We use essential cookies and third-party cookies for content.

Pallade Veneta - Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla'

Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla'

CULTURE 09.09.2023
Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla'
Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla' / Photo: Tiziana FABI - AFP

Cailee Spaeny won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, at the age of just 25, for her portrayal of Elvis Presley's wife in "Priscilla".

Change text size:

"Priscilla trusted me with something truly complex, subtle, difficult, and personal and I was overwhelmed by the responsibility in trying to honour this delicate section of her life," Spaeny said as she accepted the award.

"I have such gratitude and respect for her honesty," the US actress added.

Spaeny stars in the subtle biopic by former Venice Golden Lion winner Sofia Coppola.

She thanked Coppola for her "thoughtful and intuitive leadership".

The film charts the rocky relationship from the couple's first meeting on a German army base when Priscilla was just 14 and the rock'n'roll star was 24, through to their acrimonious split.

"I thought it was really important to see the whole journey," Spaeny told reporters ahead of the premiere. "To see all the milestones that us women can relate to, from her being a young girl to her finding her voice and autonomy."

Review website RogerEbert.com said Spaeny "plays 14 so damn well that the viewer almost doubts that she'll be able to credibly age into a woman nearing 30. But she does, beautifully."

Priscilla Presley herself joined the cast and crew for the premiere in Venice.

"Sofia did an amazing job, she did her homework," Presley told reporters.

But she added: "It's very difficult to sit and watch a film about you, about your life and your love."

Spaeny was born in Missouri, United States on July 24, 1998.

She made her film debut in action film "Pacific Rim Uprising" in 2018, and followed it with parts in "Bad Times at the El Royale", "On the Basis of Sex and "Vice".

She earned considerable notice with her supporting role in HBO series "Mare of Easttown" alongside Kate Winslet in 2021.

Spaeny has been linked to an upcoming film in the "Alien" franchise.

U.Paccione--PV

Featured

Jersey Boys Anniversary Tour Opens in Birmingham With Gritty Account of Crime and Fame

The 20th-anniversary tour of Jersey Boys has opened at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, offering a gritty and unvarnished look at the Four Seasons’ journey. The production details the band's turbulent rise from New Jersey petty criminals to international rock stars, highlighting the complex personal costs behind their musical success.

UBC professor describes police call after Galloway remark as act of care

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia professor has testified about a colleague’s decision to call police to visit Steven Galloway after he was accused of sexual assault, describing it as an “act of care” toward the author, who had spoken of killing himself. Galloway, who is suing his accuser and others in a defamation trial centred on the unproven allegations, has described his subsequent committal to a hospital in the United States as “terrifying.

The Cat in the Hat expands its stakes to cosmic scale in animated reboot

The folks behind the new animated “The Cat in the Hat” are pretty confident they’ve got the cat in the bag. It hasn’t even opened yet and there are onscreen references to possible movie spinoffs for the jet-powered magical couch and The Things.

Lettermen co-founder Tony Butala dies at 87

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Butala, co-founder of the Grammy-nominated trio The Lettermen, whose lush vocal harmonies made them one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1960s, died Sunday. He was 87.

Change text size: