She made her first appearance in La Moglie Giapponese and appeared in several Italian films before appearing in her first international role in The Godfather, as Apollonia Vitelli, at the age of 16.
How old was Michael Corleone's wife in The Godfather?
How old was Simonetta Stefanelli when The Godfather was filmed? She would have been 16 or 17 years old when they were filming. She was born November 1954, the film was released in March '72, so she was 17 when the film was released. Her character, Apollonia, was 17 when she died - born 1931 and died in '48.
This ignites the New York underworld's first Mafia war in a decade. Michael escapes to Sicily and spends two years under Corleone ally Don Tommasino's (Corrado Gaipa) protection. Michael falls in love with and marries a young local woman named Apollonia Vitelli (Simonetta Stefanelli).
They would have been married for almost a year. She would have been pregnant with his child and would have learned how to drive. Sadly once she was killed, Michael was never the same after that.
Katherine "Kay" Corleone (née Adams) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. She is portrayed by Diane Keaton. Before their divorce, she is the second wife of Michael Corleone. She is also the mother of Anthony and Mary Corleone.
The Godfather (5/9) Movie CLIP - Michael Loses Apollonia (1972) HD
Why did Michael marry Kay?
Michael's pursuit of Kay was partly motivated by the fact that she was free-spirited, she was the humanity in Michael in which he lacked. Michael was desperate to have a white-Americanized life Ironically, Michael himself would be used in the same way, when he married Apollonia Vitelli.
Despite this, the two of them maintained a loving relationship in 40 years of marriage, and Vito never sought a mistress or ever found the need to strike his wife. Carmela diligently managed the household in times of both peace and trouble, knowing the schemes of her sons and the nature of husband's associates.
The Godfather's Michael Corleone may have loved many things, but his first wife Apollonia wasn't one of them. The pair were wed in Sicily in the mid-stages of the groundbreaking 1972 Francis Ford Coppola film, not long after Michael took refuge there after murdering police captain McCluskey and Virgil Sollozzo.
"We trusted each other." And though they never dated, "I had a little mini crush one time," she admits. "He was performing 'Computer Blue' and he was oily and shirtless and for a moment I was like, 'He's really sexy,' but then I got myself together. We had great chemistry. But our romance was only onscreen."
After her brother's debut concert, the assassin Mosca tries to kill Michael. One bullet grazes Michael's shoulder, but the other accidentally hits Mary in the chest, fatally wounding her. Michael is devastated by Mary's death, and screams in torment while cradling her dead body.
He then flees to Sicily, where he falls in love with Simonetta Stefanelli's Apollonia. Tragically, she's later killed in a car bomb planted by Michael's bodyguard Fabrizio (Angelo Infanti), who betrayed him to his enemies. While Michael gets revenge on those who ordered the hit, Fabrizio is never seen again.
Vito only had one wife - Carmela. She was also a Sicilian immigrant whose family came to the USA around the time when Vito came with the Abbandando family. They were married when Vito was 18 and she was 16.
During his stay in Sicily, Michael married a local girl named Apollonia Vitelli (Simonetta Stefanelli) and, after her death, he returned to America where he married Kay Adams (Diane Keaton). He and Kay went on to have two children, Anthony (Anthony Gounaris, James Gounaris, and Franc D'Ambrosio) and Mary.
The Godfather, either in book or movie form is a work of fiction. A lot of the characters were modeled after true life Mafiosi, but the story and their characters are not duplicates of the actual Mafia and its Mafiosi.
Music legend Prince was full of joy in the delivery room as his first wife, Mayte Garcia, gave birth to their only child. But when the infant boy, Amiir Gregory Nelson, was held up by the nurses, “The elation on my husband's face turned to pure terror,” Garcia recalled in her new memoir.
Mayte Jannell Garcia (/ˈmaɪteɪ/; born November 12, 1973) is an American dancer, actress and former singer. She was married to Prince for four years and has worked with various music artists.
Patricia Apollonia Kotero (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, songwriter, singer, producer, director, podcast host and former model. She is known for co-starring in Prince's 1984 film Purple Rain and for having been the lead singer of the girl group Apollonia 6. Santa Monica, California, U.S.
By The Godfather Part II, Kay has decided that Michael is a cold, distant, inattentive husband and father, but only after an attempt is made on his life in the family home does she resolve to rebel against him. At first, Kay's rebellion is silent and private: she aborts the child she is carrying.
Enraged, Sonny speeds towards Connie's apartment in Hell's Kitchen ahead of his bodyguards. At the Long Beach Causeway toll plaza, Barzini's men trap Sonny and shoot him to death. During a meeting with the other crime family dons to establish peace, Vito realizes that Barzini masterminded Sonny's murder.
An interesting side note is that there is no indication in the novel or the first and second movies that Michael or anyone ever tells Kay that Michael had been married in Sicily let alone how his first wife died.
lisbethblom said: Al Pacino in 1990: “Michael loved Kay when he met her and he loved her throughout his life and he loves her to this day. He not only loves her but he also admires her.”
Of course Michael had good reasons to lie. The biggest was to protect Kay. What Kay did not know could not hurt her. Because Michael left her out of the Family business, nobody had reason to kidnap her or toture her to extract information.
