Name: Claudia Ferri
Date of Birth: "The earth, my village" is a phrase that depicts Claudia Ferri well, as she was born into a multicultural family in Montreal, where Italian, French, English and Arab could be heard at family reunions. It's no surprise that she is multilingual (English, Italian, French and Spanish) on screen too. Miss Ferri's ancestry is equally rich: Irish, Scottish, French and Native American, from her mother's side and Italian on her father's side. The eastern side of the US is a familiar scene to her, as many... of her childhood summers saw the family traveling down to New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, where they visited cousins and relatives. Later, her parents built a home and took up residence in Naples, Florida. Claudia was in fact visiting her parents in Naples when a phone call from her agent informed her that she was considered to play opposite Aidan Quinn & Donald Sutherland in "The Assignment", which proved to be her first big break in film. Long before Ferri set foot on a stage or a set, she knew acting was where she would find her niche... Making her debut on television in 1988, in a commercial directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon, has paved the way to a promising career in collaboration with top directors. As of 1989 Claudia moved to Vancouver B.C, for a short while, where she co-starred and was featured in a number of series including, MacGyver, Neon Rider, and The Highlander. Her chameleon abilities convinced Bruce Macdonald, director of the critically acclaimed independent film Hard Core Logo, to make the character of Celine come to life through her. The Assignment (1997) directed by Christian Dugay, marked a turning point in her film career. She became Maura Ramirez (Lead) co-starring with Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland and Ben Kingsley. With the Award Winning SDA Production Omerta II, (1996-7) directed by Pierre Houle, she made a comeback on television in the recurring role of Christina Panzonni, (wife of the Mafia Godfather), for which she was required to speak fluent English, French and Italian. She acquired recognition when making the Top Ten Television Events of 1997. She continued the adventure in the equally powerful Omerta III, directed by George Mihalka. The coming of the new millennium coinciding with the expected release of Denys Arcand's Stardom, gave her the pleasure of exhibiting her satirical abilities. She portrayed the rich, then betrayed wife of Barry Levine (Dan Akroyd). Also, she was seen alongside Stephen Baldwin in Dead Awake as the greedy, gum-chewing, typical Hollywood lawyer. The summer of 1998 was one of American productions. In Bonnano, a Godfather's Story, a three-part Showtime miniseries about the life & times of Joe Bonanno (the notorious Mafia Godfather), she portrayed a very convincing Fay a.k.a. Fanny Labruzzo. As Elizabeth Giordano she was a dedicated lawyer who tries to protect Noah Stone (Treat Williams) in the TNT television feature, 36 Hours to die, directed by Yves Simoneau. In 2001, Claudia starred in 2 Award-Winning short films: Soother (Winner Best Children's Film-Uppsala Film Festival in Sweden) and Killing Time (Winner Best Canadian Short Film-World Wide Short Film Fest. in Toronto) directed by newcomer Tara Johns. She also played a cameo in the film Snow in August as Stephen Rea's wife. In Cinemaginaire's Mambo Italiano, Claudia starred as Anna Barberini, the pill-popping daughter of an Italian family trying to deal with her brother's hidden homosexuality which won her a nomination in the Pretty Funny Performance category at the 2004 Canadian Comedy Awards and another nomination for best supporting actress at the 2004 Jutra Awards. Dubbed "The comedy of the summer", the film hit theaters in Canada and the US. Miss Ferri also starred as Frida Kahlo in Viva La Frida! (Official Selection at the Montreal International Festival New Cinema New Media -2002), a docudrama based on the artist's life. Claudia was also seen nationwide and in New York in the Steve Galluccio bilingual TV series Ciao Bella (CBC/Radio-Canada). This won her an Award for Best Actress at the 2006 Montreal ACTRA Awards and the series was nominated for a Golden Rose in Switzerland for Best Comedy.Read more Claudia Ferri movies (actor)User Comments |
