama Rocky. The picture became an unexpected hit, won the Academy Award in the category "Best Picture" and "Best Director", and the leading actors, Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire, brought award nominations. In addition, Shire was nominated for a Golden Globe and received awards from the National Board of Film Critics and the New York Critics Society.

The actress returned to the role of Adriana, the wife of Rocky Balboa, in four sequels to the picture. When Sylvester Stallone decided to return Rocky to the screens, in the sixth film after a long break, it was decided to "kill" Adriana off-screen, so Shire did not take part in the project.

Besides, Thalia worked with her famous brother a few more times. She played in a fragment of the film almanac "New York Stories", directed by Francis, and also returned to the role of Connie in the third part of "The Godfather".

All this time the actress continued to act, but her other projects were not very successful. ATIn 1995, she staged the romantic drama "Until Night", which did not cause much enthusiasm among the audience and film critics.

In recent years, Talia Shire has appeared as a guest star on the successful series Kingdom and Grace & Frankie.

Private life

In 1970, Thalia married composer David Shire, whose last name she kept even after her divorce ten years later. From this marriage there is a son Matthew.

In 1980 she married producer Jack Schwartzman. From this marriage there are two sons, musician Robert and actor Jason, who became famous thanks to the films of Wes Anderson and the detective series Bored to Death.

Talia Shire is also the aunt of Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage and director Sofia Coppola.