With roles as a topless vampire in Bram Stoker's Dracula, a taciturn war widow in Malèna (2000), a charmed courtesan in Le Pacte des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf) (2002), and a sci-fi vixen in the Matrix sequels (2003), she has proved to be a bold blend of earthy and ethereal, actress and star. After acting in several Italian features, she graced American screens for the first time as one of Dracula's brides in Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). In 2000, she returned to Hollywood to play Gene Hackman's estranged trophy wife in Under Suspicion. In 2001, she joined Dracula co-star Keanu Reeves in the cast of the highly anticipated follow-ups to The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). In 2004, her momentum continued to build when she starred as Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. In the wake of that film's success, she teamed with two other renowned directors, Terry Gilliam and Spike Lee, with roles in The Brothers Grimm and She Hate Me, respectively. She continued to work steadily with high profile projects such as the action film Shoot 'Em Up.