Age, Biography, and Wiki
Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971, in New York City to a family deeply rooted in the entertainment industry. Her father, Francis Ford Coppola, is a legendary film director, and she is the cousin of actors Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman. Sofia's upbringing in Rutherford, California, exposed her to the world of cinema from a young age, influencing her career path.
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 14 May 1971 |
| Age | 54 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm)
- Weight: Approximately 55 kg (121 lbs)
- Measurements: Not publicly disclosed
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches |
| Weight | 121 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
| Eye Color | |
| Hair Color |
Dating & Relationship Status
Sofia Coppola is married to Thomas Mars, the lead vocalist of the French indie rock band Phoenix. The couple tied the knot in 2011.
Her parents are filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, and she made her acting debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed crime drama The Godfather (1972). Coppola later appeared in several music videos and had a supporting role in the fantasy comedy film Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). She then portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in the sequel The Godfather Part III (1990).
She is of Italian descent (Lucanian and Neapolitan ) on her father's side and was raised on her parents' farm in Rutherford, California. At 15, Coppola interned with Chanel. Coppola graduated from St. Helena High School in 1990. She first studied at Mills College and transferred to the California Institute of the Arts from 1993 to 1994 to focus on painting. Thereafter, she attended Art Center College of Design, where she was mentored by Paul Jasmin. After dropping out of college, Coppola started a clothing line called Milkfed, which is now sold exclusively in Japan.
Coppola's acting career, marked by frequent criticisms of nepotism and negative reviews, began while she was an infant, as she made background appearances in eight of her father's films. The best known of these is her appearance in The Godfather as the infant Michael Francis Rizzi, in the baptism scene. Coppola also acted in her father's films The Outsiders (1983), in a scene where Matt Dillon, Tommy Howell, and Ralph Macchio are eating at a Dairy Queen; Rumble Fish (1983); The Cotton Club (1984); and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), in which she portrayed Kathleen Turner's sister Nancy. Frankenweenie (1984) was the first film Coppola performed in that was not associated with her father, however, it often goes unnoticed due to her stage name "Domino", which she adopted at the time because she thought it was glamorous. A short film entitled Life Without Zoe (1989), released as part of a tripartite anthology film New York Stories, was co-written by a teenage Coppola and her father; her father also directed the film. During the time, she partnered with Roman Coppola on a production company with funding from American Zoetrope in 1988 to produce low-budget movies, Commercial Pictures.
Coppola returned to her father's Godfather trilogy in both the second and third Godfather films, playing an immigrant child in The Godfather Part II and playing Michael Corleone's daughter in The Godfather Part III after the originally cast actress, Winona Ryder, dropped out of the film at the last minute due to nervous exhaustion. It has been suggested that Coppola's performance in The Godfather Part III damaged Francis Ford Coppola's career and ruined Sofia's before it had even begun. Coppola has said that she never really wanted to act and only did it to help out when her father asked her to. It has also been suggested that Sofia's role in the film may have affected its box office performance, which started strongly and then went into decline. Coppola herself worried that she had only been given the role because she was the director's daughter, and the role placed a strain on her during the time of shooting that her mother observed in a series of diaries she wrote for Vogue during the filming. Coppola later stated that she was not hurt by the criticism from her work in the film because she never especially wanted an acting career.
Coppola also appeared in several 1990s music videos: the Black Crowes' "Sometimes Salvation"; Sonic Youth's "Mildred Pierce"; Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper"; the Chemical Brothers' "Elektrobank", which was directed by her then-husband Spike Jonze; and later Phoenix's "Funky Squaredance".
Coppola's fourth film was Somewhere (2010), filmed at Chateau Marmont. The plot focuses on a "bad boy" actor Marco (portrayed by Stephen Dorff) who is forced to reevaluate his life when his daughter Cleo (played by Elle Fanning) arrives unexpectedly. The relationship between Marco and Cleo was loosely based on Coppola's own relationship with her father. The film won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In November 2010, Coppola was interviewed by Joel Coen, who professed his admiration of her work, at the DGA screening of Somewhere in New York City.
Somewhere depicts a newly famous actor (Stephen Dorff) recuperating from a minor injury whose wealth, fame, and professional experiences cannot alleviate the existential crisis he is experiencing, as he is forced to care for his 11-year-old daughter in the absence of his wife. The film premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and opened in the rest of Italy, on September 3, 2010. The festival jury unanimously awarded the film the Golden Lion prize for the best overall film. Quentin Tarantino, president of the jury, said the film "grew and grew in our hearts, in our minds, in our affections" after the first screening. The film continued to receive critical acclaim, especially from notable film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times who praised the detail in the portrait of Johnny Marco, writing, "Coppola is a fascinating director. She sees, and we see exactly what she sees. There is little attempt here to observe a plot. All the attention is on the handful of characters, on Johnny."
Coppola's film, On the Rocks, tells the story of a daughter and father, played by Rashida Jones and Bill Murray respectively, as they explore New York together in an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. It was released in a limited theatrical release on October 2, 2020, by A24 and was released for digital streaming on October 23, 2020, by Apple TV+.
An announcement in mid-December 2013 stated that American Zoetrope had successfully attained the screen rights for the memoir Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father and that Coppola would adapt the book with Andrew Durham. Coppola would also produce the film with her brother Roman. Coppola would later drop out of directing duties while remaining herself as a producer, as Durham took over as the sole director and writer for the film.
Coppola's next film, Priscilla (2023), her eighth as a director, is based on the life of Priscilla Presley and her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me. It stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley. The film is distributed by A24 and premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September 2023. The film dives into the life of Priscilla Presley, allowing viewers to take a look into Priscilla's relationship with Elvis Presley. Unlike the film Elvis (2022) by Baz Luhrmann, the film does not portray Elvis positively or much of his successful career. Instead, it portrays Elvis' "darker, domestic side". Coppola was more interested in showing Priscilla's side of their relationship, highlighting the terror of Elvis' physical and emotional abuse towards Priscilla.
In 2022, Coppola guest-starred as herself, alongside her husband Thomas Mars and fellow director Jim Jarmusch, in an episode of the FX horror comedy series What We Do in the Shadows.
In 1992, Coppola met director Spike Jonze; they married in 1999 and divorced in 2003. In an official statement, Coppola's publicist explained that the divorce decision was reached "with sadness". It is widely believed that the main character's husband in Lost in Translation is based on Jonze, as Coppola stated after the film's release, "There are elements of Spike there, elements of experiences."
Coppola was nominated for three Academy Awards for her film Lost in Translation (2003), in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. She went on to win Best Original Screenplay, losing the other two nominations to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Coppola's nomination for Best Director made her the first American woman to be nominated in that category, and the third woman overall, after Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion. In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the fourth woman to be nominated, and the first to win the award. Coppola, however, remains the youngest woman to be nominated in the category. Her win for Best Original Screenplay (along with her cousin Nicolas Cage's 1996 win for Best Actor) resulted in her family becoming the second three-generation Oscar-winning family, with her grandfather Carmine Coppola and her father Francis Ford Coppola having previously won Oscars as well. The first family to achieve this feat was the Huston family, for wins by Walter, John, and Anjelica. For her work on Lost in Translation, Coppola also won the Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Screenplay, in addition to receiving three Independent Spirit Awards and three BAFTA Award nominations.
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| Husband | Spike Jonze (m. 1999-2003) Thomas Mars (m. 2011) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2024, Sofia Coppola's net worth is estimated to be around $40 million, primarily earned through her successful career in filmmaking as a director, producer, and screenwriter.
Coppola transitioned into filmmaking with her feature-length directorial debut in the coming-of-age drama The Virgin Suicides (1999). It was the first of her collaborations with actress Kirsten Dunst. Her films often deal with themes of loneliness, wealth, privilege, isolation, youth, femininity, and adolescence in America. Coppola received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation (2003), and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the third woman to do so. She has since directed the historical drama Marie Antoinette (2006), the family drama Somewhere (2010), the satirical crime drama The Bling Ring (2013), the southern gothic thriller The Beguiled (2017), the comedy On the Rocks (2020), and the biographical drama Priscilla (2023).
Career, Business, and Investments
- Early Career: Sofia began her career as an actress, appearing in films like "The Godfather Part III" before transitioning to directing.
- Key Films: Her breakthrough film was "Lost in Translation," which earned her an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Other notable films include "The Virgin Suicides," "Marie Antoinette," "Somewhere," "The Bling Ring," and "The Beguiled."
- Business Ventures: Sofia has also ventured into fashion with her clothing line, Milkfed, though it is now primarily sold in Japan.
After she was critically panned for her performance in The Godfather Part III (for which she was named "Worst Supporting Actress" and "Worst New Star" at the 1990 Golden Raspberry Awards), Coppola largely ended her acting career. However, she did appear in the independent film Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992), as well as in the backgrounds of films by her friends and family (for example, she appeared as Saché, one of Queen Padmé Amidala's five handmaidens, in George Lucas' 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace).
Coppola stated that she used her teenage years growing up in the Bay Area to inform her position in this role. She stated specifically about her time as a teenager, "I just remember everything being epic and important and with a lot of feeling and driving around and listening to music. Your senses are more heightened or something."
Social Network
Sofia Coppola maintains a somewhat private profile on social media platforms, focusing more on her professional projects rather than personal updates.
Coppola's first short film was Lick the Star (1998). It played many times on the Independent Film Channel. She made her feature film directing debut with The Virgin Suicides (1999); the film adaptation of the novel The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. It received critical acclaim upon its premiere in North America at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and was released later that year. Coppola was first drawn to the story after reading the book by Jeffrey Eugenides in 1995, at the recommendation of musician Thurston Moore. Coppola said she felt the novel's author understood the teenage experience. She has also said that if not for the book, she may not have had a career in film. Specifically, Coppola has highlighted the representation of teenagers "lazing around", a situation she connected with but felt was not seen very much in films in any relatable way. The story's theme of loss was a personal connection for Coppola in light of the 1986 death of her oldest brother in a boating accident, though she stated that she did not immediately realize this connection. Coppola secured the rights to the novel and adapted the screenplay herself. The low-budget film drew praise from critics and represented the point at which Coppola became a filmmaker independent of her family connections. She credits the start of her career to the Cannes festival after the film premiered there. The film stars actors Danny DeVito, Kirsten Dunst, Scott Glenn, Josh Hartnett, Michael Paré, Jonathan Tucker, Kathleen Turner, and James Woods.
Coppola's next film, The Bling Ring (2013), was based on actual events centered around the Bling Ring, a group of California teenagers who burgled the homes of several celebrities over 2008 and 2009, stealing around $3 million in cash and belongings. Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, and Claire Julien starred in the film, which premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, opening the Un Certain Regard section. It was inspired by a Vanity Fair feature on the real-life criminals depicted in the film, whom Coppola described as "products of our growing reality TV culture". The film received generally positive reviews, with many praising its style and performances. While some felt that the film glamorized the crimes in the story and failed to make an assertive message about them through the narrative; "Coppola neither makes a case for her characters nor places them inside of some kind of moral or critical framework; they simply pass through the frame, listing off name brands and staring at their phones".
Coppola cited her intrigue with the South as part of the story's appeal. Coppola has said that she "wanted the film to represent an exaggerated version of all the ways women were traditionally raised there just to be lovely and cater to men—the manners of that whole world, and how they change when the men go away". Coppola has cited Gone with the Wind as her inspiration for creating a film that was relatable despite its position within a different era. The film faced a wave of controversy and division, including accusations of 'whitewashing' the original story after Coppola removed the supporting role of a black female slave from the film, as well as chose Kirsten Dunst to portray a character who was biracial in the original novel. Coppola also faced criticism for minimizing the story of the people experiencing actual hardship in favor of depicting, albeit authentically, the lavish lifestyle of her protagonists, thus minimizing the importance of a weighty topic. Coppola responded to these allegations by citing the presence of young girls among her movie-going audience. The Beguiled is not the only of Coppola's films to be accused of exposing the socio-cultural affordances of her own childhood.
Coppola described her version of the film as a reinterpretation, rather than a remake, of Don Siegel's 1971 adaption of the same book. Coppola wanted to tell the story of the male soldier entering into a classically southern and female environment from the point of view of the women and represent what that was like for them. Coppola thought that the earlier version made the characters out to be crazy caricatures and did not allow the viewer to know them. While some critics claim that Coppola intended The Beguiled as a feminist work, Coppola explained that she is not in favor of that labeling. Though she has said she is happy if others see the film in this way, she sees it as a film, rather, that possesses a female perspective—an important distinction. The Beguiled was also made as a contrast to The Bling Ring, and Coppola has explained that she needed to correct that film's harsh Los Angeles aesthetic with something more beautiful and poetic.
In December 2008, Coppola's first commercial premiered during an episode of Gossip Girl. The advertisement she directed for the Christian Dior fragrance Miss Dior Chérie, shot in France with model Maryna Linchuk, was very well received and continues to be popular on YouTube.
At the beginning of the 1990s, Coppola was often featured in girl-oriented magazines like Seventeen and YM. In 1994, she co-founded the clothing line Milk Fed in Japan, with her friend Stephanie Hayman in cooperation with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. In 2001, the fashion designer Marc Jacobs chose the actress/director to be the "face" of his house's fragrance, Daisy. The campaign photographs of Coppola were shot by photographer Jürgen Teller. The July 2013 issue of Elle featured photographs shot by Coppola of Paris Hilton at Hilton's Beverly Hills mansion (Both model and house appear in The Bling Ring).
In 2017, before Coppola started pre-production on The Beguiled, she was asked by Italian state broadcaster Rai Com from All'Opera to direct their latest production of ''La Traviata. La Traviata'' is a three act opera by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesca Maria Piave. This Coppola-directed production was filmed for broadcast in Germany and France by Arte/ZDF, using multiple state-of-the art 4k cameras and up to 100 microphones. Coppola said in an interview she "could not turn down the project" with designer and fashion icon Valentino Garavani designing the costumes for this 15 show run of La Traviata (2017). Discussing her modern take on this classic story Coppola says "I wanted to bring out the personal side of the French courtesan, the party girl used to the social scene. It's a very feminine world that I love".
Coppola has maintained a low public profile for her family, aiming for her daughters' lives to be unaffected by her career and travel. When asked if her choices as a parent to keep her children out of the spotlight is a result of her own upbringing, Coppola has explained that she never wants her children to be jaded.
Education
Sofia attended St. Helena High School and later enrolled in college but dropped out to pursue her career in fashion and filmmaking. During her high school years, she interned at Chanel.
