Matilda Lutz

MATILDA LUTZ

Date of Birth: January 28, 1992

Matilda Lutz is an Italian model and actress who made her feature film debut in 2012, and has since appeared in almost a dozen television and film projects, most notably the horror reboot Rings (2016).

Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz was born in Milan, Italy to two former fashion models and until the age of five, grew up in the little country town of Gudo Visconti. Her American father, Elliston, became a famed fashion photographer, while her mother, Maria, went on to do PR for a fashion press office. Unfortunately, they divorced when Matilda was five years old. Matilda and her mother moved to Milan, while her father returned to New York.

Blessed with movie star good looks, Matilda began working as a model at a very young age, for various fashion and beauty brands. After she graduated from high school, she took an acting class in order to get over her shyness. She began attending auditions and landed a role in the Italian horror flick Azzurrina (2012).

She then won a role on the TV series Crossing Lines in 2013, followed by a part in the Italian dramedy The Fifth Wheel (2013). She also studied psychology at the Catholic University of Milan as a backup plan. “If you say you’re an actor in Italy, they kind of laugh in your face — it’s like it’s not a job,” she told Elle Canada in 2016.

It wasn't until she traveled to Los Angeles in 2014 to audition for an HBO pilot that she realized she could truly make her dream come true. She dropped out of the Catholic University of Milan and was accepted into a major movie school in Los Angeles. She worked in an Italian restaurant to support herself and met Italian director Gabriele Muccino there, when he came in for dinner. The restaurant owner introduced her to Muccino and later, she wrote him a message on Facebook.

He wrote back and several months later, auditioned her for a movie called Summertime.

In the meantime, she'd also received an offer to test for the big budget horror movie Rings. After two screen tests, she met the Vice President of Paramount and the executive producer before landing the lead role of Julia, a woman who finds herself the target of a terrible curse that threatens to take her life in seven days. She also got the role in Summertime, which began filming right after she completed work on Rings.

In 2016, Matilda starred in the pop punk band The Downtown Fiction's music video for "Hepburn Shades."

Matilda is an early riser and enjoys going surfing in the mornings. She also keeps fit by bicycling, running and wakeboarding. She loves animals and has a tabby cat.

Photo: Courtesy of Matilda Lutz / @matildalutz

Filmography:

Ecstasia (2017)
Summertime (2016)
Rings (2016)
L'Universale (2016)
Mi chiamo Maya (2015)
Somewhere Beautiful (2014)
The Fifth Wheel (2013)
Azzurrina (2012)