Monica Bellucci Welcomes Daughter Léonie

Martin Grimes/Splash News Online

It’s another little bambina for Monica Bellucci!

The actress gave birth to a second daughter, Léonie, on the evening of Friday, May 21 in Rome, PEOPLE has confirmed.

Both mother and daughter are doing “marvelously,” according to a member of the actress’s entourage.

Bellucci and husband Vincent Cassel — who wed in 1999 — are also parents to daughter Deva, 5½.

The actress, 45, will be seen alongside Nicolas Cage in the upcoming Sorcerer’s Apprentice, while Cassel, 43, recently wrapped The Black Swan with Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.

– Peter Mikelbank

Comments

So happy for them!!! Wasn’t a fan of the name itself but it flows very nicely with her last name and her sister’s name!! Congrats to Monica, Vincent and Deva!

- Alice on May 24th, 2010

i love it!

- babymama on May 24th, 2010

“…according to a member of the actress’s entourage”??? Oh my!

Congrats Monica!

- Elle on May 24th, 2010

Congratulations to Monica and Vincent!

- Kathleen on May 24th, 2010

Congrats to her and husband but I don’t like the babies name.

- Kimmy on May 24th, 2010

You people fail to take into consideration that while you may dislike the name, it’s considered quite beautiful in her culture and background. This article didn’t even post the question, “Do you like the name?”

Stop judging the world from your egocentric perspective.

Congratulations, Monica, Vincent, and Deva!

- Jane on May 24th, 2010

Well said, Jane! And congratulations to the beautiful family.

- Beth on May 24th, 2010

Léonie is a very beautiful and rare name in France
Congrats to the happy family!

- Anhelo on May 24th, 2010

Wow… I never even knew she was pregnant.. Congrats and I love the name. Completely different style than Deva. But I like it all the same.

- Noelle on May 24th, 2010

Congrats!!
She’s the most beautiful woman ever.Im sure her daughter is a cutie.

- mara on May 24th, 2010

“You people fail to take into consideration that while you may dislike the name, it’s considered quite beautiful in her culture and background”

Umm Jane, maybe in her husband’s “culture and background”.
Monica Bellucci is Italian and Leonie is a french name and it’s kind of an odd name for an Italian little girl but it makes sense since her dad is French.

- sara on May 24th, 2010

If you think that french people always give their kids french old names like Vivienne, Léonie etc… you are so wrong. Lately we have been having lot’s of Liam, Noah, Kevin, even Dylan.
Vincent Cassel apparently wanted to be different.

- xxx on May 24th, 2010

Umm Sara, how does Leonie qualify as an Italian little girl, when she is actually only half?

I think what Jane means is that some names sound so beautiful in their language or with a european accent. Her name would be pronounced Lay-0h-nee, not as Lee-00h-nee as most Americans would pronounce it.

So in Italian or French, it would be pronounced the same way.

- S.A.M on May 24th, 2010

I didn’t know she was pregnant either, but congrats to the family! I guess I hadn’t really realized their first girl was named Deva: great name!
I myself never really liked names with ‘Leo’ in it, but hey, who cares? As long as the little girl is happy and healthy, that’s all that really matters!

- M on May 24th, 2010

Jane-
This is an open forum people can say what they like. No, it did not ask if you liked the name, it also did NOT ask you to judge other peoples opinions.

- t. on May 24th, 2010

Since the accent is on the first e, wouldn’t it be pronounced LAY-o-nee? Just wondering.

- Marilyn on May 24th, 2010

I think the name is beautiful! When you actually pronounce it properly, with the accent on the ‘e’ it is very smooth and pretty and flows very well. I think (and I’m not just talking about this article, or just about the name Leonie) that people here jump to conclusions too quickly and fail to stop and realize that many of the names announced here come from the family’s culture and are pronounced differently than they would be in an American or North American culture. It makes me think of M.I.A.’s little boy Ihkyd, and how people called his name “outrageous” and everything under the sun, when it’s an Indian name that fits very well into that culture.

Anyway, congratulations to Monica, Vincent, and Deva! They must be thrilled.

- alice jane on May 24th, 2010

-t

I guess you believe in defending nasty comments on the boards. Just because someone is a celebrity does not mean that it’s okay to tell them you don’t like what they named their child. If you said that to someone’s face, it would be considered extremely rude. Those simple rules of etiquette in how we behave should apply to the Internet as well. Jane tried to defend the parents (admittedly in a rather awkward way as she has no idea if people who don’t like the name took into account the culture or background of the parents) And by the way “t”, why get on Jane’s case for judging the comments that were judgmental to begin with? Sorry, but you’re a bit hypocritical.

- Catca on May 24th, 2010

Jane – that would be ethnocentric, not egocentric.

- DJ on May 24th, 2010

Leonie has been extremely popular in Germany, since 2006 it has been among the top three, imagine!
So the Germans, too, do not mind its French origin. And guess what – Leon for boys is even more popular, it has been on first position since 2006.

- Ella on May 24th, 2010

How is Deva pronounced? Like Diva or Day-va? Or something else?

- rb on May 24th, 2010

Jane, we may have already taken that into consideration and still don’t like the name. we don’t need to be asked, we just click comments and leave ours. That’s the way these forums work. I like Leonie better than Deva, but I don’t care for either name.

- romy on May 24th, 2010

I think it’s a pretty name, but my first language is French, so it doesn’t sound weird to me.

Marilyn, the accent on the e doesn’t indicate stress, it changes the sound of the e from “uh” to “ay”.

- Aurora on May 24th, 2010

rb, Deva is pronounced Day-va

- sara on May 24th, 2010

Now that we know how to pronounce the new daughter’s name, how does she pronounce Deva? Dee-va or Day-va?

- Marilyn on May 24th, 2010

It’s pronounced Deh-vah. I am italian and I’ve heard her calling her daughter that way

- Tina on May 24th, 2010

Right on, romy!

I don;t care for the name but why is it so controversial to say so on a message board.

Love the name Deva and love the parents! They are fabulous.

Congratulations to all.

- Manon on May 24th, 2010

Yay, I’m so happy for them, I love Monica Bellucci…
P.S: Every time I come here and I read the comments I remember the reasons why I stopped reading this blog: people judging each other, sanctimmomies criticizing other people’s parenting choices, you name it. Very sad

- Siana on May 24th, 2010

PEOPLE, you might as well just shut off the comments on here because every single article you post is going to offend someone, and if it’s not the article, it’s something someone said in the comments about the article, and people can’t get their panties out of their butts long enough to stop starting fights with people they don’t know!

Grow up, everyone. Celebs are not going to care if a random nobody hates their kid’s name. And it’s not rude to state an opinion about a name. It’s not that big of a deal and everyone is constantly up in arms about anything and everything. It makes me want to avoid this site altogether.

- Mallory on May 24th, 2010

the name is very cute. god can’t people just keep it to themselves if they don’t like a name or a kid’s outfit.

- maggie on May 24th, 2010

I agree with Jane. I really, sincerely doubt that Monica and Vincent care if a bunch of strangers care what they name their daughter. Personally, I LOVE it. But if someone disagrees and can do so respectfully, i don’t see a problem with them posting that opinion either. That being said, congratulations Monica, Vincent, and Deva on baby Leonie (can’t get my computer to add the accent mark).

- Luna on May 24th, 2010

I really like the name Leonie! It looks so pretty on paper

- electra on May 24th, 2010

I LOVE Leonie’s name! Very Italian

- Lola Marie on May 24th, 2010

Beautiful, sweet name, though it feels very diferent from the exotic Deva.

(Lola Maria, how does Léonie sound in the slightest Italian? It comes across as VERY French, to me at least :p)

- Momo on May 24th, 2010

good for monica having a baby at 45. you go girl!

- grace on May 24th, 2010

No one is being nasty about the little girl’s name— they’re simply sharing their opinions and engaging in conversation…after all, that’s what the comments section is for. Personally, I think the name is beautiful, but I can respect that people have different tastes. It’s not a big deal, really.

- Amanda on May 24th, 2010

I like the name! It reminds me of “These Old Shades” by Georgette Heyer.

- Laura on May 25th, 2010

Main thing really is that she’s had a healthy baby girl, no mean feat being 45 year & the risks involved. Personally don’t mind the name, is ok I guess. I wouldn’t use it and prefer her big sister’s name, but it sure beats Sundance, LOL.

- Sam & Freya's mum on May 25th, 2010

Celebs know about these sites, so they know to avoid them if they don’t want to hear negative comments. It’s as simple as that. We all get negative feedback on our name choices, such as a wrinkled nose or a great grandma that just detests the name etc. Celebs get more feedback because they are more widely known. It’s up to them if they want to read this or not. I do not feel bad commenting on a name. In real life I would not say to her face that I don’t care for the name unless she was my friend and asked me. Then I’d say it’s nice and will grow on me. In real life people DO talk about other people’s name choices with friends. that is what we’re doing here. We’re not saying we don’t like the child or the parents.

- Romy on May 25th, 2010

Laura – “These Old Shades” is one of my favourites! Consequently, LOVE the name Leonie.

- what of it? on May 25th, 2010

Woooh i was suprised when i read this, my name is also Leonie
and i come from the Netherlands so that this is a name in Amerika is so funny

- Leonie on May 26th, 2010

REALLY LOVE THE NAME!

- Emma on May 26th, 2010

Momo i think leonie is both french (leon like brad and angie’s son) and italian (leonardo)

- violet on May 26th, 2010

@Momo well it reminded me of an ancient city (Leon, Italy).

- Lola Marie on May 26th, 2010

Violet you are a correct outside of being a derivative of the popular name Leonardo there are many reference to the name Leon throughout Italy.

- Lola Marie on May 26th, 2010

Mallory- That’s not entirely true. I remember when Soliel (I’m not sure if I’m spelling that correctly) Moon Frye’s second daughter was born, and it was announced that her daughter’s name was Jagger Joseph Blue. Most of the people who commented on the name made comments such as that it’s a “horrible” name for a little girl, “how can they do that to their kid”, etc.

Well, it turns out that Soliel reads the comments here, and she e-mailed this site with a response to the negative comments (which was then posted here). She explained that the name was very meaningful to she and her husband, and it was very clear that she was hurt by all the nasty comments about the name.

So it’s not neccesarily true that celebs don’t care what we say about their kids’ names. Most of them probably DON’T care OR read the comments here, but we need to keep in mind that some do.

- CelebBabyLover on May 26th, 2010

violet- I was just thinkingg the same thing about Leon! It is indeed Knox Jolie-Pitt’s middle name, and, like Leonie, has an accent above the e, so is pronounced the French way (Lay-own) rather than the English way.

Go by the French pronounciation of Leon, I’m guessing that Leonie is pronounced “Lay-own-ee”.

- CelebBabyLover on May 26th, 2010

Congrats ! Beautiful name !

- angelina on May 26th, 2010

i’d like to comment on the pronoucation of the name. I’m french so i’m 100/1000 certain that i pronounce it the same way Monica and Vincent do, at least the same way Vincent does!
Take the name “Léo”, we don’t pronounce it “Lee-o”, and certainly not “Lay-o”. The “é” is like the “e” of emma ( but not ella because Ella would bé a “è” not a “é”, and the pronouncation is very different beetween those to “e”s)

So Léonie should sound like: L+ the “e” of Emma + “nie”( like in LeNNY).
Hope that helped.

- xxx on May 27th, 2010

Hey all! What shall I say other than that I’m honoured that the most beautiful woman on earth called her daughter a name I share!
I hate it when people call me ‘lee-oh-nee’ or ‘layohnee’ with the cheesy ‘yo’ sound because mine too has an accent on the first ‘e’ and so it is read the correct french way ‘leh-ohnee’. My elder sisters chose the name while reading Georgette Heyer’s ‘The Devil’s Cub’, a sequel to ‘These Old Shades’, during their mid teens. In Malta, there are only about 2 other Leonies I heard of and people keep telling me they never heard such a name in all my 31 years of life! In fact I was amazed and amused to learn that it is quite common with the Dutch and the Germans!
I admit though, that it is quite an old fashioned name for this day and age, and even a stranger choice for a celebrity baby!

- leonie aquilina on May 31st, 2010

Congratulations to you both (Monica & Vincent) on the birth of your daughter Leonie! I’m very happy for you!

- Falconsnow on June 20th, 2010