Monica Bellucci: On Family, Love, and Fabulous Jewellery

She wears Cartier's glamorous jewels beautifully, but beneath the bling, Monica Bellucci is a woman of many facets. Juggling the roles of a mother, a wife, and a seasoned actress, Bellucci professes to hold her children above everything else. "Nothing can compare to the joy of seeing my daughters around me. They are the light of my life," says the 47-year old mother of two.

Born in Umbria, Italy, Bellucci learned the value of family very early on: "I had a very happy and normal childhood, surrounded by my parents and a big family." In fact, her love for jewellery also took root during her childhood, when she would observe her mother and grandmother getting ready to go out. Bellucci tells us more about two things she loves in life - family and fabulous jewels.

Asia Tatler: Tell us how your love affair with jewellery started.
Monica Bellucci: The relationship between women and jewellery is a great long story since the olden times, even in the tribes in the different mountains of the world. Women have always loved to wear jewellery to special events; there is a kind of seduction when you wear jewellery. When I was a teenager, I would see my mother or my grandmother preparing to go out, and their final touch was to wear some jewellery. They would look proud and so feminine wearing them, that from that moment, I knew jewellery was the final touch to enhance beauty, and that is how my love affair with jewellery really began.

AT: What is your favourite style of jewellery, and why?
MB: It is difficult to choose when you have to decide from one Cartier collection to another, but I have a preference for the panther design. I love this beautiful animal, and anything from this magnificent collection attracts me a lot. There is definitely one piece that I am very attracted to, which is the ring in diamonds with the head of the panther, and a beautiful long necklace with the Panther head. They are pieces of art; so strong and so feminine.

AT: When do you think you sparkle the most?
MB: I am grateful to life as it has been, until now, very good to me in all different ways. Most definitely, I sparkled the most in my life the moment I gave birth to my two daughters, who are today the meaning of my life.

AT: Who or what was your first love?
MB: To fall in love with someone is always a magical moment in life. To fall in love, when you are still a teenager is something very important at that moment, and of course we don't fall in love the same way or for the same reasons at [age] 30 or 40. [When I was] almost 30, I met for the first time the man who is now my husband. I remember it as if it was yesterday. I played in my first French movie L'appartement, with Vincent Cassel, and in this first day of working together, I could feel something was happening; something strong and different was starting there - love was in the air.

AT: What were you like when you were 7 years old, the age your daughter, Deva, is now?
MB: I was born in a small city in Italy, in a very loving Italian family. I had a very happy and normal childhood, surrounded by my parents and a big family. Even though I did not have a sister or brother, I never felt lonely. Of course, for Deva, the situation is different, with a French father and an Italian mother. She is used to travelling frequently and living in different countries since she was born. Discovering the world and already speaking four languages, that helps to build a very open mind and a strong personality. In fact, Deva has been doing a lot of things in advance, compared to [how I was] at her age. I started travelling a lot only when I entered the modeling business when I was 18.

"The moment I became a mother, I was very ready to dedicate myself to my children, and I know that today they are above everything"

AT: What is the greatest challenge of being a mother?
MB: Being a good mother is the greatest challenge for me, more than anything else, as childhood is an important time for a child. I have been free to do everything for my career until my first pregnancy at 40. The moment I became a mother, I was very ready to dedicate myself to my children, and I know that today they are above everything. I love my work, which is also important, but my priority is their wellbeing, and definitely I do not like to be apart from them for too long, so I try the best I can to schedule the timing of my work for them.

AT: What do you enjoy in your free time?
MB: When I don't have busy days working, I love to take some time for myself, being at home, enjoying laziness, reading, spending time with my little family, preparing a simple Italian dinner at home, and playing with the kids.

AT: What is your life's mantra?
MB: To enjoy every moment of life because life is very precious.

AT: Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
MB: 20 years is too far away to project, but the only thing I wish today is to continue to be healthy, as health is the most precious thing.

Photos: Cartier