Asia Argento was born in Rome, Italy on September 20, 1975, to renowned Italian horror film director Dario Argento and his companion, actress Daria Nicolod. Her real name is actually Aria, as can be seen on her birth registry, since the registration office did not accept Asia.

She broke into film at the tender age of nine and has gone on to enjoy an illustrious and acclaimed career. Although the actress' early prospects were undoubtedly aided by her father's famous name -- she has appeared in a number of his films -- she has become known as an actress in her own right, winning two David di Donatello awards (the Italian Oscar) and two Ciacks (the Italian Golden Globe), among other honors. Argento has acted for a number of non-Italian directors, most notably Patrice Chéreau in La Reine Margot (1994) and Michael Radford in B. Monkey (1998). The latter film, which starred Argento as a master thief alongside Rupert Everett and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, succeeded in giving her an initial introduction to American art house audiences. She gained an international following after starring in "XXX," playing Vin Diesel's mysterious love interest.

In addition to acting, Argento is also a screenwriter and director with a growing number of credits to her name. The handover to then new millennium found the now-established actress following in the footsteps of her father with the release of her directorial debut, Scarlet Diva (2000). A semi-autobiographical tale that journied into the frenzied mind of an actress fueled by excess, Scarlet Diva combined the garish visuals of her father's cinematic heyday with the sensory overload that defined cinema of the millennial crossover. In 2004 she directed and acted in "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things", based on the book of fiction writer J.T. LeRoy.

In addition to her accomplishments in the world of film, Asia has written a number of stories for magazines such as Dynamo and L'Espresso, while her first novel, titled I Love You Kirk, was published in Italy in 1999. In June of 2001, Asia gave birth to her first child, Anna Lou, named after her deceased sister Anna. The father is musician Marco Castoldi ("Morgan") from the Italian band Bluvertigo.

Links:
The Official Site
Ode to Azia