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Maria Grazia Cucinotta (born 27 July 1968) is an Italian actress who has featured in many films and television series since 1990. She has also worked as a producer, screenwriter and model. Cucinotta was born in Messina, Province of Messina, Sicily, Italy. She is well known in Italy as a movie and television actress, but internationally she is best known for her roles in Il Postino and as the Bond girl, credited as the Cigar Girl, in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.

Sicilian born actor/writer/director was very popular with European audiences, but largely unknown to the west apart from his portrayal of the villainous SPECTRE agent "Emilio Largo" in the spectacular James Bond film Thunderball (1965). However, due to his heavy accent, Celi's voice was dubbed by Robert Rietty. Two years later Celi popped up in the appalling James Bond spoof Operation Kid Brother (1967) starring Neil Connery brother of Sean Connery.

Additional to his many film appearances in Italian productions, Celi spent many years on stage in South America to very positive reviews, and directed three films made in South America, Caiçara (1950), Tico-Tico no fuba (1952)_ and L'Alibi (1969)_.

He passed away on February 19th 1986 from a heart attack.

Giuseppe Sulfaro was born on 7 October 1984 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is an actor, known for Malena (2000), Don Matteo (2000) and Enas iroas... sti Romi (2006).

Giuseppe De Domenico was born in1993 in Sicily. He studied at the Acting School of the Teatro Stabile of Genoa, and worked with Valerio Binasco, Paula Langton, Michele Di Mauro and Giampiero Ciciò on various theatre productions. His television debut was in 2017, on Rai 1's docu-fiction about Paolo Borsellino (dir. Francesco Miccichè). Giuseppe was also in the "Euforia", a film by Valeria Golino, and in the TV series "ZeroZeroZero" directed by Stefano Sollima. His next role is in the Amazon series "Bang Bang Baby",where he plays Rocco.

Francesca Chillemi was born and raised in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto in the province of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily, where she graduated from a high school specializing in classical studies. In 2003, she left her hometown to participate in the Miss Italia beauty contest, which she won at only 18 years old. After that success, she worked as a model and a television presenter. She started working as an actress with minor roles in 2004, and her breakthrough role was that of Laura Flestero in the TV series Carabinieri (2002). She is best known for the roles of Azzurra Leonardi in Che Dio ci aiuti (2011) and Viola Vitale in Viola (2022). Besides that, she had main or supporting roles in more than a dozen movies and TV series, including a supporting role in the international production of Leonardo. Along with her acting career, she has collaborations with major brands, such as Bulgari, Patrizia Pepe, Alberta Ferretti, Michael Kors, Guerlain, Givenchy, Biopoint and others.

Anna Maria Kanakis was born on February 1, 1962 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. The daughter of a Greek father and a Sicilian mother, Kanakis was an avid reader while growing up. Anna was elected Miss Volcano at age fifteen after she was discovered going wild on a dance floor in Volcano Island where she was on holiday with her mother and sister. Kanakis went on to be crowned Miss Italy for the year 1977 a few weeks later. Anna subsequently worked as a catwalk model for various famous Italian stylists prior to eventually embarking on an acting career that started in the early 1980's and continued up until 2007.

Comedian, actor, host, TV personality, Nino Frassica, born Antonio Frassica, debuted on TV with Renzo Arbore as part of the cast of cult shows like "Quelli della notte" and "Indietro tutta". He later appeared in many other TV shows like "Fantastico", "Domenica In", "Scommettiamo che?", "Uno due tre stella", "Stracult", "Dopo fiction", "Adrian", "Amici", and he became a lead figure on "Che tempo che fa". At the same time, he appeared on big and small screens in many movies and TV movies. After his cinema debut in "Il Bi e il Ba", he appeared in many films, even international ones. To name a few: "Mortacci", "Vacanze di Natale", "Miracolo italiano", "L'abbuffata", "Baaria", "Somewhere", "The tourist", "La scomparsa di Patò", "Workers", "Sei mai stata sulla luna", Un milione di giorni", "Non è un paese per giovani", "Natale a Londra - Dio salvi la Regina", "Genitori vs influencer", "Improvvisamente Natale", "L'estate più calda". He also starred in many TV series, such as: "SPQR", "Don Matteo" as the legendary Officer Cecchini, "La crociera", "Il destino ha quattro zampe", "Nati ieri", "Butta la luna", "L'ultimo padrino", "Donne", "Complimenti per la connessione", "La mafia uccide solo d'estate", "Fratelli Caputo". His multi-faceted career includes experiences in radio, theater, and ads. And even as a writer. In 1986 he wrote the book "Sani Gesualdi", a best-seller for many weeks. After that he wrote "Il Terzesimo Libro di Sani Gesualdi", "Il manovale del bravo presentatore", and "Come diventare maghi in 15 minuti". In 2014 he published "La mia autobiografia 70% vera, 80% falsa", in 2018 "Novella Bella", and in 2022 "Paola. Una storia vera".

Tina Scala was born on 16 July 1935 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. She was an actress, known for Midnight Cowboy (1969), Capone (1975) and How's Your Love Life? (1971). She died on 10 January 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Antonino Bruschetta was born on 6 January 1962 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Visioni private (1989), To Rome with Love (2012) and Boris (2007).

Tano Cimarosa was born on 1 January 1922 in Messina, Italy. He was an actor and director, known for Reflections in Black (1975), Cinema Paradiso (1988) and Uomini di parola (1981). He died on 24 May 2008 in Messina, Sicily, Italy.

One of the great arrangers of the Big Band era, Sicilian-born Peter Rugolo was five years old when his family moved to Santa Rosa, California. He attended San Francisco College and in the 1930's studied composition under the classical composer Darius Milhaud. After military service in World War II, he joined Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, where he contributed numerous distinctive arrangements and compositions. He had a critical influence on the progressive image of the band, which sounded unlike any other in the business. Rugolo and Kenton formed a very close personal friendship, akin to that of Duke Ellington and his arranger Billy Strayhorn.

In 1949, Pete became musical director at Capitol records , where he produced recording sessions with big name jazz stars, including Miles Davis (he came up with the title of Davis's ground-breaking album "The Birth of the Cool"), Charlie Parker, Nat 'King' Cole and Peggy Lee. He continued a part-time collaboration with Kenton and also arranged for Kenton's former star vocalist June Christy (her "Something Cool" album).

The 1950's were a busy decade for Rugolo. He briefly fronted his own band in 1954, featuring Patti Page as his vocalist. He also had contractual affiliations first with Columbia Records and then with Mercury Records, writing, among others, for Sarah Vaughan. By that time, he had branched out into musical genres other than jazz. At MGM, he was employed as a staff composer/arranger on a number of musicals, including Kiss Me Kate (1953) and Easy to Love (1953). From there he went on to prolific television work, writing the jazzy theme scores for popular crime shows like The Fugitive (1963) and The Outsider (1968), as well as westerns (Alias Smith and Jones (1971)) and numerous TV movies. He was nominated for six Emmy Awards, of which he won three. Retiring in 1985, Rugolo was honoured in 1993 by receiving the Golden Score Award from the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers.

Simone Tringali was born on December 22, 1995 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and producer, known for Follow (2018), Dispatcher (2021) and About Me (2017).

He started directing his first short films with an old camera at the age of 10. One of his early productions was La Perla Lunare (2009) a stop-motion short film that was selected and screened at the Sottodiciotto Film Festival of Turin, Italy. In 2011, at the age of 16, he directed his first documentary called, Alì Terme, fra storia e attualità (2011) after that he made La storia di Lilly (2011) which was awarded a special mention at the Festival Cinema Giovane in Pistoia, Italy. In 2012 he also directed Society's Cage (2012) which was also selected for screening at the Cinema Massimo in Turin for Sottodiciotto Film Festival.

In 2013 he wrote, produced and co-directed the short film The Man's Whistle (2013) that was followed by some public events in the city of Turin, Italy. Later in 2013, he worked with Fiorita Officina for the production of several TV commercials. He also took the role of second unit director for the Los Angeles Web Fest award-winning TV series The Ushers: A Dark Tale of a Bright Night (2013) by Andrea Galatà and Chiara De Caroli. In the same year, produced and directed several music videos such as Oltre I Tuoi Passi.

In 2014, Simone also directed his second documentary Arignano Lake (2014) about Lake Arignano, an artificial lake in the small village of Arignano near Turin, where he spent most of his childhood. This film allowed him to graduate from the Albe Steiner Institute of Turin.

In 2017 he worked along with Federico Mottica, on the role of first assistant director in the production of the short film Mia Moglie (2017).

In the academic year, 2016-2017 Simone taught photography at the Des Ambrois Institute in Oulx, Turin.

He later moved to Dublin, Ireland and started his studies of BA [Hons] degree in Film and Television Production at Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (The National Film School) graduating with First Class Honors in 2021.

During his four years at the National Film School, he directed and produced several short films, including Dispatcher (2021), Narciso (2020), Backlight (2018), Follow (2018) and About Me (2017).

With his film Follow (2018), Simone won the second-place award for the Best Science Fiction at the Down East Flick Fest in North Carolina in 2020. Follow (2018) was also selected as a finalist at the Carnival of Darkness: The Haunted Pamlico Film Festival in North Carolina (2020) and at Los Angeles CineFest, California (2018). It was also awarded the semi-finalist place at the Lisbon Film Rendezvous in Portugal in 2019.

Stella Egitto was born on 6 October 1987 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. She is an actress, known for Romanzo siciliano (2016), The Legend (2017) and Malarazza: una storia di periferia (2017).

Antonio Passalia was born on 13 June 1926 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor and producer, known for Caligula et Messaline (1981), The Cry of the Owl (1987) and The Bridesmaid (2004). He died on 6 July 2016 in Suresnes, Hauts-De-Seine, France.

Fabrizio Falco was born on 20 August 1988 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is an actor, known for Dormant Beauty (2012), It Was the Son (2012) and Wondrous Boccaccio (2015).

Mario Landi was born on 12 October 1920 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He was a director and writer, known for Maigret à Pigalle (1966), Siamo tutti Milanesi (1953) and Supersexymarket (1979). He died on 18 March 1992 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Irene Muscarà was born in Messina, Sicily. She found her passion in acting at an early age, performing her first roles in the living room of her family house. In her teens, she participated in shows at the school theater and became interested in Stanislavki's system and Russian theater. Her interest was so strong that when she was 22, she moved to Moscow, Russia, to study cinema and theater acting at the Russian State Theater Academy. Her first outstanding role in theater was during her college years in Incredibly Loud And Extremely Close, a play inspired by J.S. Foer and directed by A. Shlyapin, which went on to tour in Los Angeles. Also there came out The Invention Of Love, a play by Tom Stoppard that was directed by A. Kuzmin-Tarasov, where Irene took the role of Professor Pattinson. When Tom Stoppard watched the play, he deeply appreciated the original interpretation of the character in the spirited performance of Irene. After graduating from the Academy in 2012, Irene inspired the production of Look At Me, a documentary by Anna Kolchina on the life of a young Italian actress in Moscow. It was awarded Best Film by the Documentary Film Festival in Saint Petersburg, after which the film traveled to NYC for the Russian Documentary Film Festival at the Tribeca Cinemas, winning the Special Jury prize. In 2013, Irene acted in the film The Calculator alongside Vinnie Jones. That year, she also played Producer Ornella, the villain in The Heritage, a period drama TV-series directed by A. Kasatkin. In 2015, Irene created a solo performance called Gate A 33, at the center of which stands the destiny of an old Russian woman waiting for her flight at an NYC airport. Irene won Best Actress for this work at the United Solo Festival in NYC. In 2018, Irene created a new one-woman show, Five Sisters, inspired by five female characters from A. P. Chekhov's plays. In 2019, she played the character of Prosperina in the HBO TV miniseries I Know This Much Is True, directed by Derek Cianfrance.

Vincenzo Tripodo was born in 1968 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Kindsein (1994), Little Distractions (2004) and Heart of Spider (2004).

Rosario Barbera was born in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Rosario is an executive and producer.

Vittorio Sindoni was born in 1939 in Capo d'Orlando, Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for Gli anni struggenti (1979), Abbraccialo per me (2016) and La signora è stata violentata (1973).

Tania Bambaci was born on 11 August 1990 in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Messina, Sicily, Italy. She is an actress, known for The Goldsmith (2022), Maltese - Il Romanzo del Commissario (2017) and The Perfect Husband (2014).

Paolo Lombardo was born on 30 August 1941 in Messina, Italy. He is a writer and director, known for Dagli archivi della polizia criminale (1973), The Defeat of the Barbarians (1962) and Un alibi per morire (1962).

Marco Borromei was born on 20 April 1986 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is a writer and actor, known for Blocco 181 (2022), P.O.E. Poetry of Eerie (2011) and SKAM Italia (2018).

Franca Gandolfi was born on 27 November 1932 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. She is an actress, known for Cronaca di un delitto (1953), ...e Napoli canta! (1953) and Giove in doppiopetto (1954). She was previously married to Domenico Modugno.

Santi Scinelli was born on 31 July 1964 in Messina, Sicily, Italy. He is an actor, known for Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), The Smoke (2014) and Thaandavam (2012).