Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson (born February 15, 1947) is an American model and actress. A granddaughter of designer Elsa Schiaparelli, she rose to international prominence in the late 1960s and 1970s. Berenson was a model, appearing on the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Known as the "Queen of the Scene," she became a style icon known for her eclectic and bohemian-chic aesthetic.
Berenson transitioned to film with notable roles including Death in Venice (1971) and achieved critical acclaim as Natalia Landauer in Cabaret (1972), for which she won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Her other film appearances include Barry Lyndon (1975), S.O.B. (1981), and I Am Love (2009). In 2001, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of Design for Living.
Early life
Childhood
Berenson was born in New York City, the elder of two daughters. Her father, Robert Lawrence Berenson, was an American career diplomat turned shipping executive. He was of Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent; the family's original paternal surname was Valvrojenski. Her mother was Maria-Luisa Yvonne "Gogo" Radha de Wendt Schiaparelli, a socialite of Italian, Swiss and French descent.
Family
Berenson's maternal grandmother was the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli,
Her younger sister, Berinthia, became a model, actress, and photographer, and was known as Berry Berenson. She was married to actor Anthony Perkins. Berry Berenson died on September 11, 2001 in New York City, as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.
Berenson and her sister are also great-grandnieces of Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer who was the first to describe the canals of Mars. They are second cousins, once removed, of art expert Bernard Berenson and his sister Senda Berenson, an athlete and educator who was one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Career
thumb|Berenson at the 2009 [[Venice Film Festival]]
Discovered as a teenager by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, Berenson rose to prominence in the 1960s. Frequently seen at nightclubs and social gatherings, she became known as "the Queen of the Scene," while designer Yves Saint Laurent famously dubbed her "the girl of the Seventies." She recalled her experience working under Kubrick's direction:
I liked him very much. He had a lot of dry humour. Contrary to what people think — they have this image of Stanley as this difficult ogre — he wasn't at all. He was a perfectionist, but every great director I've worked with has been a perfectionist. You have to be to make extraordinary films.
Berenson's other performances included Casanova & Co. (1977), Killer Fish (1979), the Blake Edwards comedy S.O.B. (1981), The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984), and Clint Eastwood's White Hunter Black Heart (1990), as well as in made-for-TV movies in the United States, such as the Holocaust-themed drama Playing for Time (1980). She guest-starred in an episode of The Muppet Show during its third season in 1978. She made her Broadway debut in the 2001 revival of Design for Living, which also starred Jennifer Ehle, Alan Cumming, and Dominic West. In 2009, she appeared in the film I Am Love.
In August 2016, she appeared in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick Theatre in London, as Lady Capulet.
Berenson is chairman of the board of Culture Project, an organization that sponsors the theater.
Personal life
On September 11, 2001, her younger sister and sole sibling, Berry Perkins, widow of actor Anthony Perkins, was killed in the first flight to hit the World Trade Center. Marisa was also in an airplane during the terrorist attacks, flying from Paris to New York. In an interview with CBS, she told of the experience and how hours later she landed in Newfoundland (flights were diverted to Canada), and was told of her sister's death by a phone call with her daughter.
Of her practice of Transcendental Meditation
In the 1970s, Berenson was a vegetarian and believer in reincarnation. She later abandoned vegetarianism and returned to eating meat.
Berenson lives in a villa on the outskirts of Marrakesh. and French.
Relationships
Berenson became engaged to French banking heir David René de Rothschild in 1972; the couple separated the following year. Reportedly, his family disapproved of their relationship because of Berenson's nude modeling photographs and revealing style of dress.
Her first husband was James Randall, a rivet manufacturer. Berenson's sister was the maid of honor, and George Hamilton was the best man. Guests included Andy Warhol, Halston, Valentino, and Giorgio di Sant'Angelo.
Her second husband was Aaron Richard Golub (born 1942, Worcester, Massachusetts), a lawyer, whom she married in 1982 and divorced in 1987. During the divorce proceedings, the judge ruled "the increased value of Ms. Berenson's acting and modeling career during the marriage were marital property" and therefore subject to consideration in any settlement agreements.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
| 1971
| Death in Venice
| Frau von Aschenbach
|
|-
| 1972
| Cabaret
| Natalia Landauer
| NBR Award for Best Supporting Actress<br/>Nominated – Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture<br/>Nominated – Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer - Female<br/>Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
| 1973
| Un modo di essere donna
| Sibilla Ferrandi
|
|-
| 1975
| Barry Lyndon
| Lady Honoria Lyndon
|
|-
| 1977
| Some Like It Cool
| The Caliph's Wife
|
|-
| 1979
| Killer Fish
| Ann
|
|-
| 1981
| S.O.B.
| Mavis
|
|-
| 1984
| Led by the Nose
| Vera
|
|-
| 1984
| The Syringe
| L'Arbalète'
|
|-
| 1984
| The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud
| Emma Herrmann
|
|-
| 1986
| Flagrant désir
| Jeanne Barnac
|
|-
| 1987
| Via Montenapoleone
| Francesca
|
|-
| 1990
| White Hunter Black Heart
| Kay Gibson
|
|-
| 1990
| Night of the Cyclone
| Françoise
|
|-
| 1992
| Il giardino dei ciliegi
| Charlotte
|
|-
| 1994
| Venti dal Sud
| Anne de Bois
|
|-
| 1995
| Le grand blanc de Lambaréné
| Helene Schweitzer
|
|-
| 1997
| Tonka
| Mme Pflaum
|
|-
| 1997
| Elles
| Chloé
|
|-
| 1998
| Riches, belles, etc.
| Alizéa
|
|-
| 1999
| Retour à la vie
| Stéphanie
|
|-
| 2000
| The Photographer
| Julie Morris
|
|-
| 2000
| Primetime Murder
| Martha Werther
|
|-
| 2001
| Lisa
| Princess Maruschka
|
|-
| 2001
| Lonesome
| Verena
|
|-
| 2004
| People
| Daniella
|
|-
| 2004
| Le plus beau jour de ma vie
| Barbara
|
|-
| 2005
| Color Me Kubrick
| Alex Witchell
|
|-
| 2007
| 24 Bars
| La mère
|
|-
| 2008
| Vote and Die: Liszt for President
| Dr. Elizabeth Dyson
|
|-
| 2009
| I Am Love
| Allegra Rori Recchi
|
|-
| 2009
| Cinéman
| Lady Lyndon
|
|-
| 2010
| The Disciple
| Maria
|
|-
| 2010
| Weddings and Other Disasters
| Lucrezia
|
|-
| 2010
| Hitler in Hollywood
| Herself
|
|-
| 2011
| Gigola
| Solange
|
|-
| 2013
| '
| Marquise Casati
|
|-
| 2013
| The Love Punch
| Clothilde
|
|-
| 2016
| Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet
| Lady Capulet
|
|-
| 2019
| Halston
| Herself
|
|-
| 2023
| DogMan
| Aristocrat Woman
|
|-
| 2024
| My darling family
| The singer
|
|-
| 2025
| scope="row"|Melpomene
| Martha’s grandmother
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
| 1967
| Coronet Blue
| Mary Barclay
| Episode: "Faces"
|-
| 1978
| The Muppet Show
| Herself
| Episode: Marisa Berenson
|-
| 1980
| Tourist
| Marian
| TV movie
|-
| 1980
| Playing for Time
| Elzvieta
| TV movie
|-
| 1983
| Bel ami
| Clotilde de Marelle
| Limited series
|-
| 1985
| The Equalizer
| Andrea Browne
| Episode: "Back Home"
|-
| 1986
| Sins
| Luba Tcherina
| Recurring role (3 episodes)
|-
| 1986
| Who's The Boss?
| Genevieve Pescher
| Episode: "Not with My Client You Don't"
|-
| 1986
| ABC Afterschool Specials
| Liz Childs
| Episode: "Getting Even: A Wimp's Revenge"
|-
| 1987
| Lo scialo
| Nina
| Recurring role (3 episodes)
|-
| 1988
| Hemingway
| Pauline Pfeiffer
| Main role (4 episodes)
|-
| 1989
| Spy Wars
| Isabella De Ambrosis
| Main role (3 episodes)
|-
| 1989
| Ocean
| Muneca Chavez
| Main role (6 episodes)
|-
| 1990
| Have A Nice Night
| Barbara Jenkins
| TV movie
|-
| 1990
| Blaues Blut
| Ann Ryder
| Episode: "Schatten der Vergangenheit"
|-
| 1990
| Chillers
| Professor Rebecca Vernay
| Episode: "The Thrill Seeker"
|-
| 1991
| L'enfant des loups
| Radegonde
| TV movie
|-
| 1991
| Hollywood Detective
| Dorothy Parker
| Episode: "Romanoff a Clef"
|-
| 1991
| Ti ho adottato per simpatia
| Unknown
| TV movie
|-
| 1992
| Murder, She Wrote
| Claudia Cameron
| Episode: "Danse Diabolique"
|-
| 1992
| Notorious
| Katarina Sebastian
| TV movie
|-
| 1995
| Maigret
| Mme Crosby
| Episode: "Maigret et la tête d'un homme"
|-
| 1995
| Het verdriet van België
| Madame Laura
| Recurring role (2 episodes)
|-
| 1998
| Maintenant et pour toujours
| Marianne
| TV movie
|-
| 2001
| Ama il tuo nemico 2
| Unknown
| TV movie
|-
| 2004
| Commissaire Valence
| Mme Irène
| Episode: "Machination"
|-
| 2004
| Julie, chevalier de Maupin
| Madame de Maintenon
| TV movie
|-
| 2005
| Venus and Apollo
| Albina de Braise
| Episode: "Soin défraîchi"
|-
| 2005
| Le juge est une femme
| Julie de Berg
| Episode: "La petite marchande de fleurs"
|-
| 2006–2007
| Mafiosa
| Caterina Paoli
| Recurring role (6 episodes)
|-
| 2007
| Lost Signs
| Irène de Lestrade
| Recurring role (12 episodes)
|-
| 2010
| Il peccato e la vergogna
| Elena Fontamara
| Recurring role (2 episodes)
|-
| 2010
| Caldo criminale
| Lucrezia
| TV movie
|-
| 2011
| Le sang de la vigne
| Shirley
| Episode: "Le dernier coup de Jarnac"
|-
| 2014
| La collection: Ecrire pour... la trentaine vue par des écrivains
| Marianne
| Episode: "Rose Mystica"
|-
| 2018
| Velvet Colección
| Sandra Petribello
| Recurring role (2 episodes)
|}
Theatre
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Venue
! Ref.
|-
| 1980
| Holiday
| Julia Seton
| Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles
| align=center |
|-
| 2001
| Design For Living
| Grace Torrence
| Broadway, Roundabout Revival
| align=center |
|-
| 2016
| Romeo and Juliet
| Lady Capulet
| West End, Kenneth Branagh Revival
| align=center |
|-
|2018-2019
|Berlin Kabarett
|Kirsten
|Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse, Paris
| align="center" |
|}