Bernardo Bertolucci’s Wife Clare Peploe

Clare Peploe

Clare Peploe is the widow of iconic Italian filmmaker, Bernardo Bertolucci –who died on Monday in his home in Rome. He was 77.

Clare’s husband is perhaps best known for his directing of ‘The Last emperor” which won nine Oscars. Bertolucci influenced generations of filmmakers with other groundbreaking works such as “The Conformist” and “Last Tango in Paris.” Bertolucci who had been suffering from cancer, died at his home in Rome at 7 a.m. Monday.

Bertolucci managed to work both in Europe and Hollywood, though his relationship with the studios had its ups and downs. Bertolucci became the first and only Italian to win the Oscar for best director. He was born March 16, 1941, into a wealthy family in the northern Italian city of Parma. The son of well-known poet and writer Attilio Bertolucci, he himself won an award for poetry at age 21, then decided to become a filmmaker. He made his film debut in 1962 with the ‘The Grim Reaper.’

During his lifetime, Bertolucci wedded three times. The first time to, actress, Adriana Asti. The couple however, divorced a few years later. Bertolucci’s second marriage was to Maria Paola Maino –a production and costume designer. His second marriage also ended in divorce.

He is survived by third wife, Clare Peploe, whom he married in December 22, 1978.

According to her IMDb page, Peploe is a screenwriter and director known for Temporada alta or High Season (1987), El triunfo del amor or Love’s Triumph (2001) and Hechizo en la ruta maya or Mayan Route Spell (1995).

Clare Peploe studied French & Italian at both Sorbonne and Perugia universities. She was born in 1942 in Tanzania. The British screenwriter is the the sister of Mark Peploe –who happens to be also a screenwriter and director.

Clare who grew up in England and Italy became interested in cinema and art in general from a very early age, and her first jobs had to do with photography. She found her way into the film industry as an assistant to Antonioni on Zabriskie Point (1969) and then collaborated on Novecento (1975) with her husband, the director Bernardo Bertolucci, with whom she also worked on the script for La Luna (1979).

Her short film, Couples and Robbers -was nominated for the Oscars and the British Bafta awards.