Who is Talia Shire?
Talia Shire is an American Academy Award-nominated actress perhaps still best known as Adrian in the “Rocky” film franchise, and Connie Corleone in “The Godfather” franchise, in addition to numerous other prominent portrayals over the course of her career.
What is Talia Shire Doing Now?
Talia is now in her mid- 70s but this fact hasn’t stopped her from pursuing new acting projects. Most recently, she was chosen for the role of Ida Stern in the film “Romancing Brazil” (2021) and is also working on the drama film “Chantilly Bridge”, which is now in post-production and yet to receive a premiere date. The film will star Patricia Richardson, Helen Slater, and Ally Sheedy, while it was directed by Linda Yellen who had help writing it from Michael Leeds.
Talia Shire Wiki: Age, Childhood, Parents, and Education
Born Talia Rose Coppola on 25 April 1946 under the Taurus zodiac sign, in Lake Success, New York State USA, she’s the only daughter of Carmine Coppola and his wife Italia.
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Of Italian ancestry, Talia has two brothers, famous filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, probably best known as the director of “The Godfather”, and “Apocalypse Now”, among others, while her other brother is academic, author, and film executive August Coppola. She is also the aunt of actors Nicolas Cage and Sofia Coppola. She attended a local high school in her hometown, and was urged by her parents to obtain good grades. However, her main interest at the time was acting, so after matriculation, she enrolled at college, then later moved to Yale Drama School, from which she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. She later became an alumna of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
Career Beginnings
Talia’s career started in the late ‘60s, with the minor role of June in the action-drama film “The Wild Racers”, with Mimsy Farmer, Fabian, and Judy Cornwell in the lead roles.
She continued her career with support roles, such as Nurse Cora in the horror film “The Dunwich Horror” in 1970, and in the film “The Christian Licorice Store” in 1971.
Rise to Stardom
However, in 1972, Talia became a star, selected to portray Connie Corleone in her brother’s eponymous film “The Godfather”, starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and James Caan. The film is based on Mario Puzo’s novel, and follows the mob boss Don Vito Corleone and the family as he prepares his son Michael to take over the family business. The film won several awards, including three Oscars, while it revolutionized and popularized the gangster-genre films. She reprised her role of Connie in the sequel “The Godfather: Part II”, which turned to be even more popular than its predecessor, winning six Academy Awards, with Talia herself receiving a nomination in the category for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
She played Connie again in the third and final installment “The Godfather: Part III” in 1990.
Following the eponymous success of “The Godfather” films, Talia found further work left and right, and in 1976 she was selected as Adriana – Adrian – the female lead in the Academy Award-winning drama film “Rocky”, starring Sylvester Stallone who also wrote the script, reprising the role in the sequels “Rocky II” (1979), “Rocky III” (1982), “Rocky IV” (1985), and “Rocky V” (1990), after which her character was killed off to present Rocky as a longing widower in the sixth installment of the popular film franchise.
Before the ‘70s ended, Talia had also appeared in the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated series “Kill Me If You Can”, co-starring Alan Alda and John Hillerman, and starred in the sci-fi horror film “Prophecy” (1979), alongside Robert Foxworth and Armand Assante.
Talia continued to impress audiencesin the ‘80s with her stunning performances. First, she was Emily Hollander in the film “Windows” in 1980, and then worked on the “Rocky” sequels, before portraying Mrs Jones in the drama film “Rad” in 1986. Next, she was cast as Gina in the television crime-drama movie “Blood Vows”, starring Melissa Gilbert, Joe Penny and Eileen Brennan, and finished the decade with the role of Charlotte in Woody Allen’s romantic comedy-drama film “New York Stories” (1989), with Allen himself, Nick Nolte, and Rosanna Arquette in the lead roles.
Continued Success
Talia dominated the screen in the ‘90s, starting the decade with her established roles as Connie Corleone and Adriana Balboa, while in 1991 she was Sister Martha in the mystery thriller-drama film “Cold Heaven”, and the same year starred alongside Roger Moore in the romantic comedy film “Bed & Breakfast”.
Moreover, she portrayed Jean Clemens in the biopic about Samuel Clemens, better known under publishing pseudonym Mark Twain, and his friendship with Dorothy Quick in his final years, entitled “Mark Twain and Me”, co-starring Jason Robards and Amy Stewart. She starred in the horror-thriller film “The Landlady” in 1998, and in the romantic-drama film “Caminho dos Sonhos” in the same year, alongside Elliott Gould and Tais Araujo. Talia ended the decade with a role in the comedy film “Palmer’s Pick-Up”, written and directed by Christopher Coppola, the son of August Coppola.
The 2000s
Nothing changed for Talia at the start of the new millennium, except for minor physical signs of aging. She featured in the thriller-drama film “Lured Innocence”, while in 2002 she was Irena in the romantic comedy-drama film “Kiss the Bride”, written and directed by Vanessa Parise, while the lead roles were given to Amanda Detmer, Sean Patrick Flanery and Brooke Langton.
She appeared in the award-winning drama film “Dunsmore” the following year, while in 2004 Talia starred in the award-winning David O. Russell’s comedy film “I Heart Huckabees”, with Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law and Naomi Watts as the main co-stars of the film.
Her next role was in the action-comedy film “Homo Erectus”, starring Adam Rifkin, Ali Larter and Hayes MacArthur, and in 2008 she starred in the comedy film “Looking for Palladin” alongside Ben Gazzara and David Moscow. The following year, Talia starred in the comedy film “The Deported”, and continued with the lead role in the comedy crime film “Pizza with Bullets”, starring with Vincent Pastore and Ronnie Marmo.
Career Decline
Since the 2010s, Talia has become focused on other interests and has rarely appeared in projects. However, she has still occasionally pursued new roles, and in 2013 appeared in the film “Palo Alto” while three years later, she was Victoria in the comedy-drama musical “Dreamland”, directed by Robert Schwarzman, while two years later she co-starred in the crime-drama film “Con Man”, with Arman Assante and Justin Baldoni.
Most recently, in 2019 she starred in the drama film “Working Man” accompanied by Peter Gerety and Billy Brown, and written and directed by Robert Jury.
Personal Life, Marriage, Husband, Children
Talia Shire was married to American songwriter and composer David Lee Shire from 1970 until 1980, with whom she had a son named Matthew Orlando Shire. Her second marriage was to Jack Schwartzman, an American film producer, from 1980 until 1994 when he died of pancreatic cancer. She has two children with Jack – Jason Francesco Schwartzman, an actor, producer and musician, best known as Max Fischer in the film “Rushmore” (1998), and as Richard Sherman in the film “Saving Mr. Banks; and Robert Coppola Schwartzman, who is also an actor, director and musician, known for directing “Dreamland” and as the vocalist of the rock/pop band Rooney.
Net Worth
As of late 2021, Talia Shire’s net worth has been estimated to be around $40 million, earned through her successful career as an actress, making appearances in over 70 film and TV titles.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
The award-winning actress has brown hair and brown eyes. She stands at a height of 5ft 4ins (1.63m), weighs approximately 120lbs (55kgs), with vital statistics of 31-27-32, bra size 32B.
Hobbies, Interests, and Trivia
Talia is a huge animal lover, and over the years has had various pets such as cats, hamsters and dogs. She enjoys various cuisines – her favorite is Italian food, especially pasta and pizza.
An avid traveler, she has stated Venice, Italy as her favorite destination, but has been to many European countries, including France, and various USA states, both for work and pleasure. She now enjoys a peaceful life, spending time with her sons and their families.
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