Maria Pia Calzone was an internationally recognized Italian film actress who appeared in over 30 movies over the course of her nearly 30-year career. Born and raised in the Southern Italian town of Reino, Calzone's desire to become an actress was evident at a very young age. But before jumping headfirst into the film business, she decided to study both art and film at two prominent Italian universities. In 1988, at the age of 20, she made her film-acting debut in the Italian comedy "Chiari di luna" (1988). However, it would be another seven years before Calzone was cast in another film. That movie was called "Segreto di stato" (1995), an Italian-produced action-thriller in which Calzone had a small part. By the mid-90s Calzone was acting quite regularly in movies, including "No Spring Chicken" (1996) and "Figurine" (1997). She landed her first big break in 1998 when she was cast as a recurring character on the French-produced mini-series "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1998), which introduced Calzone to a wider audience outside of her native country. Calzone nabbed her first part in an American film in 2002 when she appeared alongside Christian Bale in the science-fiction film "Equilibrium" (2002). Calzone continued appearing primarily in Italian films throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, thus becoming a familiar face to Italian movie audiences. Then in 2014 her profile rose once again when she nabbed a recurring role on the Italian crime series "Gomorrah" (2014). Calzone appeared in all 12 episodes of the highly acclaimed series. With her acting career on the rise thanks to her work on "Gomorrah," Calzone continued landing more film acting work, including roles in 2015's "Let's Talk," 2016's "La cena di Natale," and a voice-over role in the 2017 animated film "Gatta Cenerentola."