Belluci would have played Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies had she gotten the chance. She screen tested for the part, and impressed Pierce Brosnan enough to be his choice. But executives at EON wanted a “name actress” so they hired Teri Hatcher instead (see also Tomorrow Never Dies: Julia Bremermann for more on this subject). She may have been the number two choice on a short list of actresses to play the role but Roger Spottiswoode was quite high on having her play the part, and yet overruled by the studio.

She was born September 30th, 1968 in Perugia, Italy. In 1988 she began studying law but dropped her studies a year later to move to Milan to become a model. She`s appeared in the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film “Dracula”, and has been nominated for a Cesar as The Most Promising Actress 1996. Her name may have come back up for consideration when the role of Elektra was in the early stages of being cast. As casting narrowed down to a conclusion, European news sources at the time indicated the role was down to two actresses: Milla Jovovich and Sophie Marceau. Sophie Marceau, the older actress, and older looking and far more experienced actress, got the part.