Monica Bellucci may have grabbed the attention of critics with her supporting role in The Passion of the Christ, but before she was Mary Magdalene, Monica Bellucci earned her sci-fi starlet street cred. The voluptuous actress starred opposite Keanu Reeves in both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions as Persephone, wife of The Merovingian. She also provided the voice for Persephone in the video games Enter the Matrix and The Matrix Online.

Born in Italy, Monica Bellucci’s resume includes many roles in Italian films, most notably Malèna. She has had a successful modeling career since the 1980s, and became known in America with her first English language role of note as one of Dracula’s brides in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. She also starred opposite Bruce Willis in Tears of the Sun and appeared in The Brothers Grimm as the Mirror Queen.

Monica Bellucci has been recognized by numerous publications as one of the world’s most beautiful women. She has also appeared on AskMen.com, FHM and Maxim’s “Sexiest Women” lists, and in 2006 was ranked #5 on the E! network’s list of “101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies.” In 2008, Monica Bellucci came in at #22 on AskMen.com’s list of the 99 Most Desirable Women.

Comfortable with her body, Monica Bellucci has appeared naked in film, magazines, and calendars. She has been quoted as saying, “I’m not scared by nudity, because for me, nothing is more beautiful than a body.” Try a Google Image Search for naked pics of Monica Bellucci - there are plenty out there. Here’s a safe-for-work taste:

For more on Monica Bellucci and what she’s up to these days, try these sites:

Wikipedia article on Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci’s IMDB profile

Monica Bellucci at Maxim.com

Monica Bellucci at AskMen.com