RATINGS: Cast & Crew

DOB: October 27, 1952

Background: Benigni was born in Manciano La Misericordia, Italy. He began as a theater actor in 1971. His first theater success was in 1975's "Cioni Mario di Gaspare fu Giulia," written by Giuseppe Bertolucci.

Filmography: He appeared in the controversial Italian series "Onda libera" (1976). He made his film debut in 1977's "Berlinguer ti voglio bene." Since then, he appeared in films including "Down by Law" (1985), "Johnny Stecchino" (1991), and "Life in Beautiful" (1997), for which he became internationally renowned and won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film. He followed that success with "Pinocchio" (2002), which was critically panned and won him a Razzie Award. His latest film is Woody Allen's "Nero Fiddled" (2012).

Academy Awards: Wins - Best Actor ("Life is Beautiful," 1998); Best Foreign Language Film ("Life is Beautiful," 1998)

Best Director nomination:
- "Life is Beautiful" (1998); lost to Steven Spielberg ("Saving Private Ryan")

Best Original Screenplay nomination:
- "Life is Beautiful" (1998); lost to Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love")