shows off her
Coppa Volpi Mezzogiorno made her stage debut with the role of Ofelia in
Qui est là, based on
Shakespeare's
Hamlet. The play toured various European cities. She received the Premio Coppola-Prati 1996, the jury was presided over by theatre critic Franco Quadri. One year later, she made her film debut in
Il viaggio della sposa (The Bride's Journey), written by and starring Sergio Rubini. Mezzogiorno was awarded the Targa d'Argento as the New Talent in Italian Cinema, she was also given the
Grolla d'oro, and the Globo d'Oro by the Foreign Press Association and the Premio Flaiano as Best Actress of the 1997 - 1998 season. In 1998, Mezzogiorno starred in the film
Del perduto amore directed by
Michele Placido, with
Fabrizio Bentivoglio and
Sergio Rubini (she was awarded the
Nastro d'Argento, the
Ciak d'Oro and
Premio Pasinetti as best actress in a starring role) and, for the Italian National Television Network
RaiDue, in a film made-for-TV
Più leggero non basta ("A lighter burden to bear") in the role of a young girl with muscular dystrophy, directed by
Elisabetta Lodoli with
Stefano Accorsi. In 1999, Mezzogiorno played the role of Silvia, daughter of Enzo Tortora by whose mistaken conviction the film was inspired. The film
Un uomo perbene with Michele Placido and
Mariangela Melato, was directed by
Maurizio Zaccaro. In that same year, she worked in Asini, directed by
Antonello Grimaldi, with celebrated Italian comedian
Claudio Bisio. In 2000, she travelled between
Prague and Paris for work in the TV miniseries
Les Miserables, directed by
Josée Dayan, with
Gérard Depardieu and
John Malkovich. She worked in Denmark in
Nobel, directed by
Fabio Carpi, with
Héctor Alterio. In Italy, she worked with Puglielli in
Tutta la conoscenza del mondo ("All There Is to Know"), and then, ''L'ultimo bacio'' ("The Last Kiss") directed by
Gabriele Muccino with Stefano Accorsi and
Stefania Sandrelli (winning the
Premio Flaiano). With the success of this last movie Giovanna become really famous in Italy. In 2001, Mezzogiorno appeared in the film
Malefemmene with
Ángela Molina and directed by
Fabio Conversi, in the role of Francesca, who was imprisoned following a judicial error and came into contact with the reality of friendship and attachment which she had never imagined possible. She also worked on
Stai con me, with
Adriano Giannini and directed by
Livia Giampalmo, in the role of a mother of twins. In 2002, she worked on the set of
Ilaria Alpi - Il più crudele dei giorni, in the role of the protagonist, directed by
Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani (the film tells the tragic and dark story of the Italian TV journalist killed in
Mogadiscio). She also starred in France in the Holocaust-period TV drama
Entrusted, directed by
Giacomo Battiato, with
Klaus Maria Brandauer,
Thomas Brodie-Sangster and
Steven Moyer, based on
Loup Duran's best-seller. In Italy, she starred in the film
La finestra di fronte ("Facing windows") directed by
Ferzan Özpetek, costarring
Massimo Girotti and
Raoul Bova. This film, critically acclaimed and a box office success, earned her a lot of awards: the
David di Donatello, the
Ciak d’Oro, the
Nastro d'Argento, the
Globo d'oro by the Foreign Press, the
Flaiano Award, the
Karlovy Vary Award as "Best Actress in a Leading Role". Mezzogiorno starred in the film
L’amore ritorna, directed by Sergio Rubini, costarring Fabrizio Bentivoglio and
Margherita Buy. She also worked in France, on the set of her first comedy: ''Au secours, j'ai 30 ans'', directed by
Marie-Anne Chazel, with
Pierre Palmade. In 2004, Mezzogiorno worked in the TV movie
Virginia (La monaca di Monza), directed by
Alberto Sironi. She then returned to the theatre, working with the director
Piero Maccarinelli in
4.48 Psicosi, written by
Sarah Kane. In 2005,
La bestia nel cuore ("Don't Tell"), directed by
Cristina Comencini, was an Academy Award candidate for Best Foreign Language Film, earning Mezzogiorno one of the most important international prizes for an actress: the
Coppa Volpi, previously won by
Shirley MacLaine,
Gong Li,
Isabelle Huppert,
Catherine Deneuve and
Sophia Loren. In 2006, Mezzogiorno acted in
AD Project, a sci-fi thriller by
Eros Puglielli, and acted in "Lezioni di Volo" ("Flying Lessons") by
Francesca Archibugi. In 2007, she appeared as Leila, a sexy thief, in the
black comedy Notturno Bus ("Night Bus"), directed by
Davide Marengo and starring
Valerio Mastandrea and
Ennio Fantastichini. She travelled to
Colombia to become Fermina Daza, the principal female character from
Love in the Time of Cholera based on the book written by Nobel Prize winner
Gabriel García Márquez and directed by
Mike Newell (
Four Weddings and a Funeral). After appearing in two films shot in 2008,
Sono Viva and
Palermo Shooting by
Wim Wenders, in 2009 she achieved great international success with
Vincere by
Marco Bellocchio, selected for the official competition in Cannes and a solid candidate for the final award. Mezzogiorno narrated and produced a documentary to celebrate the career of her father Vittorio, 15 years after his sudden death in 1994. She was a member of the jury at the
Cannes Film Festival in May 2010. In January 2011, she was rewarded with the
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress 2010 for her role in
Vincere. In 2017, Mezzogiorno appeared in the role of Adriana in the film called
Napoli velata (
Naples in Veils). ==Personal life==