Raoul Bova was born in a Roman white collar family, his father was an employee and his mother a housewife. He has two sisters who he is close to. His passion in his youth was swimming and he became a champion at 16. He performed his military duty in the "Bersaglieri" and he studied at the ISEF but didn't finish in order to begin an acting career. His first role was in "Una storia italiana", a TV movie, and his debut in cinema was in "Piccolo grande amore" by Carlo Vanzina. He quickly became a star in Italy. But tired of being always considered a sex symbol unable to play deep roles, he started shooting movies a little more complex like "Rewind" where he plays a terrorist, "I cavalieri che fecero l'impresa" where he plays the role of a medieval man whose soul is possessed by the devil, or "La frontiera" where he plays an Austrian officer, or saint Frances in "Francesco". And finally a great Italian-Turkish director, Ferzan Ozpetek, gave him the role of Lorenzo in "Facing Windows", his most complicated and introverted character that he portrayed with application and passion, becoming a respected young actor rather than a sex symbol. In private life Bova is a happy husband and father, very close to his wife and their children Alessandro Leon and Francesco.


Appeared with Madonna in a 1999 Max Factor commercial, directed by Alek Keshishian, starring make-up artist Sarah Monzani. Performed his military duty in the "Bersaglieri". He studied at the Italian Institute of Physical Education. Ex-boyfriend of actress Romina Mondello. He was born in Rome and considers himself a real Roman that couldn't live somewhere else, but his parents are from southern Italy, his father is from Reggio Calabria and his mother from Naples. Prepares for his role in La fiamma sul ghiaccio (2006) by reading the book "Thecurious incident of the dog in the night-time" by Mark Haddon and studying with the Roman psychologist Arturo Mona. Was named Raoul after his great grandfather. Sometimes plays soccer with the "Nazionale Italiana attori" in charity matches. He's a supporter of the charity project "Vento e sole" (wind and sun) with the Nobel award-winner, Rigoberta Menchú. The project's goal is to develop an ecological system of electrification for the third-world countries, especially in Guatemala. Bova is a typical surname from Calabria. Has two dogs: Jackie and Ofelia. Is good friends with Giorgio Armani. Studied acting with Michael Margotta in Rome, Italy. Shares birthday with Romane Bohringer, Emmanuelle Beart, Halle Berry, Wim Wenders, David Hallyday, Steve Martin and Magic Johnson. Supporter and face of ecologist organization "ForPlanet". Father, with Chiara, of two boys named Alessandro Leon (born on the 29th January 2000), Francesco (born in 2001) and a girl named Sophia. Mother is Rosa and father is Giuseppe. Has 2 little nieces: Flaminia and Beatrice. Had a dog named Marilou when he was a child. Favorite singers are Laura Pausini, Jovanotti and Pino Daniele. The first movie he ever watched was "Some like it hot". Is good friends with Alessandro Gassman. Good friends with George Clooney. Admits often that if he had not been an actor he would have opened a sports club and be a physical education instructor. Raoul, coming from Radulf, derives from the Germanic elements rad meaning "counsel" and wulf meaning "wolf". Friends with Italian politician Emma Bonino, who he met through her association "Hands off Cain", against the death penalty through the world. First child, Alessandro, was born on January 29th 2000, at 7.18 AM. Was included in the "2008 World's Sexiest Men" list according to E! Entertainment, (ranked #13).